Open Data Launch+Lab

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The Department of Finance, Services

and Innovation hosted the Open Data

Launch+Lab session to hear from

leaders about new initiatives, and to

enable participants to again be part of

shaping implementation.

The Minister for Innovation and Better

Regulation, Hon. Victor Dominello MP launched

the 2016 NSW Open Data Policy and Action Plan

and led a series of leadership talks featuring

NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Prof. Mary

O’Kane and the newly-appointed Open Data

Advocate and NSW Information Commissioner

Elizabeth Tydd.

The day also featured practical ‘speed lab’

sessions to have direct input into progressing key

projects from action plan.

Key points raised by speakers and discussion

groups are summarised in this document.

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Opening comments

The Minister’s remarks emphasised the

NSW Government's ongoing commitment to open

data, as reflected in the updated Open Data

Policy, Action Plan and initiatives.

The Minister noted progress in the amount of data

NSW agencies are making available, with around

50,000 datasets now available through the

data.nsw.gov.au central portal.

The policy announces the role of the

NSW Open Data Advocate under the GIPA

Act to further encourage the proactive

public release of government information by

agencies, and to provide information, advice

and assistance to agencies and the NSW

public on access to government information.

The 2016 NSW Open Data Policy has a focus

on guiding development and measuring

progress, particularly through:

• The Open Data Maturity Scorecard: a development guide and measure of open data achievement for agencies and the state

• The Dmarketplace: a single data discovery platform and interface to help companies, citizens and government discover and consume published data

The policy also supports the Minister’s

7 D’s for reform:1. Data: better, faster, more2. Digitisation of information3. Direct service delivery to citizens4. Display and sensemaking of data5. Dissection and analytics6. DNA: embedded into everyday processes7. Dimension of data: 3D and beyond

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Hon. Victor Dominello, MPMinister for Innovation and Better Regulation

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Professor O’Kane’s remarks highlighted the

journey that NSW has taken with open data from

the enactment of GIPA in 2009 through to the

current Open Data policy and action agenda.

Along with many successes, Prof. O’Kane

identified some of the challenges faced in

achieving more widespread acceptance and

adoption of open data.

Open data successes in NSW include:• New (app & data) and reinvigorated businesses

• data.gov sites and the DAC

• Traffic, school, health, weather, environment and travel apps

• Scientific breakthroughs, such as mapping

Australia’s geothermal resources

• Environmental Data Repository

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Challenges addressed in the 2016 NSW

Government Open Data Policy include:• Vision: better, faster, more

• Open data principles: default open; prioritised & usable; timely; authoritative; subject to public input

• Principles supported by Agency responsibilities

• Driven by an Action Plan

For the future: More open data education,

better engagement with the community and a

“With a View to Open” policy approach that:• Helps to tackle wicked problems

• Clarifies who should collect what

• Allows for mandatory and voluntary contributions

• Enables analysis in emergencies

• Facilitates transparency

Keynote talk

Prof. Mary O’Kane AC NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer

These successes have been supported by:• Licencing innovation through Creative Commons

• Technical developments, including big data/data analytics, data fusion and AI, visualisation & graphics developments, increased computing power and now, ubiquitous sensors & the IoT

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Following the Minister’s announcement of the new

role of Open Data Advocate, Commissioner Tydd

provided an overview of the integrated relationship

between open government and good governance.

This relationship is underpinned by the ready

availability of technology; the universal access it

provides and the expectation that individuals

should have unlimited access to information and

take an active role in determining service delivery.

In the current environment where more

information is being released and

citizens have access to ever-increasing

information and datasets, Government must

respond and that response must be informed

by good governance.

The Open Data Advocate’s priority outcomes

are to:1. Guide agencies and citizens in promoting the

availability of open access data

2. Contribute to the development of indicators and measures to better recognise the most effective open data practices

3. Promote open data as a cornerstone of Open Government

Keynote talk

Elizabeth TyddNSW Information Commissioner and Open Data Advocate

The open government + good governance

relationship is supported by GIPA and its

pathways to accessing government

information which are both proactive and

reactive, and provide protections for decision-

makers.

The NSW Open Data Policy supports the

release of information, guides information

governance, promotes transparency and

coordinates a whole-of-government

approach to realising the value of information

as a strategic asset.

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Sonya Sherman provided an overview of the 2016

NSW Open Data Policy.

This policy update reflects the progress made

since the first Open Data policy in 2013 and aims

to proactively address some of the cultural, social

and technical challenges faced in the release of

data.

NSW Open Data principles

Open by default and

protected where required

Prioritised, discoverable

and usable

Primary and timely

Well managed, trusted

and authoritative

Free where appropriate

Subject to public input

Policy overview

Sonya ShermanManager, Information, DFSI

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1. Data request service – available through Data NSW

2. Open Data Innovation Scorecard: develop a maturity roadmap to

guide

3. Sustaining open data- pre-approved categories of

data for release in GIPA

4. dMarketplace: develop a charter of rights for open data users

5. Making links with data

6. Incentivising open data and fostering innovation

7. Connecting data and stories

NSW Open Data priority initiatives

Shaping the action agenda

A ‘speed lab’ session involved participants taking

one hour to brainstorm issues and actions for three

of the priority areas in the Open Data policy:

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What is the purpose

of a charter of rights

for open data users?

Who are the

target audiences for

the charter?

What are examples

of key rights &

responsibilities to

consider?

What is the purpose

of a pre-approved

data release

program?

What categories or

collections of data

could be

candidates for pre-

release?

What

pre-conditions would support a

case for

pre-approval?

What are

the capacity

stages / levels of

agency maturity?

What are examples

of measures and

indicators for

each level?

What are examples

of incentives for

agencies to move

up the maturity

scale?

1Charter of rights for

open data users

2Pre-approved

data release

3Agency maturity

scorecard

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The discussion about the proposed charter of

rights encompassed the purpose of the charter,

identified example rights to be considered and

proposed five priority issues for further

consideration.

The Charter identifies the rights of all open data

users under the principles in the NSW Open

Data Policy and will treat all users equally

regardless of their sector, discipline or capacity.

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Lab 1

Charter of rights for open data users

The purpose of the charter of rights is to:

• Define and articulate universal rights, and

make these rights explicit

• Highlight what information and data is

available

• Guide people on the access and use of

datasets held by NSW Government

• Map user rights against the government’s

open data principles

Priority issues for further consideration:

1. Establish an open data officer role in each

agency who understands the data and can

answer questions (or direct queries to experts)

2. Create a communication mechanism to allow

users to exchange questions and answers

3. Help end users better understand data quality

4. Prioritise machine consumable data and

make it reliably available

5. Make suggested or related datasets easy to

find through collaborative filtering

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Pro

po

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use

r rig

hts

Lab 1

Charter of rights for open data users

Open by

default,

protected

where

required

Right to:

• Data from data custodians

• Access through central portal data.nsw

• Reasons why data is protected or

access is limited

• Use-by dates (when protection expires)

• Safeguards such as consent, ethics,

• Persistent, consistent, sustainable data

person role for requests, embedded into

agency BAU

Primary and

timely

Right to:

• Data collected at the source with high

level of granularity

• Current and real time

Prioritised ,

discoverable

and usable

Right to:

• Usable, consumable data that is

machine readable

• Data of interest to the public

• Knowledge of all datasets

• Description of dataset and fields

• Visualised data

• Tool to standardise quality statements

• Integration layer

Well

managed,

trusted and

authoritative

Right to:

• Best available data that is reliable

• Better understanding of data quality

made available to end users

• See when data is produced and

made available

Subject to

public input

Right to:

• Directly engage in decision making

around data capture and its purpose,

and the process of release

• Engage with agencies regarding data

custodianship enquiries and data

subject matter experts

• Provide and see information about

how data is being used

• Communication and messaging

• Provide feedback via the website and

other contact avenues

• Collaborate on release

• Access complaints process

• An explanation as to why data is not

open when requested

Free where

appropriate

Right to:

• Data free of charge unless there are

exceptional circumstances

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A foundation approach to data is that it needs to

be designed for open

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Lab 2

Pre-approved data release

The discussion about pre-approved data

release considered the purpose as well as

practical issues involved in the proactive

release of data.

The group included an even split of data

producers and consumers, and was advised

on GIPA-related issues by the team from the

NSW IPC.

A clear, unambiguous definition of the term

“pre-approved” is needed to ensure take-up

Priority action: develop Open Data Design

guidelines, for example:

• How to design your data with de-identification

in mind (including standards)

• How to measure and deliver economic and

public value with your data

Key conditions for pre-approval status include:

• Data can be can be easily released without a

lengthy decision process

• Data has been de-identified for sensitive

information

• Economic value and public interest is a priority

Consider a sub-set of users (or institutions) that are

‘licensed’ or pre-qualified to use sensitive data to

accelerate release

Examples of pre-approval candidates include

medical data, grant funding and data about

agency information systems

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Underpinning the conversation about

designing elements of the agency maturity

scorecard is a clear need to define what

maturity and, in this context, the purpose of

the scorecard.

The group’s discussion identified some themes

and elements for the scorecard, as well as

examples of progress levels, measures and

incentives.

Themes and elements:

• Linkages to the Open Data Policy principles

• Adopting the UK ODI approach

• Value: internal and external

• “More, faster, better”

• Customer support and engagement

– Helping customers find useful data

– Finding out what data is useful

• Use and re-use within government

Lab 3

Agency maturity scorecard

Progress levels and measures:

• Percentages / proportion of agency data that is open

• Appropriateness + usefulness (via user ratings)

• Currency / last updated vs frequency of data collection

• Time series

• Customer satisfaction

• Cost reductions

• Number of requests for data

• Level of use and re-use

Incentives to progress:

• Mandate linked to gov strategic priorities

• Executive KPIs linked to scorecard

• Cross-gov SWAT team to support agencies and help build capability

• Change management program

• Publicised success stories

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Ag

en

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sc

ore

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ose

A series of elements to inform a purpose

statement for the agency maturity scorecard

have been identified.

The purpose of the scorecard is…

TO:

• Raise awareness, build executive support, normalise open data as BAU

• Bring transparency, accountability

• Measure performance + effectiveness

• Create a framework to measure success

• Be accountable for progress

• Highlight gaps between policy + capacity

BY:

• Establishing goals linked to agency corporate objectives + gov strategic priorities

• Comparing progress on objective scale

• Reporting publicly

• Establishing measures for each open data principle

• Highlighting business + financial benefits/ links

• Linking to annual reporting

• Using a maturity matrix

SO THAT:

• Maturity is defined with a baseline

• Average maturity is understood across agencies for benchmarking

• There is agency + whole-of-gov progress

• Success is showcased

• Minister has access to live dashboard reporting

Lab 3

Agency maturity scorecard

Launch+Lab participants

Alan Codd

Ernst & Young

Alastair BorTransport for NSW

Alex SalesDeloitte

Amanda SwanOracle

Asim NizimCity of Sydney

Carole Cometon-

Forde

Uni of Melbourne

Clare Huxley

NSW Dept of Planning

Con KaraisGolden Dragon Trading

Daniel Gordon

NSW State Records

David Marcus

NSW IPC

Ed Garvin Omnilink

Elizabeth Wu Commonwealth Bank

Federico Girosi

Uni of Western Sydney

Francisco Urbina

ESRI / LIIAC

Gillian WoodNSW DFSI

Gino CavallaroNSW Dept of Planning

Gregory WeblinNSW Dept of Industry

Ian PalmerBusiness Aspect

Josh Venman

ESRI Australia

Julia HubbardNSW Dept of Education &

Training

Karl MedakFrame Group

Kate CurrState Library of NSW

Kate WilsonNSW Office of Environment &

Heritager

Keinwen ShephardNSW DFSI

Kelly RischmillerSurveying & Spatial Sciences

Institute

Kevin BlochCisco

Krissie AuldNSW Office of Environment &

Heritager

Liz JakubowskiData 61

Mark Dalby NSW Office of State Revenue

Mike Blanchard Transport for NSW

Ophelia Carol

Pradeep Ray Uni of NSW

Rhys Johnston

Robin PhuaState Library of NSW

Rodney HarrisonIntersect

Ronald Simon

Rong Lin

Intermedium

Ross JohnsonRJ Consulting

Sanket PurohitNSW Dept of Industry

Sarah ThackwayNSW Dept of Health

Scott Johnston NSW Public Service

Commission

Sonia MinutilloNSW IPC

Stephen Bedford NSW DFSI

Stephen WilliamsSouthern Cross Uni

Susan DayMIP

Valerie AllertonNSW Dept of Industry

Vic Kim

Zaffar Sadiq

Mohamed Ghouse CRCSI

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Open Data Policy: Department of Finance, Services & Innovation team

Sonya Sherman

Therese Milham

Siobhan Friis

Orchid Dunne

Launch+Lab: Facilitation and knowledge capture

Cofluence

Allison Hornery & John Wells | cofluence.co

Social stream available at:

https://storify.com/cofluence/odlaunchlab

Download the policy:

http://finance.nsw.gov.au/ict

or use this QR code >>

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