Data Opening (HR0034)

ONGOING DATA OPENING
Implementation of the measure is under way and will continue until 21 August 2020
Leader of the measure CENTRAL STATE OFFICE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIGITAL
SOCIETY
Description of the measure
Which public issue does the measure address? The open data of the public sector represent a resource for economic
activity and a source of information on monitoring the work of the
Government and administration.
The data in the possession of public authorities are only publicly available
to a lesser degree, and if they are available, are often only accessible in
unsuitable formats, that is, formats which do not allow the reuse of such
data.
In the previous period, the Open Data Portal was established, but only a
small number of datasets have been published on it (around 400, involving
only 63 publishers).
What does the measure include? The main goal of the measure is to increase the quantity of open data and
contribute to the increased reuse of open data. The measure attempts to
ensure the prerequisites and framework for the efficient opening of data at
55
the level of the state administration and encourage state bodies to open
data. It is expected that the implementation of the measure will increase the
quantity of open data on the Open Data Portal of the Republic of Croatia,
particularly data which the European Commission has defined as priorities,
and the quality of such data. It is expected that opening data will indirectly
encourage the production of innovative non-commercial and commercial
applications, more intensive cooperation between the private and civil
sectors, particularly in the area of applying information technology, and
improve electronic public services and the transparency of public
administration. At the same time, the current version of the Open Data
Portal will be improved so as to improve its functionality and assure the
ongoing updating of its key components.
How does the measure contribute to resolving the
public issue?
Since the problem has been noted that only a few bodies are opening data,
it is expected that the technological, process and functional improvement of
the IT system for publishing open data by public authorities in machinereadable form will improve the open data system, which will result in the
inclusion of a greater number of subjects of public authority bodies in
publishing open data. In addition, it is expected that opening data, or the
availability of more datasets on the Open Data Portal, will result in the
increased reuse of public sector data.
Why is this measure relevant to the values of the
Open Government Partnership?
The measure contributes directly to increasing transparency by increasing
the availability of public sector information, and indirectly to civic
participation by providing information as the first step in civic participation
and public accountability, by increasing the openness of the work of state
administration bodies.
Additional information The total costs of implementing the measure are HRK 6,798,000.
The project will be co-financed by funds from the Operational Programme
for Efficient Human Resources 2014-2020, of which the ESF contribution is
HRK 5,778,300 (85%), and the national contribution HRK 1,019,700 (15%).
The measure is in accordance with the e-Croatia 2020 Strategy
Activities Implementation start date Implementation end date
56
9.1. Adapting the IT systems of public sector
bodies to the Open Data Portal January 2019 January 2021
9.2. Analysing the current situation and
identifying requirements for improvement January 2019 January 2021
9.3. Ongoing technological, process and
functional building up of the current IT system for
publishing open data
Ongoing Ongoing
Contact information
Person responsible in the body which is Leader of the
measure
Bernard Gršić
Function, department State Secretary
Email and telephone ured@rdd.hr, +385 1 4400 840
Other participants
involved
State participants Information Commissioner, Council of the OGP Initiative, Ministry of
Administration
NGOs, private sector,
multilaterals, working groups
NGOs, private sector

9. Ongoing Data Opening

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

"Measure 9. Ongoing Data Opening" [75]

"Since the problem has been noted that only a few bodies are opening data, it is expected that the technological, process and functional improvement of the IT system for publishing open data by public authorities in machine-readable form will improve the open data system, which will result in the inclusion of a greater number of subjects of public authority bodies in publishing open data. In addition, it is expected that opening data, or the availability of more datasets on the Open Data Portal, will result in the increased reuse of public sector data. (…) The total costs of implementing the measure are HRK 6,798,000."

Milestones:

9.1. Adapting the IT systems of public sector bodies to the Open Data Portal

• Launching the project 'Adapting the IT systems of public sector bodies to the Open Data Portal' will improve the technological, process and functional IT system for publishing the open data of public administration bodies in machine-readable form.
• Through promotional content on the open data system and pertinent promotional material and events ('datathons') it is envisaged that business subjects (for example, IT companies) will become more significantly and more actively involved in the open data system, along with strengthening the capacities of public authority employees in the area of the open data system by promoting the open data system and training public authority employees.
• Programmes and training material produced for the on-site education of public body officials
• Training conducted of public body officials
• Video and other e-learning contents produced
• Promotional video content produced
• Flyers, posters and promotional material with information on open data produced
• Datathons organised and held

9.2. Analysing the current situation and identifying requirements for improvement

• Analysis conducted of the current situation regarding the open data system
• Analysis conducted of good practices, EU and world standards in the context of open data and internet access
• Potential databases/data sources identified in these categories: Geospatial Information, Observing the Earth and Environment, Traffic Information, Statistics and Commercial Companies

9.3. Ongoing technological, process and functional building up of the current IT system for publishing open data

• Technological improvement of the open data system completed
• New user interface for the open data system developed
• New functionalities in the open data system developed
• New processes in the open data system implemented

Start date: Underway

End date: 21 August 2020

Context and Objectives

This commitment continues open data policies and activities initiated in the second OGP action plan. [76] The milestones adapt public agency IT systems to the Open Data Portal [77] with activities like promotions and trainings (Milestone 9.1.), analyzing the status quo to identify good practices and areas for improvement (9.2.), and continuous upgrades for publishing open data (9.3.).

The Open Data Portal was established in Croatia on 19 March 2015. [78] It is linked to the European Data Portal [79] and enables searching, linking, downloading, and re-using public sector information for commercial and non-commercial purposes via a metadata catalogue. According to statistics on the Portal, 577 datasets [80] published by 73 institutions [81] were available in early March 2019, with 35 various datasets requested for publishing by users. [82] The Portal follows the European Commission guidelines on recommended standard licences, datasets, and charging for the re-use of documents. [83] According to the European Commission's annual Open Data Maturity analysis for 2017, Croatia ranked 14^th among EU countries in the field of open data, but dropped to 19^th in 2018, due to progress achieved by other EU members. This system overhaul might put Croatia back into the "trendsetter" group of countries. [84]

The open data legal framework [85] also underwent significant changes in the last several years. The most significant was the adoption of the Open Data Policy [86] in July 2018, aimed to build a stimulating environment for creating new social and economic value by using public sector data. [87] According to interviewed public authorities’ and CSO representatives, an action plan for 2019−2020 is being drafted, and its adoption was expected in March 2019. [88] Its activities coincide significantly with the activities envisaged in this commitment, but with more specific indicators. [89]

The Policy establishes a "Coordination for Implementation of Open Data Policy Measures" consisting of two members each from the Central State Office, Ministry of Administration, Office of the Information Commissioner, and Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs. [90] This Coordination drafted the Open Data Policy Action Plan, and will monitor and report on its implementation.

Unlike in the previous action plan, when both the legislative framework and the system itself had to be established, this commitment is more a continuation, upgrade, and refinement of the existing system, making its potential impact minor. The activities are specific and verifiable, and relevant to OGP values, as they will increase access to information through technology and innovation. New public sector information will be accessible and previously unincluded public authorities’ data will be available in the Open Data Portal. The potential impact of the commitment is moderate, given that it should increase the number of public authorities included in the system, the number of open datasets available for reuse, and the actual reuse of public sector data.

Next steps

To ensure effective implementation of this commitment, the Council of the OGP Initiative could aim to reach the 5^th star-level of data design when publishing open data for reuse.

9. Ongoing Data Opening

Completion: Substantial

The Central State Office for Development of Digital Society started the project "Adaptation of information systems of public sector bodies to the Open Data Portal" in May 2019, ^[62] funded through OPEHR 2014−2020, ^[63] for 24 months. The project led to the completion of the analysis of stakeholders, good practices and standards in the existing open data system, and a proposal for improving the open data system and methodology for evaluating data values. Procurement for setting up a new open data system is ongoing.

Despite completing most milestones, the current Open Data Portal is “dead” according to GONG, ^[64] in that it is difficult to navigate, lacks important datasets (datasets are sometimes outdated, not updated, and links to certain datasets are dead), and needs an overhaul (e.g., publishing “clean” ^[65] data in available, regularly updated datasets, and publishing specific datasets that are not yet available). ^[66] The State Office representative ^[67] believes this will be done in accordance to the analysis by the end of the project which is beyond the timeline of the action plan cycle.