Strengthen and Socialize Open Data Policy (DE0021)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Germany Action Plan 2019-2021
Action Plan Cycle: 2019
Status: Active
Institutions
Lead Institution: Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI)
Support Institution(s): Federal ministries; Competence Centre Open Data (CCOD, Federal Office of Administration) Division VM II 8, opendata@bva.bund.de
Policy Areas
Access to Information, Open DataIRM Review
IRM Report: Germany Design Report 2019-2021
Starred: Pending IRM Review
Early Results: Pending IRM Review
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information , Civic Participation
Implementation i
Completion: Pending IRM Review
Description
What is the public problem that the commitment will address?
The Open Data Law (Section 12a E-Government Act (EGovG)) established a foundation for
the active provision of open data by the agencies of the direct federal administration. The
success of this law hinges largely on its effective and comprehensive implementation. To
this end, the knowledge of open data in the federal administration is to be deepened, and
accompanying measures to support the application of the law are to be implemented. So
that open data can meet the needs of users, more consideration will be given to users’
concerns. The aim is for publication of data as open data to become a part of everyday
administrative activities. The resulting administrative data ecosystem (of providers and
subsequent users) constitutes a foundation for transparency and innovation, and must
meet the needs of users.
What is the commitment?
Strengthening the shared knowledge base and developing coherent criteria for the
implementation of open data in the federal administration in order to achieve a common
understanding in the implementation of the open data concept and promote cultural
change within the public administration.
How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem?
For authorities to undergo the needed cultural shift towards a more public orientation in the
way they handle data obtained in the fulfilment of their statutory duties, they need accompanying measures such as expansion of knowledge management and ongoing exchange
both with data users and among different data providers. Networks, guiding principles and
knowledge management should be helpful in this pursuit.
Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?
The commitment will help to further entrench the concept of open data in the agencies of
the direct federal administration. The provision of open data will create transparency and
offer the opportunity for more participation.
IRM Midterm Status Summary
6. Further development and promotion of the open data environment
Main Objective
“Strengthening the shared knowledge base and developing coherent criteria for the
implementation of open data in the federal administration in order to achieve a common
understanding in the implementation of the open data concept and promote cultural
change within the public administration.”
Milestones
6.1. Open data strategy of the federal administration
6.2. Organizing or participating in a workshop on exchange with stakeholders in the context of creating an open data strategy
6.3. Declaration on the implementation of the International Open Data Charter principles
6.4. Involvement of civil society organizations, journalists, start-ups and scholars in regularly occurring federal administration events on the topic of open data
6.5. Holding or participating in international events, including in the framework of the 2020–2021 European Council Presidency year
6.6. Holding an open data conference with federal and Land participation to bolster the coordinated and standardized provision of open data at the federal, Land and local levels
6.7. Expanding knowledge management through the creation of a central open data information website
6.8. Creating a central directory for open data applications
Editorial Note: For the complete text of this commitment, please see Germany’s action plan at: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Germany_Action-Plan_2019-2021_EN.pdf.
Commitment Analysis [41]
This commitment has a number of measures to support a more public-focused orientation in how authorities handle data obtained through their duties. It builds upon commitments 2 and 3 from Germany’s first action plan, during which the Federal Ministry of the Interior conducted events to promote the use of open data. [42] By expanding and deepening the provision of open data across the federal government, the commitment is relevant to the OGP value of access to information. It is also relevant to civic participation by emphasizing the enhancement of data use, user needs, and engagement with civil society.
The recognition in this commitment of the need for a cultural change echoes the conclusions of the government’s open data progress report published in October 2019, which also points to challenges of awareness, capacity, and support resources. [43] As described above in Section II, Germany has average scores in comparative open data assessments, with shortcomings in the areas of impact, usage, and usability. Two expert commissions on digital governance noted the need to develop clear, legally enforceable rights to open data. [44] Other observers have identified a fragmentation in legal rules and organizational responsibilities as a structural obstacle for maximizing the potential of open data. [45]
The design of an open data strategy for the federal administration (Milestone 6.1) underpinned by consultations with civil society (Milestone 6.2) could provide an opportunity to invest political capital and generate momentum for improvements in open data culture, context, and content.
Also, the implementation of the Open Data Charter principles (Milestone 6.3) could give these principles more visibility both inside and outside the administration. The conference for stakeholders from federal, state, and local levels could provide a useful exchange across levels of governments that are actively involved, yet not always fully interlinked, in open data work (Milestone 6.6). Milestones 6.4 and 6.5 include outreach and international engagement that are similar to activities from the first action plan. The remaining milestones (6.7 and 6.8) consolidate the underlying knowledge management and access-to-open-data applications and will likely yield incremental improvements.
The potential improvements to the open-data environment in Germany through these activities will mostly depend on the content and implementation of the broader overall data strategy of the federal government that was also still under development at the writing of this report. The guiding principles for that broader strategy do not provide any indications for a substantive increase in ambition. [46] However, taken together, this commitment could build upon the achievements in open data carried out under the previous action plan and provide the federal government with its first all-encompassing open data strategy, eventually imbedded in a broader strategic data framework.
Commitments
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Participatory Development of Research and Innovation Policy
DE0022, 2019, Public Participation
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Participatory Creation of Regulatory Policy
DE0023, 2019, Open Regulations
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Digital Strategy Pilot for Rural Regions
DE0024, 2019, Subnational
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Open Government in North Rhine-Westphalia
DE0025, 2019, Access to Information
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Policy Co-Creation in North Rhine-Westphalia
DE0026, 2019, Land Rights and Spatial Planning
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Data Sovereignty in North Rhine-Westphalia
DE0027, 2019, Access to Information
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Open Government Portal in Saxony
DE0028, 2019, E-Government
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Open-Source Software in Public Administrations in Schleswig-Holstein
DE0029, 2019, Subnational
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Regional Open Government Labs
DE0016, 2019, Public Participation
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Civil Society Consulation on Foreign Policy
DE0017, 2019,
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Create Youth Strategy
DE0018, 2019, Marginalized Communities
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Craete Federal Agency for Digital Innovation
DE0019, 2019,
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Transparency and Participation in International Aid
DE0020, 2019, Access to Information
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Strengthen and Socialize Open Data Policy
DE0021, 2019, Access to Information
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Conditions for OGP Participation
DE0001, 2017,
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Open Data in Administrative Practice
DE0002, 2017, Access to Information
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Open Data Environment
DE0003, 2017, Access to Information
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Access to Spatial Data
DE0004, 2017, Access to Information
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Financial Transparency - EITI Standard
DE0005, 2017, Access to Information
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Transparency in Development Policy
DE0006, 2017, Access to Information
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Open Data for Intelligent Mobility
DE0007, 2017, Access to Information
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Citizen Participation in Environmental Policy and Urban Development
DE0008, 2017, Capacity Building
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Electronic Procedures for Family Benefits
DE0009, 2017, E-Government
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Knowledge Network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex People
DE0010, 2017, E-Government
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Local Alliances for Family Initiative
DE0011, 2017, Public Participation
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Share of Women and Men in Leadership Positions, Private and Private Sectors
DE0012, 2017, E-Government
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Open Access to Academic Literature
DE0013, 2017, E-Government
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Science Year 2018
DE0014, 2017, Public Participation
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Federal Competition “Living Together Hand in Hand”
DE0015, 2017, Citizenship & Immigration