Evidence-Based Governance (LV0039)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Latvia National Action Plan 2017-2019
Action Plan Cycle: 2017
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Pārresoru Coordination Center, the Central Statistical Bureau
Support Institution(s): Latvian University, Faculty of Social Sciences and Social and Political Research Institute
Policy Areas
Capacity BuildingIRM Review
IRM Report: Latvia Implementation Report 2017-2019, Latvia Design Report 2017-2019
Early Results: Marginal
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Yes
Ambition (see definition): Low
Implementation i
Description
RESEARCH AND DATA ACCESS AND USE evidence based
decision making and public
DEADLINE:
2017 2nd half - 2019 1st half
WHAT ARE THE STATE AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST ISSUES WHICH HELPS MEETING THIS
COMMITMENT?
State and local government institutions in various fields and made and commissioned studies and reviews the data
used - it is valuable information in order to promote the sound and quality of decision-making in state institutions. They
can also re-use of the general public - in the scientific and research activities, the work of civil society, research
journalism, business environment and other purposes.
OECD countries in response to such global challenges as the 2008 financial crisis or climate change, the
growing interest in evidence-based decision-making. It is believed that a better knowledge can lead to
better policies and thus better results in the state and society. In particular, increasing use of data and
analysis of legislation and policy documents impact on the economy, the budget and public evaluations. 71 OECD
evidence-based decision-making also contributes to sectors such as education. 72
To promote sound and objective fact-based decision-making and action and to analyze the dynamics of the
situation over time, it is important to raise awareness of data, information and research at national and local
government work, as well as state and local government study carried out by the re-use.
Latvian state and local government commissioned studies are available for Web site-database "Research and Publications database" 73rd Database
maintained by PKC. State and local government institutions have an obligation to pass it every study commissioned for insertion into the
database. It is available in a variety of industries valuable studies, assessments, evaluations, surveys. The database also displayed
studies that are planned or are developing. At the same time in practice, not all the studies and surveys that are carried out are sent for
insertion into the database.
71 OECD. "Achieving Public Sector Agility at The Times of Fiscal Consolidation", Paris: OECD Publishing, 2015th
View: http://www.oecd.org/publications/achieving-public-sector-agility-at-times-of-fiscal-consolidation9789264206267-en.htm
OECD. "OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook 2015". Paris: OECD Publishing, 2015 View:
http://www.oecd.org/publications/oecd-regulatory-policy-outlook-2015-9789264238770-en.htm 72 OECD. "Evidence in Education: Linking Research and
Policy." Paris: OECD Publishing, 2007th
View: http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/evidenceineducationlinkingresearchandpolicy.htm 73 View: http://petijumi.mk.gov.lv
12th
COMMITMENT
LATVIAN OPEN MANAGEMENT THIRD NATIONAL ACTION PLAN 57
An important role in evidence-based policy-making is also the official statistics, which collects, analyzes and distributes
the Central Statistical Bureau (hereinafter - CSB). That's the official statistics provide a reliable and secure data that
allows you to analyze trends in the different sectors and build a sustainable future policies.
Statistical bill preparation of the Saeima State Administration and Local Government Committee made a proposal to
standardize the publication of official statistics, the establishment of official statistics portal. The proposal was supported
by the Parliament, and the provision included in the Statistics Act, which entered into force on 1 January 2016 (with a
transitional period until 1 January 2018 official statistics portal creation).
Official Statistics Program collects information about official statistics and the statistical authorities
responsible for the supply. 2016 Latvian official statistics program includes 55 public administration
institutions, of which the largest provider of statistics and official statistics system is the Managing Authority
only.
Statistics Law provides that the statistical authorities in the official statistics, which it provides in accordance with
the official statistics program publishes a predetermined time in the form of a publicly accessible official statistics
portal. Official statistics portal content basic is the official statistics, descriptive metadata, official statistics
publication calendar and information on indirectly identifiable data (personal data) for research purposes. Portal
provides technical and organizational CSB, while Cabinet shall determine the official statistics portal technical, as
well as the publication of official statistics and maintenance requirements. By 2016, the Cabinet order of 13
October No. 596 "On the information society development guidelines for the implementation of public
administration information systems (mērķarhitektūras
3.0.versija) "project" official statistics portal "included ICT mērķarhitektūras 3.0. version and instructed the Central
Finance and Contracting Agency invited only to submit the project application to the EU Structural Funds and the
Cohesion Fund for the period 2014 to 2020 operational program "Growth and Jobs" 2.2.1. specific support target
"To ensure the re-use of public data growth and the efficient public administration and private sector interaction"
2.2.1.1. measure "Centralized public administration ICT platform for the establishment of public administration
process optimization and development" program. CSP contract with the CFCA was signed on 3 August 2017, can
be considered as the project launch. Full implementation of the project will take place over a longer period than
Latvian Third National Open Government Action Plan.
Latvian At the same time there is insufficient understanding of the data, open data, their availability and usage
possibilities. State and local government bodies can make greater use of research by its orders, as well as other
Latvian or international studies conducted and data. Also, members of the public, for example, researchers can make
greater use of data, including open data and re-use of state and local government commissioned studies, increasing
their value.
LATVIAN OPEN MANAGEMENT THIRD NATIONAL ACTION PLAN 58
WHAT IS COMMITMENT?
To promote the use of research data and evidence-based decision-making and in the broader society:
• develop a Web site-database "Research and Publications database", including the promotion of national
and local government studies the transmission of PKC insertion into it and promoting its use in public
administration and society;
• raise awareness of evidence-based decision-making at national and local institutes of authority immediately
and in society and the appropriate data, information and research sources and their use;
• support educational seminars and training for state and municipal institutions and researchers to
raise awareness of the principles of open data, research and data open approach to efficiency
and use;
• Latvian University in collaboration with PKC evaluate the study data storage issues in the context of scientific
data repository creation;
• to establish official statistics portal, where an easily accessible form will be provided for decision-making
and the general public useful for official statistics.
HOW TO COMMITMENT will be introduced and the solution to these problems?
The commitment will be implemented with the introduction of development activities, information summaries,
educational activities and other initiatives that focus on data collection and research and the promotion of work of
public authorities and the general public. Commitment will help to promote evidence-based decision-making and
higher data literacy.
Research and Publications database as an open set of data could be transferred to the basic set of
metadata (study name, type, scope, authority, date of publication). In order to ensure open data sets
further use of the existing information system developed sets of data preparation and transfer functionality.
HOW TO MEET COMMITMENT OGP VALUES?
Commitment to comply with the OGP values - openness and use of ICT to achieve greater transparency. The
commitment will provide more information about the state and municipal institutions data and studies will contribute
to the understanding and ability to use research and data for better decision-making.
Commitment to comply with the OGP value - public participation - encouraging state institutions data and
research dissemination and exploitation of society.
LATVIAN OPEN MANAGEMENT THIRD NATIONAL ACTION PLAN 59
INTERMEDIATE OBJECTIVES
1. To promote the national and local government institutions, availability of studies "Research and Publications database", including
the transmission of PKC
01.01.2018. - 31.12.2018.
2. Create a new official statistics portal 74
03.08.2017. - 31.12.2019.
RESPONSIBLE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
Pārresoru Coordination Center, the Central Statistical Bureau
MEASURE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RELEVANT PARTNERS
Latvian University, Faculty of Social Sciences and Social and Political Research Institute
IRM Midterm Status Summary
12. Availability of public sector research and data
Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:
Editorial Note: The Latvian government did not submit an official English translation of its 2017−2019 to OGP. Therefore, the original Latvian version as it appears in the action plan can be viewed below. For the full text of this commitment, please see the Latvia 2017−2019 action plan here: https://www.mk.gov.lv/sites/default/files/editor/atvertas-parvaldibas-plans2017.pdf.
Veicināt datu un pētījumu izmantošanu pierādījumos balstītai lēmumu pieņemšanai un plašākā sabiedrībā:
- attīstīt tīmekļvietni–datubāzi “Pētījumu un publikāciju datubāze”, tajā skaitā veicinot valsts un pašvaldību institūciju pētījumu nosūtīšanu PKC ievietošanai tajā un popularizējot tās izmantošanu valsts pārvaldē un sabiedrībā;
- veicināt izpratni par pierādījumos balstītu lēmumu pieņemšanu valsts un pašvaldību institūcijās un sabiedrībā un tam lietderīgiem datu, informācijas un pētījumu avotiem un to izmantošanu;
atbalstīt izglītojošus seminārus un apmācības valsts un pašvaldību institūcijās un pētniekiem, lai vairotu izpratni par atvērto datu principiem, pētījumu un to datu atvērtas pieejas lietderīgumu un izmantošanas iespējas;
- Latvijas Universitātei sadarbībā ar PKC izvērtēt pētījumu datu uzglabāšanas jautājumu kontekstā ar zinātnes datu repozitorija izveidi;
- izveidot oficiālās statistikas portālu, kur viegli pieejamā veidā tiks nodrošināti lēmumu pieņemšanai un plašākai sabiedrībai noderīgi oficiālās statistikas dati.
Milestones
12.1. Veicināt valsts un pašvaldību institūciju pētījumu pieejamību “Pētījumu un publikāciju datubāzē”, tajā skaitā to nosūtīšanu PKC
12.2. Izveidot jaunu oficiālās statistikas portālu
Start Date: 1 Jul. 2017
End Date: 30 Jul. 2019
Context and Objectives
Evidence-based policy development has been a priority for civil society since Latvia joined OGP. Professional associations of IT companies have also argued for greater disclosure of data in order to promote economic growth and provide solutions for data use in policy research and analysis. [64]
Data from government-conducted research has been publicly available on the Cabinet of Ministers’ webpage since 2003. [65] This database includes ongoing and planned research by government institutions and allows users to search by title, year, the institution which procured the research, and by sector. However, not all government institutions and local governments publish their research to the database, despite being required to do so. Additionally, there is no requirement to publish the raw data gathered by research institutions in open data format, which would enable reuse by other researchers. Thus, CSOs have argued to improve the database and its content.
Another important resource for developing evidence-driven policy is official government statistics. The government of Latvia decided to standardize data from the Central Statistics Office with a new statistics portal. [66] The Central Statistics Office is a pioneer in publishing open data in Latvia and informing the open data community on newly available datasets. [67] It also contacts open data enthusiasts and researchers about their data needs. At the same time, the community of people with data skills is growing, and there are informal networks of enthusiasts gathering around this field.
This commitment aims to improve the availability of data for policy development and enhance the data skills of government institutions, journalists, and public policy organizations. In particular, the action plan highlights two milestones–to improve the availability of research on the Cabinet of Ministers’ database and to develop the new portal of the Central Statistical Office. The commitment is relevant to the OGP value of access to information since it will make more data and research available for the policy community and the public. Both milestones also entail developing new IT solutions, thus making the commitment relevant to technology and innovation.
Milestone 12.1 calls for increasing accessibility of government-procured research and envisages cooperation between the University of Latvia and the Cross-Sectoral Coordination Centre in defining best practices for storing data and developing a science data depositary. The commitment states that the research database will be restructured in a way that some data will be made available in open data format and the functionality for that shall be developed. However, it does not give insight into how much new research will be made available and if any new functions will be introduced (the description is about policy, it does not reflect if and when investments for the change of portal are planned). Milestone 12.2 calls for developing a new portal for official statistics. However, the description of this portal is vague and does not detail which new features it will contain compared to the existing webpage. It also does not say what (if any) results will be achieved within the period of current action plan. The description does not provide for information what data will be offered in open data format. Given the vagueness of the activities, the potential for this commitment to open government is low.
While the commitment mentions education on the use of research and data, it does not describe what kinds of events will occur, nor their targeted audiences.
Next steps
Due to the low specificity of this commitment, the IRM researcher does not recommend carrying it forward to the next action plan.
[62] Transparency International, et al., “Open Ownership” (accessed 29 Nov. 2018), https://openownership.org/.
[63] The IRM received this information from the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia during the pre-publication period for this report.
[64] Edmunds Beļskis, Datos balstīta sabiedrība (15 Feb. 2017), https://www.mk.gov.lv/sites/default/files/editor/ddn_prezentacija_150217.pdf.
[65] Cabinet of Ministers, “Database of Research and Publications” (4 Jul. 2019), http://petijumi.mk.gov.lv/.
[66] Laws of Latvia, “On the Implementation of Information Society Development Guidelines in Public Administration Information Systems (Target Architecture Version 3.0)” no. 2016/201.5 (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 13 Oct. 2016), https://likumi.lv/ta/id/285407-par-informacijas-sabiedribas-attistibas-pamatnostadnu-ieviesanu-publiskas-parvaldes-informacijas-sistemu-joma-merkarhitekturas.
[67] Observations by the IRM researcher in meetings with CSOs during previous action plans and at the multistakeholder meeting for development of current action plan.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
12. Availability of public sector research and data
Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:
Editorial Note: The Latvian government did not submit an official English translation of its 2017−2019 to OGP. Therefore, the original Latvian version as it appears in the action plan can be viewed below. For the full text of this commitment, please see the Latvia 2017−2019 action plan here: https://www.mk.gov.lv/sites/default/files/editor/atvertas-parvaldibas-plans2017.pdf.
Veicināt datu un pētījumu izmantošanu pierādījumos balstītai lēmumu pieņemšanai un plašākā sabiedrībā:
- attīstīt tīmekļvietni–datubāzi “Pētījumu un publikāciju datubāze”, tajā skaitā veicinot valsts un pašvaldību institūciju pētījumu nosūtīšanu PKC ievietošanai tajā un popularizējot tās izmantošanu valsts pārvaldē un sabiedrībā;
- veicināt izpratni par pierādījumos balstītu lēmumu pieņemšanu valsts un pašvaldību institūcijās un sabiedrībā un tam lietderīgiem datu, informācijas un pētījumu avotiem un to izmantošanu;
atbalstīt izglītojošus seminārus un apmācības valsts un pašvaldību institūcijās un pētniekiem, lai vairotu izpratni par atvērto datu principiem, pētījumu un to datu atvērtas pieejas lietderīgumu un izmantošanas iespējas; - Latvijas Universitātei sadarbībā ar PKC izvērtēt pētījumu datu uzglabāšanas jautājumu kontekstā ar zinātnes datu repozitorija izveidi;
- izveidot oficiālās statistikas portālu, kur viegli pieejamā veidā tiks nodrošināti lēmumu pieņemšanai un plašākai sabiedrībai noderīgi oficiālās statistikas dati.
Milestones
12.1. Veicināt valsts un pašvaldību institūciju pētījumu pieejamību “Pētījumu un publikāciju datubāzē”, tajā skaitā to nosūtīšanu PKC
12.2. Izveidot jaunu oficiālās statistikas portālu
Start Date: 1 July 2017
End Date: 30 July 2019
This commitment aimed to improve the availability of the Cabinet of Ministers’ database and to develop a new portal for the Central Statistical Office (CSP).
Overall, this commitment is substantially complete. Although the government facilitated publication of government research, many reports from 2018 remain unpublished. [71] The government conducted several technical improvements to the current database, which now allows users to find information about planned research; previously, the database only provided information on already-conducted research. The database now provides separate links to each study and indicates policy documents which benefited from the research. However, the database still does not include raw data from the research, nor are there links to other raw data depositaries where they exist in open data format.
The government developed a new government statistics portal. The new portal is user-friendly and allows users to search information by different categories. [72] The Central Statistics Office (CSO) also developed a data visualization tool which offers a user-friendly interface to search data on exports and imports by country and by product category. [73] The CSO portal includes a calendar for users to see what information will be published in the future.
Overall, this commitment marginally improved access to government research and statistics, namely through the government’s new statistics portal. Data from government research has been publicly available on the Cabinet of Ministers’ database since 2003, but not all government institutions and local governments published their research to the database, despite a requirement to do so. While the searchability of this research has improved, there remains no qualitative change in accessing public sector research. Additionally, there is no requirement to publish the raw research data in open data format, which would enable reuse by other researchers.
[71] Interdepartmental Coordination Center, “Pētījumu un publikāciju datu bāze” [Research and publication database] (6 Aug. 2020), http://petijumi.mk.gov.lv/.
[72] Central Statistics Bureau, “Izvēlēties tabulu” [Choose a table] (accessed Jun. 2020), http://data1.csb.gov.lv/pxweb/lv/ekfin/ekfin__ikp__IKP__ikgad/?tablelist=true.
[73] Central Statistics Bureau, “Latvijas ārējā tirdzniecība” [Latvia's foreign trade] (accessed Jun. 2020), https://eksports.csb.gov.lv/en/landing.