Open Data (LK0029)

Deliver cost effective and reliable government information services to citizens by improving GIC-1919, Government websites and Open Data digital platforms
1st March 2019 – 31st August 2021
Lead implementing agency/actor Ministry in charge of Information Technology & Digital Infrastructure
Commitment description
What is the public problem that the commitment will address? Citizens do not have prompt access to reliable information on citizen services provided by various government organizations. Obtaining accurate and relevant information on these services as well as other government information is often a difficult task for most citizens. This results in poor knowledge of citizens’ rights and lack of citizen engagement in the governance process.
What is the commitment? This commitment is about expanding and improving the Government Information Centre (GIC - 1919) knowledge platforms to address the information needs of citizens to obtain better service delivery and influence better government decision-making. Information will be provided on a wider range of government services in a more citizen friendly manner, including for differently-abled citizens to access information on government services.
How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem? The inclusion of an additional 80 government organizations to the Government Information Centre knowledge platforms with relevant content information will increase the efficiency of the citizen service and information delivery mechanism of the government. Concurrently, the effectiveness of all government websites and e-services will be rated periodically on their performance to rectify any qualitative and quantitative deficiencies. New features will be introduced to ensure that citizens with disabilities can readily access information. Citizens’ awareness on GIC services will be enhanced and their awareness will be assessed once every six months. Such reports will be made public. Government datasets will be increased from 300 to 2,000 and made available for citizen access. By increasing the open government datasets, citizens will be able to easily find, access and reuse public datasets and engage in government decision making. Access to open data will also promote technological innovation and economic growth by enabling citizens to develop new kinds of digital applications and services. The Effectiveness of government websites and e-services will be evaluated and bi-annual reports on government web presence will be prepared.
Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? This commitment enhances citizens’ access to cost-effective and reliable information and enables them to obtain services under the government’s right to Information law and thereby promotes transparency. It also promotes public participation as it provides opportunities for citizens to examine government data and engage in the decision making process. The commitment also promotes technology and innovation as it creates opportunities for information sharing and access using new technologies.
Additional information This commitment supports the Government’s Information & Communication Technology Agency’s programmes and policies to use ICT to improve the reach and responsiveness of public services; and the recommendations and commitments in the Draft Sustainable Sri Lanka: Vision & Strategic Path and the Vision 2025.
Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable Start Date: End Date:
1. Government Information Center knowledge platforms (GIC – 1919 trilingual Call Centre, GIC Website and Social Media sites) are operationalized with content support for information on government services of additional 80 government organizations. Ongoing September, 2020
2. New features are introduced for GIC-1919 platforms to support differently-abled citizens to access information on government services Ongoing March 2021
3. Multiple communication approaches are implemented to increase citizens’ awareness of government services provided via GIC-1919 platforms. Surveys will be conducted on citizens’ awareness on GIC-1919 services every 6 months with citizens’ participation. The Survey reports will be made publicly available at six month intervals. July 2019 March 2021
4. Number of open datasets hosted in http://www.data.gov.lkis increased from 300 to 2,000. Ongoing March 2021
5. The effectiveness of all government websites is rated based on their performance and an assessment report is produced bi-annually. July 2019 December, 2020

6. GIC-1919, Government Websites, and Open Data Platforms

Verifiable: Yes

Relevant to Open Government: Yes

Potential Impact: Minor

Completion: Not Started

This commitment intended to carry forward efforts from the previous action plan to improve Government Information Centre (GIC – 1919), an online platform which publicly lists information on government services. There is no evidence that it achieved progress on GIC – 1919 or on government websites and open datasets. As of November 2021, GIC covered 288 government, elected, and corporate organizations. [43] However, the platform already covered 291 organizations in 2013. [44] In terms of accessibility features, the GIC website allowed users to adjust text size and colors. However, the website still included moving features that could not be paused, and it did not have adjustable background colors. Survey reports on citizen awareness of GIC services were not published on the GIC website. [45] Regarding http://www.data.gov.lkis, the website hosted 136 open datasets as of November 2021, falling short of the baseline of 300 datasets and the target of 2,000 datasets. The portal’s last update was in February 2020, [46] indicating that the portal fell into disuse during the implementation period. Finally, there was no evidence that the planned assessment reports were published on the efficacy of government websites.