Re-Use of Public Administration Documents and Open Data (SE0014)

Commitment 2. Re-use of public administration documents and open data; Lead ministry/agency: Ministry of Finance; Other actors involved: Government agencies: National Archives, Vinnova and the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority.; CSO, private sector: Individuals, businesses and companies.; Status quo or problem/issue to be addressed: Essentially, government agencies and municipalities need to take measures regarding the re-use of public administration documents. The National Archives will support government agencies in their work.; Main objectives: It should be easy to access and re-use public information. Open data in particular can contribute to solutions to tomorrow’s social challenges. Ultimately, this can lead to entrepreneurs and businesses finding innovative solutions that create new jobs. Increased re-use of government data means greater openness and transparency. It also enhances conditions for developing better or new services for the benefit of individuals, businesses and government itself. This can also lead to new industries and businesses, resulting in increased employment.; Main activities: - Continue to facilitate actions to promote agencies’ re-use of public administration documents at different levels - Improve comprehensive follow-up and monitoring, including continuing to systematically require agencies to report on their efforts in relation to the re-use of public documents and data.; OGP challenge addressed by the commitment: - More effectively managing public resources. - Increasing corporate accountability. Is it relevant to the advancement of: Transparency: Easy access is key to increased transparency.; Accountability: Accessibility contributes to increased monitoring, which in turn helps enhance accountability.; Public participation: Public participation depends on civil society’s ability to access and reuse public information.

2. Increasing the supply of public administration documents

Commitment Text:

Public information should be easy to access and re-use. Open data in particular can contribute to solutions to tomorrow’s social challenges. Ultimately this can lead to entrepreneurs and businesses finding innovative solutions that create new jobs. Increased re-use of Government data means greater openness and transparency. It also enhances conditions for developing better or new services for the benefit of individuals, businesses and Government itself. This can also lead to new industries and businesses, resulting in increased employment. A uniform way of working may also mean future cost savings for authorities and for the state as a whole. The goal is to increase the supply of public information. Current initiatives are described above. In summary, Sweden has taken a further step to promote open data.

Main activities:

Continue to facilitate actions to promote agencies’ re-use of public administration documents at different levels.

Support initiatives related to projects with the European Commission.

Improve comprehensive follow-up and monitoring, including continuing to systematically require agencies to report on their efforts in relation to the re-use of public administration documents.

Facilitate and coordinate agency information in a common portal and according to national guidelines.

Responsible institution: Ministry of Finance

Supporting institutions: National Archives, the Agency for Public Administration, the Swedish Competition Authority, the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority and Vinnova.

Start date: 2015 End date: 2019

Context and Objectives

Relative to its peers, Sweden has fallen behind on opening up data and on the re-use of public sector information (PSI). Sweden’s ranking on several international open data indices has dropped. The Open Data Barometer (2016) places Sweden as number 14 of 114 countries (down from 3^rd place in 2013) ^{[Note111: 'OpenData Barometer,' (World Wide Web Foundation, 2016), http://opendatabarometer.org/?_year=2016&indicator=ODB.]} and the Global Open Data Index (2016) ranks Sweden as low as number 21 (down from 13 in 2014). The latter shows that Sweden has only 33% data openness overall, ^{[Note112: 33% of datasets are fully open, as defined by the Open Definition by the Open Knowledge Foundation.]} and is not open in 6 of 15 policy areas, including important areas such as procurement and government spending. ^{[Note113: 'Global Open Data Index – Place overview' (Open Knowledge Network, 2016/2017), https://index.okfn.org/place/?filter-table=swed.]} In a recent opinion piece, representatives of both government authorities and companies jointly demanded that the government starts investing heavily in open data. ^{[Note114: Ingrid Nordmark et al., 'We demand the government to focus on open data' (Computer Sweden, 6 Sept. 2016), https://computersweden.idg.se/2.2683/1.664888/regeringen-oppna-data.]} Swedish authorities generally possess high quality data and the potential of its re-use is therefore strong. However, the majority of public organisations in Sweden do not even have a webpage with the essential PSI. ^{[Note115: 381 of 616 public organisations (~ 62%) are categorised as 'none;' 220 as 'only PSI page;' 12 as 'DCAT-AP & PSI page;' and 3 as 'DCAT-AP.' The status report is available on opendata.se portal, accessed 3 Aug 2017, https://sandbox.oppnadata.se/#view=visualization (registration required).]} An expert interviewed by the IRM researcher emphasises that the Swedish authorities have not released enough open data, particularly high-quality data. In the absence of a critical mass of data, it is challenging to develop quality services and applications, which in turn limits the number of developers interested in re-using PSI. ^{[Note116: Björn Hagström (Hagström Consulting AB), interview with the IRM researcher, 23 Aug. 2017.]}

The overall goal of this commitment is to address the above challenges by increasing the supply of public information. According to the action plan, this can lead to greater openness and transparency, better public services, and the creation of new jobs. The four commitment milestones target the facilitation and follow-up of the re-use of PSI, as well as alignment with the European Union’s standards for publishing data. All of the milestones were present in Sweden’s previous action plan. ^{[Note117: For more information, please see the 2014–2015 midterm IRM report, Milestone 2.2 'Systematic reports of agencies’ work on re-using public information,' Milestone 2.3 'Participation in the European Commission’s work on DCAT-AP,' Milestone 2.4 'Continued actions to facilitate agencies’ work on re-using public administration documents,' and Milestone 2.5 'An evaluation of the reuse of public administration documents by the Swedish Agency for Public Management.' (Washington DC: OGP, 2015), https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Sweden_Eng_14-15_0.pdf.]} Currently, the milestones have a minor impact although they lay important groundwork for better access to information in the coming years.

The overall commitment is relevant to OGP values of access to information and technology and innovation for transparency and accountability. Three of the four milestones (2.2, 2.3, and 2.4) should improve opportunities for relevant stakeholders to get information and to work toward increased use of PSI, while one of them (2.2) also uses technological innovation in conjunction with access to more standardised information to advance transparency. ^{[Note118: Please note that Milestone 1.3 is not related to any OGP Value.]} The specificity of commitment activities varies significantly, which contributed to an overall coding of medium specificity (e.g. Milestone 2.3 that focuses on an evaluation of the reuse of data and public documents by the Agency for Public Management is very specific, while Milestone 2.1 could not be measured, see details below).

Milestone 2.1 'Systematic reports of agencies work on publishing data and public documents' is unclear in terms of its aims and potential impact. Its objectives remain unclear despite interviews with government officials. ^{[Note119: Magnus Enzell (Ministry of Finance), interview with IRM researcher, 3 Aug. 2017. Also see interview references in the 2014–2015 midterm IRM report.]} Milestone 2.2 focuses on the introduction of the DCAT Application profile for data portals, which is a specification based on the Data Catalogue vocabulary (DCAT) for describing public sector data sets in Europe. ^{[Note120: 'DCAT Application Profile for Data Portals in Europe – Final,' (European Commission, 2014), https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/asset/dcat_application_profile/asset_release/dcat-application-profile-data-portals-europe-final.]} DCAT-AP gives information about data sources (i.e. metadata), which describes the format of the data source, who is responsible for publishing it and under what conditions data may be used. It enables portal searches for datasets and makes public sector data more searchable across borders and sectors. This new service should play an important role toward realising the objectives of the pan-European Data Portal. ^{[Note121: For more information, please see the 2014–2015 midterm IRM report.]}

Milestone 2.3. 'Evaluation of the re-use of data and public documents by the Agency for Public Management' assesses the implementation of the government mandate on making data available for re-use by national and local authorities. ^{[Note122: 'Request to carry out a joint follow-up of government and municipal authorities' efforts to make documents available for re-use' Diary Number: S2014 / 3536 / (Government Offices, 2 Apr. 2015), http://www.regeringen.se/regeringsuppdrag/2014/04/s20143536sfo/.]} Milestone 2.4. focuses on the work of the National Archives to support agencies involved in publishing data and public documents. In June 2016, the government assigned the National Archives to be the expert agency for open data. The Archives will be in charge of providing support to state authorities in their efforts to open up public sector information (PSI). In particular, the National Archives is mandated to: ^{[Note123: The government assignment started on 16 June 2016. 'Assignment to the National Archives to promote government agencies' efforts to make data available for reuse' (Government Offices, 1 Jul. 2016), http://www.regeringen.se/regeringsuppdrag/2016/07/uppdrag-till-riksarkivet-att-framja-statliga-myndigheters-arbete-med-att-tillgangliggora-data-for-vidareutnyttjande/.]}

•collect and publish lists about available PSI from government authorities; ^{[Note124: This must be done in accordance with the Law (2010:566) on the re-use of public administration documents. Link to the law in Swedish: 'Lag om vidareutnyttjande av handlingar från den offentliga förvaltningen Svensk författningssamling' (2010:566): https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/lag-2010566-om-vidareutnyttjande-av-handlingar_sfs-2010-566.]}

•encourage state authorities to publish open data according to common guidelines;

•manage and develop the national open data portal, oppnadata.se;

•develop the web tutorial, vidareutnyttjande.se; and

•give support to individuals that want to find public data, including providing them with contacts to relevant authorities.

This government assignment has to be completed by 31 December 2018. A final report is due 31 January 2019 and an interim report was expected to be submitted to the Government by 1 September 2017. ^{[Note125: 'Assignment to the National Archives,' 1 Jul. 2016.]}

Completion

The commitment is on schedule according to the start and end dates indicated in the Swedish action plan. ^{[Note126: Please note that the IRM researcher could not assert whether Milestone 2.1 is on schedule since it was vaguely}

formulated. However, its end date is not until 2019, as indicated in the action plan.] The most important of the milestones regards the government assignment to the National Archives to facilitate agencies’ publication of PSI (Milestone 2.4). The assignment is expected to be completed 31 December 2018. ^{[Note127: A final report is due on 31 January 2019 and an interim report shall be submitted to the government by 1 September 2017. 'Assignment to the National Archives,' 1 Jul. 2016.]} The National Archives has started its government assignment by studying the situation and by consulting both government and external stakeholders about how to best facilitate the re-use of PSI (Milestone 2.4). The National Archives has held many discussions, both face-to-face and online, organised forums for public agencies, and presented best practices. Progress on the assignment has been somewhat slow but justified given the need to find common ground and a consensus among government agencies about the right way forward. ^{[Note128: Angela Yong, interview with the IRM researcher, 30 Aug. 2017.]}

In particular, the National Archives held an opening seminar on 3 May 2017, where they presented their objectives and ongoing work. The seminar was an open discussion with stakeholders. About 80 representatives of public authorities and companies participated. ^{[Note129: In addition to information from the National Archives, presentations were made by the Ministry of Finance, the European Data Portal/Capgemini, and from Vinnova. 'The national data portal for open data and PSI' (National Archives, 11 May 2017), http://www.vidareutnyttjande.se/.]} In June 2017, the National Archives also published a feasibility study on the collection and publication of PSI lists. ^{[Note130: 'The national data portal for open data and PSI' (National Archives, Jun. 2017), http://www.vidareutnyttjande.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Riksarkivets_forstudie_om_PSI.pdf.]} The study describes what type of PSI initiatives are implemented at national and European levels and provides suggestions on how the National Archives could collect and publish PSI lists. Based on the findings of the study, the National Archives is now preparing guidance on how to create and publish PSI lists according to the metadata format DCAT-AP, with the aim to support coordinated development and publishing of lists in Sweden. During the guidance preparation, the National Archives has also been consulting different types of stakeholders through surveys between March–June 2017 and online consultations in June–August 2017. ^{[Note131: 'The national data portal for open data and PSI' (National Archives, 2016), http://www.vidareutnyttjande.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Anv%C3%A4ndarbehov_rapport.pdf.]} The user-surveys collected opinions on the re-use of PSI from public authorities, ^{[Note132: The survey targeted public authorities that aim to list and publish data as open data, and display the data on the open data portal. It was sent to over 225 public authorities; 107 replied.]} and from users interested in using the datasets to create innovative services or applications. ^{[Note133: The second survey was distributed to the general public on the website vidareutnyttjande.se, social media, and different networks; 51 individuals replied.]} The consultations during the summer of 2017 gathered comments from the general public, ^{[Note134: The deadline for the consultation was set as 17 Jul. 2017.]} who could provide feedback directly on the PSI re-use blog (vidareutnyttjande.se) or by email. ^{[Note135: 'The national data portal for open data and PSI' (National Archives, 28 Jun. 2017), http://www.vidareutnyttjande.se/.]}

In order to increase the availability of open source data and, in particular to promote the use of DCAT-AP (Milestone 2.2), Sweden’s innovation agency, Vinnova, held a call for open data sources in 2015, where organisations could also apply for grants to implement projects on DCAT-AP. ^{[Note136: The end date of projects on DCAT-AP was set as 31 August 2016.]} The budget for this call was SEK 4 million and Vinnova funded 45 projects with grants ranging between SEK 13,470–1,450,000 (around USD 1,700–180,000). One of the biggest budgetary projects was the 'DCAT-AP Toolkit' (SEK 600,000/USD 74,000), carried out between December 2015–August 2016 by the company MetaSolutions. The project aimed at making organisations’ development efforts more efficient and allowing them to quickly start publishing metadata according to the DCAT-AP on the Swedish open data portal (oppnadata.se). ^{[Note137: The Metasolutions project was implemented between 2015–2016. 'Open data sources' (Vinnova, accessed _______), http://www2.vinnova.se/sv/misc/Utlysningar/Effekta/Oppna-datakallor/ (site discontinued).]} MetaSolutions also developed an 'Open Data Sandbox' with DCAT-AP validation, testing, and an online check, which provides a valuable tool for monitoring the fulfilment of the EU’s PSI Directive ^{[Note138: The goal of the PSI Directive is to make as much information available for reuse as possible.]} in Sweden. ^{[Note139: 'Vinnova -- Sweden's innovation agency' (Vinnova, accessed 23 Jul. 2018), https://entryscape.com/project/vinnova/.]}

The evaluation of the re-use of data and public documents by the Agency for Public Management (Milestone 2.3) is still ongoing. The first report was published on 3 October 2015, ^{[Note140: The 2015 report described the reuse of PSI at the time of writing, and how authorities perceive and work on this issue. The report, based on a survey of 310 state and municipal authorities, showed that about half of them believe that they have information that may be of interest for reuse. At the same time, the survey revealed that the authorities have not come very far in making this information available. Only a few authorities had concrete plans to facilitate the reuse of information, and about 20% were not aware of the actual significance of the current law on the reuse of PSI. The report concludes that many public authorities were not making enough progress to reach the ultimate goal of the PSI Directive, which is to make as much information available for reuse as possible. The final report is due on 19 January 2018. 'Authorities work with the reuse of information. The current picture,' (Agency for Public Management, Sept. 2015), For more information, please see the IRM end of term report (2016).]} while the final report is due on 19 January 2018. Meanwhile, in May 2017, the Ministry of Finance also commissioned the Agency for Public Management to carry out an evaluation of the barriers to the use of open data by government agencies. The evaluation, expected in March 2018, will focus on published open data, and analyse the practical obstacles to its re-use in terms of availability, quality, usability, or interoperability. ^{[Note141: 'Evaluation of the barriers to the use of open data from government agencies' (Agency for Public Management, 2017), http://www.statskontoret.se/var-verksamhet/utredningar-utvarderingar-och-uppfoljningar/utvardering-av-hinder-for-anvandande-av-oppna-data-fran-statliga-myndigheter/.]}

Early Results

Part of the assignment of the National Archives (Milestone 2.4) is to manage and develop the national open data portal (oppnadata.se). ^{[Note142: The portal serves as a directory, i.e. it provides links to data sources, it is not a data depot.]} The goal is that the portal should be simple to use, have clear licenses and conditions, support data’s re-usability, and allow sharing of resources and solutions. The portal has increased the number of datasets and the variety of formats since its launch: from 100 datasets in October 2013 to 494 in July 2017. ^{[Note143: These figures were collected on 17 July 2017 on the oppnadata.se portal. The IRM researcher verified the number of available data sets during the data collection for the first and second IRM reports. The second IRM report states that there were 280 data sets available in different formats (e.g. XLS, HTML, Shape) at the time of writing.]} However, only 19 public and private organisations or communities have posted dataset links on the portal. These public and private groups include the City of Gothenburg, the event Hack4Heritage, several municipalities, and the Trafiklab community. ^{[Note144: Trafiklab has been developed in cooperation between Samtrafiken (a service development company in the public transport industry owned by 37 different carriers), Stockholm Transport, and Victoria ICT (a research initiative by the local industry in West Sweden).]} The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has posted the most dataset links (256 datasets); the Swedish Tax Agency follows with 33 datasets. However, many groups have posted only a handful of links. ^{[Note145: 'The national data portal for open data and PSI' (National Archives, accessed 23 Jul. 2018), https://oppnadata.se/.]} The portal has 330 unique visitors per month. ^{[Note146: 'Sweden – Overview' (European Data Portal 13 Sept. 2016), https://www.europeandataportal.eu/sites/default/files/country-factsheet_sweden.pdf.]} This is low compared to other European data portals, which have more than a hundred times the visitors each month. ^{[Note147: Id.]}

Vinnova is actively promoting the DCAT-AP specification by funding projects, and holding forum sessions and workshops on this topic (Milestone 2.2). ^{[Note148: 'Forum open data # 10' was scheduled for 23 September 2016. (Vinnova, accessed 23 Jul. 2018), https://www.vinnova.se/kalenderhandelser/2016/09/forum-oppna-data-10/.]} However, to date, the use of this specification in Sweden is limited: only about 2% of public organisations in Sweden have a DCAT-AP webpage. ^{[Note149: Twelve are categorised as 'DCAT-AP & PSI page' and 3 as 'DCAT-AP.' In total, 15 of 616 public organisations (~ 2%) have DCAT-AP pages. Status reports are available on opendata.se portal. (National Archives, accessed 3 Aug. 2017), https://sandbox.oppnadata.se/#view=visualization.]} The barrier to using the DCAT-AP is quite high for public authorities since they need to possess, or contract for, the technical skills necessary for converting data into a format that can be harvested according to DCAT-AP and added to the portal. ^{[Note150: Hagström, interview.]}

Next Steps

This is a wide-reaching commitment that should be pursued both in the framework of this action plan and in the next, given that many of the current measures will bear fruit only in the long term. Availability of open data is already on the political agenda but even more incentives are needed. ^{[Note151: Id.]} The IRM researcher concurs with the interviewed open data experts, who recommend the government:

•Release more data: Given that a critical mass of data is a prerequisite for the use of data, the government should release more open data related to important aspects of government, ^{[Note152: Id.]} including:

o the national and local budgets, ^{[Note153: Yong, interview; Hagström, interview; Serdar Temiz (Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)), interview with the IRM researcher, 25 Aug. 2017.]}

o information from government offices and ministries. ^{[Note154: Yong, interview; Hagström, interview.]} These government bodies have been heavily criticised in the past, both by the Committee on the Constitution ^{[Note155: Swedish: 'Konstitutionsutskottet, KU.']} in the Swedish Parliament and by journalists, for offering limited access to information, ^{[Note156: 'A sloping plan for Swedish transparency' (Dagens Nyheter, 26 Nov. 2012); http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/ett-sluttande-plan-for-svensk-oppenhet; 'KU: UD violates the law' (Svenska Dagbladet, 2013), https://www.svd.se/ku-ud-bryter-mot-lagen; 'Sauditystnad och sekretesskrigande' (Sveriges Radio, 29 Oct. 2016), http://sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/812734?programid=2795; Karin Östman and Leo Lagercrantz, 'The KU has strong criticism of the UD and Carl Bildt' (Aftonbladet, 30 Jan. 2013), http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article16154316.ab.]}

o accounts payable (in Swedish: 'leverantörsreskontra'). One of the interviewed experts recommends a standardised way of publishing information about accounts payable as open data (see footnote) to facilitate comparison of public sector purchasing patterns and trends. ^{[Note157: The specifications for ‘accounts payable’ and the data published using it are open and free to use, aimed primarily at the public sector. They are available at: https://sambruk.github.io/Open-Accounts-Payable/. Hagström, interview.]}

•Develop a digital platform for societal challenges: ^{[Note158: This platform could also be part of the existing portal oppnadata.se.]} Public actors, including governmental agencies, could post concrete challenges and problems, which can be solved by using open data. This platform should enable external stakeholders (companies, organisations, and individuals) to suggest solutions and experiment with the data. ^{[Note159: 'Hack for Sweden. Mid-term report to the Ministry of Finance. Version 2.0. An ecosystem for data driven innovation.' (SMHI, 2017).]}

•Give clear, open data mandates to public agencies: Assign additional agencies more tasks to directly create open data, ^{[Note160: Björn Hagström, interview.]} provide them with an independent development budget and an organisational structure for open data, as well as the motivation and skills for promoting open data within the organisation. ^{[Note161: 'Hack for Sweden,' SMHI.]}

•Set goals and monitor the use of open data:

o set the objective to become one of the top five countries in the Global Open Data Index (Sweden is presently ranked as 21^st), ^{[Note162: 'Global Open Data Index – Sweden' (Open Knowledge Network, 2016/2017), https://index.okfn.org/place/se/; Temiz, interview.]}

o adopt the Open Data Charter ^{[Note163: The International Open Data Charter contains six principles: 1. Open by Default; 2. Timely and Comprehensive; 3. Accessible and Useable; 4. Comparable and Interoperable; 5. For Improved Governance and Citizen Engagement; and 6. For Inclusive Development and Innovation. 'Principles,' (Open Data Charter, accessed 27 Jul. 2018), https://opendatacharter.net/.]} and make sure that Swedish authorities implement its principles, ^{[Note164: Opinion of Kristofer Sjöholm (Sweco) in Anders Frick, 'Sweden Climbs the Global Open Data Index (The Internet Foundation, 15 Jun. 2017), https://www.iis.se/blogg/oppna-data/sverige-klattrar-i-global-open-data-index/.]}

o set specific goals regarding the use of open data, ^{[Note165: Hagström, interview.]} and

o monitor the use of open data and the effects of such use, with an emphasis on qualitative rather than quantitative performance indicators. ^{[Note166: Hagström, interview.]}

Monitoring the use and effects of open data is particularly important, considering that this type of assessment is lacking across Europe, ^{[Note167: Temiz, interview.]} and is a field where Sweden could lead the way. ^{[Note168: Hagström, interview.]} In terms of relevant indicators, one of the interviewed experts emphasises that authorities should improve descriptions of data. ^{[Note169: Hagström, interview.]}

The IRM researcher also concurs with the below recommendations to the government of Sweden derived from a recent report by Capgemini Consulting ^{[Note170: Wendy Carrara, Margriet Nieuwenhuis and Heleen Vollers, 'Open Data Maturity in Europe 2016' (European Commission – European Data Portal, 2016), https://www.europeandataportal.eu/sites/default/files/edp_landscaping_insight_report_n2_2016.pdf; Sweden among the worst in Europe to make available open data' (Mynewsdesk, 30 Nov. 2016), http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/Capgemini/pressreleases/sverige-bland-de-saemsta-i-europa-paa-att-tillgaengliggoera-oeppna-data-1673773.]} and from the European Data Portal: ^{[Note171: 'Sweden – Overview,' European Data Portal.]}

•Develop an action plan for opening up data,

•Enhance the regulatory framework in order to allow data sharing without compromising individuals' integrity,

•Allow users to provide feedback, such as commenting on datasets and providing information about what data they want to see on the oppnadata.se portal. ^{[Note172: The work on making oppnadata.se more interactive for users is already under consideration by the National Archives. 'Development plan of the sites that the National Archives administer and further develop within the framework of the Government assignment to promote the authorities' work on the re-use of PSI' (National Archives, 2016), http://www.vidareutnyttjande.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Utvecklingsplan-%C3%B6ver-webbplatserna.pdf.]}

2. Increasing the supply of public administration documents

Commitment Text:

Public information should be easy to access and re-use. Open data in particular can contribute to solutions to tomorrow’s social challenges. Ultimately this can lead to entrepreneurs and businesses finding innovative solutions that create new jobs. Increased re-use of Government data means greater openness and transparency. It also enhances conditions for developing better or new services for the benefit of individuals, businesses and Government itself. This can also lead to new industries and businesses, resulting in increased employment. A uniform way of working may also mean future cost savings for authorities and for the state as a whole. The goal is to increase the supply of public information. Current initiatives are described above. In summary, Sweden has taken a further step to promote open data.

Main activities:

·Continue to facilitate actions to promote agencies’ re-use of public administration documents at different levels.

·Support initiatives related to projects with the European Commission.

·Improve comprehensive follow-up and monitoring, including continuing to systematically require agencies to report on their efforts in relation to the re-use of public administration documents.

·Facilitate and coordinate agency information in a common portal and according to national guidelines.

Responsible institution: Ministry of Finance

Supporting institutions: National Archives, the Agency for Public Administration, the Swedish Competition Authority, the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority and Vinnova

Start date: 2015 End date: 2019

Commitment Aim

Sweden’s rank in several international open data indices has dropped in recent years, including in the Open Data Barometer [Note37: 'Open Data Barometer,' (World Wide Web Foundation, 2016), http://opendatabarometer.org/?_year=2016&indicator=ODB ]and the Global Open Data Index. [Note38: “Global Open Data Index – Place overview” (Open Knowledge Network, 2016/2017), https://index.okfn.org/place/?filter-table=swed ] This commitment aimed to improve the re-use of public sector information (PSI) by increasing the supply of information, in particular the four milestones targeted the facilitation and follow-up of the re-use of PSI, as well as alignment with the EU’s standards for publishing data.

Status

Midterm: Substantial [Note39: Please note that Milestone 2.1 “Systematic reports of agencies work on publishing data and public documents” was unclear in terms of its aims and potential impact, as written in the OGP action plan. Its objectives remain unclear despite interviews with government officials. Source: Magnus Enzell, Ministry of Finance, interview with IRM researcher, 3 August 2017. Also see interview references in the 2016–2018 midterm IRM report.]

In June 2016, the government assigned the National Archives to assist agencies in publishing PSI (Milestone 2.4). This involved providing government authorities with guidelines and tutorials on how to collect and publish PSI, and developing the national open data portal (oppnadata.se). [Note40: The government assignment started on 16 June 2016. “Assignment to the National Archives to promote government agencies' efforts to make data available for re-use” (Government Offices, 1 July 2016), http://www.regeringen.se/regeringsuppdrag/2016/07/uppdrag-till-riksarkiv... The National Archives was to complete these activities by 31 December 2018, with the final report due by 31 January 2019. [Note41: “Assignment to the National Archives,” 1 July 2016.] Moreover, an evaluation of the re-use of PSI by the Agency for Public Management (Milestone 2.3) that assesses the implementation of the overall government mandate in this area was due by 19 January 2018. [Note42: 'Request to carry out a joint follow-up of government and municipal authorities' efforts to make documents available for re-use' Diary Number: S2014 / 3536 / (Government Offices, 2 April. 2015), http://www.regeringen.se/regeringsuppdrag/2014/04/s20143536sfo/ ]

Sweden also aimed at ongoing participation in the European Commission’s work on DCAT-AP (Milestone 2.2). The DCAT Application profile for data portals is a specification for describing public sector datasets, [Note43: The Data Catalogue vocabulary (DCAT)-AP gives information about data sources (i.e. metadata), which describes the format of the data source, who is responsible for publishing it and under what conditions data may be used. It enables portal searches for datasets and makes public sector data more searchable across borders and sectors. “DCAT Application Profile for Data Portals in Europe – Final,” (European Commission, 2014), https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/asset/dcat_application_profile/asset_release... which could play an important role in realising the pan-European Data Portal. [Note44: For more information, please see the 2014–2015 midterm IRM report.] At the time of the IRM midterm report, the National Archives was preparing guidelines on how to create and publish PSI lists according to the DCAT-AP format, to support coordinated development and publishing of lists in Sweden. [Note45: “The national data portal for open data and PSI” (National Archives, 2016), http://www.vidareutnyttjande.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Anv%C3%A4ndar... Moreover, Sweden’s innovation agency (Vinnova) funded projects that enable organizations to quickly publish metadata according to the DCAT-AP on the oppnadata.se-portal [Note46: The Metasolutions project was implemented between 2015–2016. “Open data sources”, http://www2.vinnova.se/sv/misc/Utlysningar/Effekta/Oppna-datakallor/ (site discontinued). ] and an “Open Data Sandbox” facilitating DCAT-AP validation, testing, and online verification. [Note47: 'Vinnova -- Sweden's innovation agency', https://entryscape.com/project/vinnova/. ] For more information, see the 2016–2018 IRM midterm report. [Note48: OGP, Re-use of Public Administration Documents and Open Data, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/commitment/02-re-use-of-public-admini... ]

End of term: Complete

The National Archives completed this assignment ahead of time and the final report was submitted on 27 June 2018. [Note49: Final report on completion of assignment, https://oppnadata.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Slutrapport-regeringsupp... ] The new Agency for Digital Government (DIGG) took over work on open data on 1 September 2018. [Note50: Geoforum Sverige, https://geoforum.se/nyheter/266-oppna-data/3483-riksarkivet-lamnar-slutr... ] The evaluation of the re-use of public documents carried out by the Agency for Public Management (Milestone 2.3) was published 10 days ahead of the deadline, on 9 January 2018. [Note51: Evaluation of the re-use of public documents, Agency for Public Management, http://www.statskontoret.se/globalassets/publikationer/2018/201802.pdf ]

Milestone 2.2, focusing on ongoing participation in the European Commission’s work on DCAT-AP, is also complete. The National Archives developed a national adaptation of the DCAT-AP specification. Given that public authorities have stressed that it is cumbersome to describe open data according to the DCAT-AP specification before publishing (a pre-condition for their open data to be visible on the portal), the National Archives has also investigated the possibility of developing a tool that would help authorities with the description of data, by holding a hackathon and through further development of the existing source code. [Note52: A tool to help authorities with the description of data, https://oppnadata.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Slutrapport-regeringsupp... ] Moreover, Vinnova-funded projects aiming at facilitating the use of DCAT-AP, including the “Open Data Sandbox”, have been implemented. [Note53: 'Vinnova -- Sweden's innovation agency', https://entryscape.com/project/vinnova/. ]

Did It Open Government?

Access to Information: Major

The implementation of this commitment has facilitated the opening up and re-use of PSI and has led to a major change in government practice. Sweden has increased both the number of PSI datasets published and the number of visitors on the national open data portal. According to the European Commission, Sweden has reached ‘portal maturity’ and is now an open data ‘fast-tracker’. [Note54: European Data Portal, Open data maturity dashboard, 24 August 2018, https://www.europeandataportal.eu/en/dashboard#tab-detailed]

The National Archives has further developed the national open data portal, and has almost tripled the number of datasets since the last verification by the IRM researcher in July 2017 (from 494 [Note55: The IRM researcher verified the number of available datasets during the data collection for the second IRM mid-term reports on 17 July 2017, on the oppnadata.se portal.] to 1,432 in August 2018). [Note56: The IRM researcher verified the number of available datasets during the data collection for the second IRM end-of-term reports on 24 August 2017, https://registrera.oppnadata.se/status/overview ] The number of organizations posting dataset links on the portal also increased during the same period from 19 to 33. [Note57: The IRM researcher verified the number of available datasets during the data collection for the second IRM end-of-term reports on 24 August 2017, https://registrera.oppnadata.se/status/overview ] The top-four dataset posters have all posted more than 100 datasets, while at the last verification (in July 2017) only one organization had provided links to over 100 datasets. [Note58: On 17 July 2017, the top poster, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, had posted 256 datasets, while the second-best poster, the Swedish Tax Agency, only 33 datasets.] The number of unique visitors per month increased from 330 in 2016 [Note59: “Sweden – Overview”, European Data Portal, https://www.europeandataportal.eu/sites/default/files/country-factsheet_... to 2,000 in 2017, and it contains 90-99 percent of all openly licensed datasets. [Note60: “Sweden – Overview”, European Data Portal, https://www.europeandataportal.eu/sites/default/files/country-factsheet_... ]

The portal allows a search of datasets, and there is a possibility to provide feedback and to suggest datasets. [Note61: The portal allows a search of datasets, https://oppnadata.se ] According to the European Data Portal (maintained by the European Commission) that measures Open Data maturity of countries, Sweden advanced from being a ‘follower’ to a ‘fast-tracker’ between the 2016 and 2017 assessments. [Note62: The rank ladder of the European Data Portal has four categories: Beginners, Followers, Fast Trackers and Trend Setters, European Data Portal, Open data maturity dashboard, https://www.europeandataportal.eu/en/dashboard#tab-detailed] The country ranks slightly above the EU average on ‘portal maturity’, but below average on open data policy, use and impact. [Note63: European Data Portal, Open data maturity dashboard, https://www.europeandataportal.eu/en/dashboard#tab-detailed] This indicates that access to PSI has increased, although more needs to be done in order to increase the re-use of this information, including a strategy that outlines the long-term priorities and necessary measures in the field of open data.

The national evaluation of the re-use of PSI by the Agency for Public Management concluded that the possibilities for re-use of PSI have improved in recent years but that progress overall has been slow. More initiatives are needed to spur national and local authorities to progress in their work on more ambitious targets. Many authorities remain uncertain about how to facilitate opening data, and lack concrete incentives for driving the work forward. Progress has not been uniform across authorities [Note64: About 40 percent of the national authorities and 60 percent of municipalities and county councils have not implemented any specific measure at all to make available for re-use. Source: The evaluation of the re-use of data and public documents carried out by the Agency for Public Management (Milestone 2.3.) published on 9 January 2018, http://www.statskontoret.se/globalassets/publikationer/2018/201802.pdf ] and tends to concern only some spearheads in the public administration. [Note65: The evaluation of the re-use of data and public documents carried out by the Agency for Public Management (Milestone 2.3.) published on 9 January 2018, http://www.statskontoret.se/globalassets/publikationer/2018/201802.pdf] The responsibility to promote PSI and open data, as well as to assist public agencies in publishing such data will be taken over by the new Agency for Digital Government (DIGG). This means that one major actor, DIGG, will now handle the temporary assignments previously given to various agencies. [Note66: The website of DIGG with a description of the scope of the Agency: https://www.digg.se/utveckling--innovation/oppna-data-och-datadriven-inn...

Carried Forward?

At the time of writing this report (September 2018), Sweden had not finalized its fourth action plan. To move the commitment forward, the IRM researcher concurs with the recommendations of the Agency for Public Management, which asserts that the government could address resource shortages, improve operating systems that impede access to information, and resolve difficulties in identifying relevant information. In particular, smaller municipalities that have not begun work to make information available for re-use need support to enhance legal and technical skills that would help them get started. [Note67: http://www.statskontoret.se/globalassets/publikationer/2018/201802.pdf]