According
to the open data handbook, Open data is data anyone can access, use, or
share. It is the idea that some data should be freely available to everyone to
use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents,
or other mechanisms of control. Advocates of open data argue these
restrictions are against the common good and that these data should be made
available without restriction or fee. The goals of the open data movement are
like those of other "open" movements, such as open-source, open
hardware, open content, open government, and open access.
Open
Data plays a critical role in improving governance by exposing and preventing
mismanagement and corruption. It also helps ensure environmental sustainability
through transparent data that can help reduce pollution, conserve natural
resources, and build resilience to climate change.
Why
“Open”
Availability
and Access: the data must be available, and at only a reasonable
reproduction cost, preferably by downloading over the internet. The data must
also be available in a convenient and modifiable form.
Re-use
and Redistribution: the data must be provided under terms that permit re-use and
redistribution, including the intermixing with other datasets.
Universal
Participation: everyone must be able to use, re-use, and redistribute - there
should be no discrimination against fields of endeavor or against persons or
groups.
It
is so important to be clear about what open means — Interoperability. It
denotes the ability of diverse systems and organizations (different components)
to work together (inter-operate). Here, it is the ability to
inter-operate or intermix - different datasets. This interoperability is key
to realizing the main practical benefits of “openness”, the
dramatically enhanced ability to combine different datasets together and to develop more and better products and services.
However, when opening data, the focus is on non-personal data, data that does not contain information about specific individuals,
some kinds of government data, and national security data.
Open
data affects everybody. Through it, we can improve how we access healthcare
services, discover cures for diseases more efficiently, understand our
governments better, and of course, travel to places more easily. When big
companies or governments release non-personal data, it enables small
businesses, citizens, and medical researchers to develop resources that make
crucial improvements to their communities. Open data has the power to create
and transform a better future for everyone and supports sustainable
development. It is changing and shaping our world.
What
makes data open
As
mentioned earlier, open data is data anyone can access, use, and share.
Open data must have a license that says it is open data. Without a license, the
data cannot be reused. The license might also say:
· That people who use the data must credit whoever is publishing it
(attribution).
· That people who mix the data with other data must also release the
results as open data — share-alike. For example, the Ghana Education ministry
makes available open data about performing schools in Accra. The data
is available in Excel and is available under the Open Government License, which
only requires re-users to say that they got the data from the Ministry of
Education.
Good
open data can be linked so that it can be easily shared and talked about. It
is available in a standard, structured format so that it can be easily
processed. It also has guaranteed availability and consistency over time, so
that others can rely on it. Open data is traceable, through any processing,
right back to where it originates, so others can work out whether to trust it–integrity. Open data must be shareable, structured, reliable, and traceable.
With
data quality issues, as the world bank puts it, data origin or attribution can
be difficult to determine. Knowing where data originates and by what means it
has been disclosed is key to being able to trust data. If end users do not
trust data, they are unlikely to believe they can rely upon the information for
accountability. Similarly, if people think data could be tampered
with, they are unlikely to place trust in it; full comprehension of data relies
on the ability to trace its origins. Without knowledge of data attribution, it's difficult to interpret the meaning of terms, acronyms, and measures that
data creators may have taken for granted but are much more difficult to
decipher.
Poor
quality data, lack of information about data attribution, and data stewardship
issues present common barriers to implementing Open Data initiatives.
What
the futureholds for open data
The
growth of data is the next great thing. With data, we can respond to
problems around us, such as financial, transport, science and environment,
natural disasters, and climate change, and to which we can have
structured solutions.
It
helps us plan, account, and monitor our responses. With open data, open
systems, open communication, open government, open health, etc., responses
become more reliable and appropriate. This propels the engine of growth. For
instance, in health, open systems require setting up information management
systems to gather information (with all resources–both manually and
remote/mobile platforms) and making that accessible in the future.
This must not be personal/private data, but reusable data useful to the public
that can shape ideas and inform how issues/problems can be managed and
responded to. Examples of such data; budget, statistics, distribution of
resources, etc.
Open
data does not work in isolation. Goes hand in hand with the right bylaws or
bills, guiding what data can be made open. Notably, Ghana’s Right to
Information bill is a right of access to information or part of the information
in the custody of any public institution. In this regard, data protection plays
a vital role in the open data ecosystem. It deals with the compliance framework
(as a tool) and to what extent data can be made open.
The
right use of data collected transcends into good information. Information is
key. With open data, there is more open engagement. It is more about promoting
civic engagement (health, education, local government, business, etc.) and
decision-making. It increases citizens’ voice and accountability.
Open
data is a great resource that is yet untapped. Many individuals and
organizations collect a broad range of different data to perform their
tasks. Government is significant in this sense, both because of
the quantity and centrality of the data it collects, but also because most of
that government data is public data by law, and therefore could be made open
and made available for others to use.
This
is of much interest because there are many areas where open data is expected to
be of value, with existing examples of how it has been used. There are
also many groups of people and organizations that can benefit from the
availability of open data, including the government itself. It is impossible to predict precisely how and where the value will be created, as developments and the nature of innovation often come from
unlikely places.
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