NZ 4th for open data
The Open Data Institute has ranked NZ 4th best in the world for open data in its 2013 report. The top countries are:
- UK
- US
- Sweden
- NZ
- Denmark/Norway
NZ scored 82/100 for readiness, 65 for implementation and 90 for impact. The comments on NZ are:
The OGD initiative in New Zealand is part of a wider Open and Transparent Government Agenda, initially driven by the ‘Open Government Information and Data Re-use Working Group’ established in 2009, and later by the 2011 ‘Declaration on Open and Transparent Government’ approved by the Cabinet in August 2011. This declaration mandates public service departments, notably with the explicit inclusion of the New Zealand Intelligence Service, to “commit to releasing high value public data actively for re-use…in accordance with the NZGOAL Review and Release process”. NZGOAL is the New Zealand Government Open Access and Licensing Framework, based on the Creative Commons framework.
The New Zealand Government has put considerable effort into monitoring progress towards open government and open data, with Agencies asked to regularly report to Ministers on their progress, case studies collated on re-uses of open data, and an annual reporting process on adoption of the Declaration on Open and Transparent Government. New Zealand was one of the few countries in the Barometer where a significant emphasis on environmental impacts of open data could be observed, with a wide range of environmental datasets made available and seeing re-use, particularly in supporting coordination around extreme weather and geological events.
Bill English has commented:
“This is a real coup for New Zealand. The Barometer is the first survey of global trends which ranks 77 countries on how they release their public data and the benefits those initiatives have for citizens and the economy,” says Mr English.
“This is proof we are lifting the performance of the public sector through transparency and shared information. New Zealand was commended for its Declaration on Open and Transparent Government, its release of open data, in particular, maps, land ownership and census data and for regular reporting to Ministers.”
“The open government data work aligns with the Government’s better public service targets that New Zealand businesses have a one-stop online shop for all government support and can complete their transactions with the Government easily in a digital environment,” says Mr Tremain.
Bill deserves much credit for this. He has pushed open data from the very top, backed up with a lot of enthusiasm from many in the public service, and the wider community.