Open Government Data (OGD)
Open government is used as a collective term for different concepts and visions, which deal with certain facets of an opening of state and administration. Open government data (OGD) are databases that contain non-personal and non-infrastructure-critical data that are freely accessible for public use without any restriction for free use, distribution and re-use.
Open Government Data has the potential to sustainably promote social, cultural, scientific and economic progress in many sectors. The utilisation of non-personal information in the public sector promotes the development of new products and services and supports economic growth in Austria. Moreover, Open Government Data is seen as an adequate tool to increase the transparency of administrative processes, to facilitate better cooperation between politics, administration, business, research, citizens and to strengthen democracy.
The principles of Open Government Data
1. Completeness: Data records published by the administration are as complete as possible on a particular topic. Meta data that describe and explain the raw data are also supplied along with formula and explanations to calculate the data. Personal data are fundamentally excluded from publication.
2. Primary source: Data records are collected by the administration at their origin and published. This is done with the highest possible degree of granularity, not in aggregated or otherwise modified form.
3. Prompt provision: Data records are published as soon as they have been collected and compiled. Data that are available in real time can be retrieved directly via a programming interface (API).
4. Easy access: Data records published by the administration are as accessible as possible.
5. Machine-readable: Data are stored in established file formats, that are easily machine-readable for an automated, structured processing. Files should be accompanied by a documentation about the format and how it's use affects the data.
6. Free from discrimination: People can access the data at any time without having to identify themselves or submit a justification for their actions.
7. Use of open standards: The formats in which the administration publishes data are open standards according to e.g. the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
8. Licensing: The administration publishes open government data under the Creative Commons Naming 3.0 Austria (CC BY 3.0 AT) licence. For this purpose, the administration unit must clarify issues of copyright, patent and trademark law beforehand.
9. Documentation (durability): Information published by the administration is documented comprehensively with meta-data and can be accessed over a lengthy period of time. Any changes are to be announced via the communication channels of the administration and documented in the meta-data.
10. Usage costs: Through the determination of the usage of the Creative Commons Naming 3.0 Austria (CC BY 3.0) licence, a charge for usage is currently not envisaged.
data.gv.at
With data.gv.at a central catalogue for open government data in Austria was launched. The aim of the catalogue is to enable users to quickly and simply find the required data via a single electronic point of contact.
The participating organisations can enter metadata themselves and also save administration data on the platform. The platform is the central point of reference for the European Data Portal, that regularly retrieves all data and automatically translates them into some languages.
The Open Data Portal Austria is the equivalent to data.gv.at for the "open" non-government data of Austria. It offers the chance for business, science, culture, NGOs and civilian society to provide all users with non-personal data.
Additional Information