Open data

What is an open data?

Public administration bodies produce and collect a large amount of information that has significant potential. Open data is data available on the Internet, which can be reused for a purpose different from the one for which they were created. Data reuse includes the ability to download, distribute, customize, connect to other data, integration into business processes, products and services, etc. By publishing them in an open format, the data becomes available to a wider circle of users. Therefore, the publication of data in a format that allows re-use is extremely important for the transparency of public sector work. They are published in a machine-readable format that can be computer processed and analyzed.

What is an open format?

An open format is a document format that is independent of the used software platform and is available to public without the restrictions that would prevent the reuse of that data. A machine-readable format is a file format that is structured in a way that a software application can easily identify, recognize, retrieve, and reuse it for various purposes.

What is an Open Data Portal?

By adoption of the legal regulative, the conditions for the establishment of a national portal of open data www.data.gov.me have been created. The portal is a place where public administration bodies have the opportunity to publish data in an open format, within their competence, respecting the basic principles of publishing data for a reuse. This portal is a central point for access to public sector data, as well as a place of interaction with data users, business sector, IT and academic community, citizens and other interested parties.

Currently, 138 data sets by 20 institutions are published on this portal.

The portal contains information available for re-use together with metadata in a machine-readable and open format, in accordance with open standards, in a way that provides their easier search.

The establishment of an open data portal and publication of data of public administration bodies in an open format significantly contributes to the improvement of transparency, accessibility, efficiency and effectiveness in the work of the Government and public administration bodies.

What is the difference between the information of public importance and an open data?

Very often no distinction is made in the meaning of the terms of the information of public importance (public data - Open Gov) and an open data (Open Gov Data). Both terms are linked by the same goal, which is to increase transparency and accountability in the work of holders of state offices, as well as to improve the availability and control of public administration.

In its broader interpretation, information of public importance includes open data held by the public sector, because these data are generated in the work and in connection with the work of public authorities. However, the main difference is the possibility of reuse, intersection and use of open data, which should therefore always be available in a machine-readable format. Information of public importance for the primary purpose is to provide the public to come into possession of official documents and data, and thus inform and further distribute that information, while open data aims to use this data for various purposes, thus indirectly informing the public and affects the transparency.

What is an open data used for?

Open data primarily serves to make the information collected and processed by various public administration bodies transparent, easily accessible and reusable.

Information is necessary in every type of activity, it powers the society and encourages creativity in public administration, economy, tourism, culture, science or some other field.

The data opening will much faster and easier provide answers to questions: Where and how much it is spent? Where and how much it is polluted? Where and how much is produced? What and how are they produced? How much of a something is there and where, etc. With the possibility to download, distribute, customize, and link to other data, they can be integrated into business processes, products, and services, thus creating the added value. They encourage innovation in the creation of commercial and non-commercial applications, in the service of public, private, scientific and civil sectors.

Open data does not contain personal data or other legally protected data. This means that the principle of openness includes the right of public authorities to retain certain data and thus justify the trust of citizens who have to be sure that their right to privacy is protected in the process of opening the data.

Types of open data 

• Geo-spatial data - postal codes, national and local maps (cadastral maps and plans, topographic maps, nautical maps, administrative boundaries help to create maps that take into account the surrounding buildings and roads);
• data on culture - data on cultural works and artifacts. They provide an overview of a country's cultural assets and heritage. They are most often owned by galleries, libraries, museums and archives;
• scientific data - data created as a result of conducted scientific research of all categories;
• financial data - data such as government accounts (expenditures and revenues) and information on financial markets (stocks, bonds, etc.);
• statistical data - national, regional and local statistical data with main demographic and economic indicators (GDP, age, health, unemployment, income, education);
• environment - hydrometeorological data, soil and water quality, energy consumption, emission levels;
• traffic data - public transport timetables (all types of transport) at national, regional and local levels, as well as information on road works, etc.;
• data on commercial companies - registers of companies (lists of companies, ownership and data on management structure, identification marks of registration, balance sheets). 
  
  How to valorize an open data?
  
  Public administration bodies produce and collect a large amount of information that has significant economic potential. By publishing them in an open format, they become available to a wider circle of users. Therefore, publishing reusable data is extremely important for the transparency of public sector work. In addition, institutions provide to citizens and economy the opportunities to create new value by using open data, e.g. new application, business model, visualization, map, research project, etc. They can also encourage to greater activity in society and improve economic development.

Positive examples of using an open data

Many examples confirm the economic power of open data. The Great Britain, which has recognized open data as a good resource, has the acquired value from data opening at level of 0.5% of GDP growth per year.

The European Data Portal 2020 report on the economic value of open data explores the value created by open data in Europe. The size of the open data market in Europe in 2020 is estimated to 203 billion Euros, the projection for 2021 is around 224 billion, and it is predicted that in 2025 it will reach a value of as much as 334.21 billion Euros. 

The economic impact of open data can, in addition to their market value, also be calculated in terms of the number of people employed in open data based jobs.

The optimistic prognosis of growing number of these employees is best seen from the fact that in the EU-27 countries that number is constantly growing according to the research of the European Central Bank.

According to the research, in 2019 that number was around 1.08 million, and in 2020 around 1.1 million, while by 2025 it is projected to grow to 1.12 million employees.

Some companies have based their business only on open data. The examples are interesting and relate to the different types of services they provide. In Vienna, there is a company that has developed an application with an overview of events in the city, as well as for reporting the places that need to be repaired (fix street / asphalt damage, sidewalks, street lights, etc.), and there is also an application with an overview of various waste disposal sites.

In Germany, companies have developed applications that provide information about the nearest and cheapest gas stations, road navigation and the like. Danish companies have developed a portal that provides insight into real estate sales along with data on real estates in a possession of public sector, and energy efficiency calculation service that analyzes how the improvement in various ways provides energy conservation, based on information from public sector and by the property owner.