Open Data Portals

Why Open Data portals?

Open Data portals are one aspect in facilitating access to and re-use of public sector information. Citizens and business sometimes find it difficult to identify what type of information exists and by which public authority it is held. A number of countries, regions and municipalities have therefore created portal websites on public data. Examples are: http://data.gov.uk/ - www.data.overheid.nl - www.dati.piemonte.it - http://opendata.paris.fr http://www.data.gouv.fr/

What is the Commission proposing?

In December 2011 the Commission adopted a Communication on Open Data. In this Communication the Commission proposes:

To create a portal site for Commission-held information in a first phase in 2012 aiming at an expansion to other EU institutions, bodies and agencies at a later stage;
To work with the Member States on data formats and interoperability between existing sites;
To create a pan-European umbrella site linking information held by EU institutions, bodies and agencies and by Member States.

What has been done so far?

Commission Open Data Portal

12 December 2011 - Adoption of the Communication on Open Data: Commission announces plan to launch in spring 2012 a web portal making it easy for industry and citizens to search for Commission data. This is a step towards a single-access point for re-usable data from all EU institutions, bodies and agencies and national authorities
19 July 2011 - Call for tenders "Commission Open Data Portal" published

Expert advice

15 December 2010 - Nigel Shadbolt delivers the report "Towards a pan EU data portal – data.gov.eu"
3 November 2010 - Technical workshop on the goals and requirements for a pan-European data portal. The European Commission invited experts with practical experience on publishing government open data to discuss the opportunities for and technical challenges of establishing a pan-European open data portal.

Co-funded research projects (7th R&D Framework Programme)

LOD2 is an Integrated Projects aiming at increasing public access to high-value, machine-readable data sets generated by the European, national as well as regional governments and public administrations.
Linked Open Data Around the Clock (LATC) is a Support Action working on the publishing and usage of Linked Data on the Web.
Technologies for Information Management

Digital Agenda for Europe Digital Assembly – Big Idea 3 "Beyond raw data: public sector information, done well"

16 June 2011 - Digital Agenda Assembly - Workshop 01. "Open data and re-use of public sector information" - announcement of the winners of the Open Data Challenge
10-11 May 2011 - Workshop on Removing the roadblocks to a pan European market for PSI re-use.
25 October 2010 - "Beyond raw data: public sector information, done well" (W3C, ETSI) is a Big Idea retained at the Stakeholder Day held following an open call.