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?

Open Data Portal

12 December 2011 - Adoption of the Communication on Open Data: Commission announces plan to launch in 2012 a web portal making it easy for industry and citizens to search for Commission data. This portal will gradually enlarge to cover data from all EU institutions, bodies and agencies. The Commission also announces for 2013 a prototype of a pan-European Open Data portal, to make data from EU, national, regional and local administrations more easily available and re-usable.
19 July 2011 - Call for tenders "Commission Open Data Portal" published. The project is currently running.
3 August 2012 - Call for tenders “Support services for the Public Sector Information and Open Data Policy" (divided in two lots)

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.