Italia: Administration of 2.0 and Open Data: How and why it can be done
Rome: 4 May 2010
In an online forum, FourmPA, under the title: “L'amministrare 2.0 e l'open data. Come e perché si può fare” (or in English - Administration of 2.0 and Open Data: How and why you can do it), writes about how and why a government can made their data available in open formats.
This corresponds with the FourumPA’s May 18 non-conference Administer 2.0 setting the context for operational opening up of data.
The posting includes a video and chat via Skype with Simone Cortesi, open source expert and representative of the OpenStreetMap Foundation.
-----
In these excerpts from the ‘chat’ with Simone Cortesi (approximate English translation) (complete Italian text online) stimulating and informative points are made.
I am Simone Cortesi, I live in Pavia. I have been dealing with open source for many years. For 5 years I am also involved the project OpenStreetMap Foundation, founded in 2004 in Britain with the aim of collecting geographic data and above all collaborative users.
Tell us more about Open Street Map?
The objective is to collect data and aggregated into a single container that has the characteristic of having a license that allows re-use. We chose to re-use a creative commons license that comes from and allows the re-use of our commercial data, with the only requirement for the user takes possession quote the source and re-circulates the information gathered using the same license. The point is to feed a viral process: at each step some new data is contaminated and the database grows larger, better and better.
But what do you put in the database?
Whatever a person can give as located at that particular point on the planet, which is the peak of the mountain of garbage or trash in Rome.
Why is it important to have open data in the specific geographical data?
The geographic data are important because they are trivially the first metaphor with which to represent reality. Historically a map gives you a simplified representation of reality and also schematized. On a map you can be certain and not represent other information. In systems such as Open Street Map, there's no more generic map printed on paper, but by providing data open, free, free from government, is the possibility to create specific views, useful for individual users and / or category. In part that's what happens in Britain with the project public www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
Reflect and draw possible ways to implement the open date by the Italian government, we clarify what are the "open date"?
There are three features on which all agree in defining the open date. Surely access. Access to information shall be public and indiscriminate. Everyone must be able to get in touch with the information to be able to download and use it. The license is another important element: the data must be usable, but also re-usable and can be integrated into something else. There must not be a limitation to use (e.g. there should not be limited commercial use of the data, but can be integrated in any paid product). The third characteristic is the format: it must be free and freely readable data formats.
Is data in Excel is considered a given open?
Data in Excel is certainly not the best condition or format, but as the Excel format is freely readable, the data can be used. I mean, if the data is readable and some can be re-used, someone will surely come in the days following the publication of data in Excel by the PA, who will write software that will transform the Excel data into another format usable in a more suitable within the software dedicated to data analysis. So the problem itself does not exist, because Excel, while not the best format, can be improved by users. Ideally, however, there would be a standard format.
If it is a geographic data is made available in shapefile, but also the format is fine with Google Earth. If this is the best format text data is XML or plain text. The strong limit of Excel is that it is a homogeneous format. We have an office that fits the data according to certain rules, if an office change colors and move the columns, you get a completely different data. It takes an additional standardisation. This is avoidable by using one of the incarnations of XML. With Open Street Map We have just chosen a format closely related to XML.
Yes, definitely. XML is a format that allows data to be related to other data. It lets you refer to external content, that is to name an object and connect to that name also "located on the web" for further information on the same data.
Sure. If we know that "Rome" is defined as "city", we can go look in other databases on the web, always written in XML or accessible through XML, all information about objects "city" called "Rome" and that therefore can be interconnected. There is a further specification on XML, called RDF, which can connect to databases on the Internet. This enhances the value of a single database, because if we have a database that, through accessible information will be linked to other databases in turn linked to other ... So it is clear that we increase the value of the entire system exponentially.
For a local Italian PA should make available their data in open format?
The fact of having created the data does not necessarily require the administration to keep them in drawers. It has been proven over the years that with the use of new technologies emerged, the data released to the public becomes the basis for the creative work of developers and users can create and rework tools with the final utility for the same PA. Make available, free information is not a loss for the PA that generated it. Look, it's a loss of possession, but it's like, I suppose, to give birth to a son is not your property, you put it in the world and pleased to see that you succeed in life. Make something available and rejoice in the success of your data released.
If government is a candidate to test the open date, what would the proposed operation?
Is basically 3 steps: put the data on the web, under a certain type of license, and in a certain format. Everything must be very simple, nothing complicated licensing. There are many licenses developed over the years to make available data. My request, if I may, is precisely to indicate each time the license will be applied to that data, because by law any thing, which is not "saddled" with a license, falls under the protection of the right ' author, as per the Berne Convention. In short, nobody could do anything with that data. Another important thing: data that may seem insignificant to the Public Administration can be valuable because they are part of an ecosystem, something that can be connected to something else. For example, the data traffic on the roads by themselves is possibly not that interesting, but if correlated with the data on bicycle accidents may generate interesting information. One last thing is the advertising to users. If a public administration is placed in a positive and open way to its own citizens certainly, the PA can only acquire good karma, citizenship will appreciate the openness to the public. Then, there is one final thing.
Free data is also a "demonstration of love" towards what was paid by the citizens. I refer especially to the geographical data that often (unfortunately) remains closed in the drawers of municipal engineering departments. These data were collected using ultimately taxes of citizens and are in fact under used. Why not give citizens and small businesses in an area the data that they can use the themselves, because it was paid for by their taxes.
Related News
Open Data in Italy?..."Yes, We Can"
Barcamp InnovatoriPA: lo rifacciamo! A FORUM PA 2010
EVPSI catches up with PSI re-use!
- 176 reads
