Joseph Azzopardi

The European Data Portal (EDP) as represented by the Open Data Institute (ODI) and Capgemini Consulting, is currently organising a number of workshops aimed at bringing together the main players involved in the publication of Open Data from across all the European Union member states.

The publication of Open Data is usually an integral part of the implementation of the Public Sector Information Re-Use (PSI) Directive which in Malta was transposed into local legislation in October of 2015 as CAP 546 of the Laws of Malta.

The countries invited for such workshops are generally grouped together by region or other common attributes that makes the exchange of information and experiences easier through the identification of common challenges and opportunities.

The workshops focus on the main challenges faced when implementing these data initiatives and form part of the European Data Portal’s commitment to increasing the learning and awareness in this domain and also at strengthening the network required to support this European wide data initiative.

On the 26th and 27th September, the in-country workshop aimed at countries from the Mediterranean region, was held in Malta and was hosted by the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) as the local implementing body for the PSI Directive.

The countries invited were Portugal, Greece and Cyprus apart from Malta which accepted also the invitation to be the host country.

The two-day peer-learning workshop was conducted by the ODI and Capgemini while the representatives of the Government of Malta, Cyprus and Portugal participated and presented their positions and the future plans in this area, while listening and learning from the experiences of each other.

The major objectives of the workshop were to identify common challenges; refine strategies and exchange examples of best practices; identify opportunities for future collaboration and understand how to make use of EDP resources.

The senior officials representing the three governments who attended the Malta workshop, namely Cyprus, Malta and Portugal included the Chairman of the Data Governance Council within the Office of the Prime Minister in Malta and a number of others officials from MITA, the Electoral Office and Identity Malta.

From Cyprus we had officers from the Public Administration and Personnel Department which is responsible for the PSI Directive and Portugal was represented by the Project Manager within the Digital Transformation Unit which forms part of the Agency for the Administrative Modernisation.

During the workshop, each country gave a presentation about the status of the Open Data initiatives and the related projects, with Portugal being one of the early adopters and Cyprus currently preparing to replace their current portal and launch a more advanced version.

Malta is currently classified as a “beginner”. This is mainly because at this stage the Open Data Portal is not properly established and this is the major drawback which puts Malta in the lower part of classification which results from the yearly landscaping questionnaire.

This however should not be a major headache as Malta is currently investing the required time and resources to have a “holistic view of data” which will not only deliver and tick the box under the availability of the Open Data Portal but will go the extra mile and launch a National Data Portal. This will not only deliver the Open Data facilities but will incorporate and include an internal data sharing platform that serves as the “one-stop shop” for data matters both within the public administration and beyond.

Each country also identified a list of challenges which inter alia include: • Limited human and financial

resources • Lack of understanding in regard to data in general and Open Data • Lack of positive case studies • Lack of supporting legislation • Too much focus on technology • Lack of dialogue between public sector bodies and data reusers • Silo approach to the management of information • Low political sponsorship and

support • Lack of engagement from civil

society

The lack of understanding also needs to be addressed from both aspects, namely the external (consumption side) and also from the data provisioning side which is the public administration systems themselves.

The biggest challenge in the data provisioning stream is to convince that the old approach to the management of data in the local / line-of-business specific domain needs to give way to a more collaborative approach based on a paradigm shift where corporate data and shared resources need to be employed in order to ensure that the OnceOnly Principle can actually be implemented as a by-product of the sharing and re-use of data both at the economy level and also within the public administration itself.

Most of the participants also emphasised on the fact that the social media needs to play a bigger role in the dissemination and the evangelisation process which advocates these changes which can be seen as disruptive and destabilising the status quo, and thus offer their fair share of resistance.

The collaboration with academic institutions mainly universities was also considered as a major contributor with the possibility of including the subject of data and Open Data as part of the course offerings to students.

The involvement of the private sector in Open Data was also stressed and the need to have very good stories and the use and re-use of data was highlighted. The use cases and the evidence of positive impact of Open Data on society could be one of the main tools to gain political support and patronage. Winning and retaining political support is an ongoing challenge and cannot be taken as a “for granted” matter. The best way of achieving this support is through evidence of the impact of data on the improvements that can be provided to society.

As part of the reflection on the main takeaway from this workshop, the participants agreed that they: • Had a better understanding of

the Open Data concepts • Wanted to focus more on the impact of their work rather than the technical implementation • Enjoyed the opportunity to listen to the experience of other countries, who may have adopted a totally different approach

The workshop concluded with a session on action planning and the value of identification of quick wins. A wish list was created with potential ideas for the short term including potential risks.

The Open Data in-country workshop hosted by Malta was held at the MITA Data Centre in Santa Venera.

Dr Joseph Azzopardi MITA Manager in Enterprise Data Management