Creating Value from Public Sector Information

1
Creating Value from Public Sector Information

• Dagmar Vránová, Irina Záliová
• EPMA, the Czech RepublicePSIplus Network partner
• Czech PSI Watch Initiative
• Eastern European eGovernment Days
• Prague, 12. 13. April 2007

2
Impact of ICT on work with data

• Production on public sector side
• easier processing
• faster life cycle of data (from collection to
  recording)
• higher quality of data
• bigger amount of data bulk information
• Distribution, dissemination
• data easier available (via internet and data
  files)
• data format fit for next re-use
• A2A, XML, Web services in common usage

3
Reality?

• Heavy public sources investment to ICT and data
  processing in public sector
• High quality of PSI has been achieved
• Re-users face to barriers and obstacles from
  public sector
• The change of approach to information providing
  and mass distribution is needed

4
Freedom of Information Act

• State-of-the-art in the Czech Republic The
  Directive 2003/98/EC was transposed into existing
  act Free Access to Information Act
• FOI legislation governs mainly ACCESS to
  information but not RE-USE
• Practice processes of Public Content Holders
  (PCH) has not changed considerably
• They publish PSI mostly on web pages
• They do not care for re-users needs
• Distribution services lag behind single shot
  access
• Restrictions and exceptions are occurred

5
Pros and Cons in Czech FOI Act

• Pros
• Basic democratic right was articulated also with
  respect to re-use, even only in general form
• The Czech Republic formally transposed the
  European Directive
• By this, CR avoided the impending sanction from
  EC
• Cons
• The Access to information is still more relevant
  then Re-use
• Citizen's right on unrepeated (single shot)
  gaining the information is more valuable then
  businessperson's right on repeated gaining for
  commercial purposes
• No regulation concerning the right on repeating
  access and mass processing
• No licences, only general pricing is defined

6
Could we achieve more?

• Transposition of EU Re-use Directive into Czech
  legal rules was hard and lengthy legislative
  process
• The amendment of existing law (FOI Act) was only
  way how to meet EC requirements
• Lawmakers have not very positive opinion of
  re-use of PSI they are lobbed and affected by
  civil servants
• business based on PSI is unwelcome, even immoral
• PSI and data is produced for money from taxpayers
  and available for all
• it is immoral to create some information services
  and then sell it for fees!
• FOI is guaranteed quite enough and it is not
  necessary to change legal rules!

7
PSI Re-use business in the Czech Republic

• Information industry based on PSI exploitation is
  doing quite well in spite of many obstacles
• Types of barriers that re-users have to overcome
• objective (caused by uncertain law)
• subjective (caused by reluctant attitude of civil
  servants)
• Estimating there are more then 150 companies
  re-using PSI as raw material

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Types of industrial re-use activities

• Two basic lines
• Reference function for purpose of internal
  control processes, data quality management etc.
• Raw material function for purpose of value
  added services production and sale on the market

Own products and services(e.g. insurance)
Internal Information System Check, control,
analyzing, comparison, verification, data
quality, etc.
Reference function
Public SectorInformation Public ContentHolders
Information products
Production System Addition of new Value
Raw material function
Information content industry
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Types of Public Content Holders
?

• Enlightened institutions (???)
• provide information in suitable form for all
• free of charge or under clear pricing conditions
• easy available distribution channels
• Agreeable and Shutting eyes institutions (? - ??)
• provide information in suitable form with some
  limitation, but in fact do not prevent re-use
• are able to agree with individual re-users on
  conditions for data delivery and re-use

10
Types of Public Content Holders
?

• Not supporting and strongly interposing
  institutions (?)
• provide information but do not support furthers
  re-use
• make reservations, restrictions and exceptions
• it is nearly impossible to agree with them
• Institutions considering PSI provision as
  necessary evil (? ?)
• provide information in user unfriendly form
• the only reason to provide PSI is to avoid the
  conflict with law
• Impregnable castles (? ? ? )
• refuse PSI provision under different pretences
  (only for commercial exploitation or completely)

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Types of re-users

• Extra class
• Exclusive position, monopoly information provider
• Good boys
• Agreed on particular, quite good (not exclusive)
  conditions
• Gamblers
• Risky game players, no agreement, occasional
  violation of rules is necessary
• Knights (Don Quijote?)
• Make effort to achieve fair and transparent
  conditions for all

12
Barriers of re-use industry development

• Clauses of prohibition of re-use PSI
• Free access IS NOT free exploitation!
• Only personal non commercial usage is permitted
  (according to FOI Act)
• PSI published on web pages are protected by
  Author law
• Other then own need usage is a subject of
  approval of the provider
• Unclear formulations
• What exactly means commercial use? Reference
  function or Raw-material function?
• What is the manner of proper asking for approval?
• How can a re-user achieve the downloading of
  bigger volume of data?

13
Barriers of re-use industry development

• Private investment protection
• Unclear long-term concepts of Public information
  (digital) services development
• Private sector is not sure whether it would be
  profitable to invest to value added services
• Why invest private money when Public sector will
  invest public money in the same service later?
• Catalogue of public available sources missing
• Which public information assets are available?
• Which of them are available for re-use?
• Which public institution is responsible for them?
• Under what conditions is it possible to exploit
  the information assets for commercial purposes?

14
Barriers of re-use industry development

• Standards for data description and distribution
  missing
• Different Public institutions different
  formats, rules, terms of operation, communication
  parameters etc.
• Especially distribution standards needed
• Central point for complaints and enquiry center
  missing
• Extending interest in re-use extending number
  of conflicts and uncertainty
• Who should be addressed in case of refusing?
• What independent body will review and judge those
  cases?
• No central point for aggregation of FAQs,
  comments, demands and claims

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Requirements of commercial sector

• Private sector has quite exact imagine concerning
  PSI content and distribution
• right, correct, updated data
• easily available
• provided in form suitable for next processing
• keeping data exchange and communication standards
• providing by clear and equal rules
• easy and quick permission obtaining
• free of charge or for adequate fees
• to be informed about long-term concept of digital
  (electronic) public services

16
2 types of value generated by emerging re-use
industry

• Economic value
• Profits for companies, tax revenues for the state
  
• Public value
• Establishing new companies
• Creating new jobs
• Wider awarness and knowledge of common public
• Better decision making, risk management

17
Lesson learnt

• It is not possible to consider re-use of PSI as a
  negative or evens as immoral acitivity
• Attitude of some public bodies gives an evidence
  of slow mental change (in the framework of
  overall Governance transformation)
• Enlightened institutions do not regret the
  fictive economic loss but on the contrary they
  support everyone who exploits, re-uses and
  disseminates PSI

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Thank you for your attention!

• Dagmar Vránová
• vranova_at_epma.cz

Irina Záliová zalisova_at_epma.cz