Business Scenario: Open Public Sector Data – Detailed Objectives
The aim of this Business Scenario is to help the standards community to identify and develop standards and best practices for the publication of public sector data that will improve the functioning of government and society and stimulate economic development.
The Business Scenario is developed as part of The Open Group Open Platform 3.0™ initiative [OP3.0]. This initiative focuses on new and emerging technology trends converging with each other and leading to new business models and system designs. These trends currently include: mobility; social networks and social enterprise; big data analytics; cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (networked sensors and controls). The initiative is identifying a set of new platform capabilities, and architecting and standardizing an IT platform by which enterprises can gain business benefit from use of the technologies. Support for creation, management, and publication of open public sector data is an important requirement for this platform.
The Business Scenario is developed for the EU SHARE-PSI project, in which The Open Group participates. This project is holding workshops over 2014-15. The output of the workshops will be offered as input to the W3C Data on the Web Best Practices Working Group [W3C Web Data], which is compiling a W3C standard that will help guide people and organizations around the world as they build the web of data. Towards the end of the SHARE-PSI 2.0 network's life (the first half of 2016), the partners will incorporate the W3C Best Practice in their own guidelines as relevant to them in their country or sector of interest.
The solution envisaged by this Business Scenario is the standard and associated guidelines that the W3C Working Group will develop. Its success can be measured in the first instance by their take-up by SHARE-PSI partners, and ultimately by the amount of public sector data published worldwide in accordance with them.
The increased availability of public sector data can be expected to result in increased economic activity, more efficient government, and a more democratic society. These effects will, however, be hard to measure, and must be taken on trust.