OpenDataPolicy

General Rules for Open Data The Open Data Policy shall define general rules and obligations that public entities are required to comply with throughout the open data lifecycle; these include: - Open data planning - Open data identification - Open data publishing - Open data maintenance - Open data performance tracking. Open Data Planning Public entities shall: 1. Appoint an open data and information access officer at the entity’s office with the primary responsibility to support the planning, execution, and reporting of the entity’s open data agenda and in compliance with this Policy; 2. Develop an open data plan that shall include the following: - Key strategic objectives for open data at the entity level; - Identification and prioritization of the entity’s datasets to be published on the National Open Data Portal; - Open data key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets for the entity; - Prioritization methodology and criteria; - Training needs related to open data; and - Timelines for open data publication and maintenance. Public 3. Develop and document the processes required throughout the open data lifecycle, including, but not limited to: - Processes to identify public datasets to be published by the public entity; - Processes to validate and systematically review the compliance of open data with the requirements for information security, personal data privacy, and data quality and to immediately address any identified concerns; - Processes to ensure that datasets are published and maintained to their appropriate format, timeliness, comprehensiveness, and overall high quality and ensure the exclusion of any restricted data; and - Processes for gathering feedback, analyzing performance at the entity level, and improving the overall national impact of open data. 4. Ensure that the open data plan is periodically reviewed and maintained; 5. Submit an annual report to NDMO on the open data plan and the progress achieved towards the open data targets as defined in the plan; 6. Conduct training courses related to open data with the support of NDMO or in coordination therewith; 7. Launch awareness-raising campaigns to ensure that potential users are aware of the availability, nature, and quality of the open data published by the entity. Open Data Identification Public entities shall: 1. Regularly identify all data classified as “Public” and evaluate the priority for publication as open data of each dataset identified; Public 2. Assess the value and priority for publication of a dataset immediately upon receiving a request for publication, or whenever a previously restricted dataset is declassified as Restricted and reclassified as public; 3. Record and publish the metadata for the identified open datasets; 4. Consider whether the combination of any publicly available datasets would result in raising the data classification level to protected data, as per the guidelines issued by NDMO in this respect. Open Data Publishing Public entities shall: 1. Publish their open datasets on the official National Open Data Portal; 2. Ensure that data is published in discoverable, well-structured, machine- readable, non-proprietary, standardized data formats, including, but not limited to: CSV, JSON, XML, and RDF. The dataset files shall be accompanied by documentation related to the format and instructions on how to use them; and 3. Provide data in multiple formats whenever possible. Open Data Maintenance Public entities shall: 1. Ensure that all published open datasets are updated regularly as per the frequency mechanism defined in the metadata; 2. Perform continuous review of the published open datasets to ensure that they meet defined regulatory requirements; 3. Ensure that metadata is updated and maintained, especially whenever the data elements of the published open datasets change; 4. Maintain data traceability by documenting data sources and maintaining dataset version history; Public 5. Publish open datasets, along with defining and documenting quality- related restrictions in the Metadata. Open Data Performance Tracking Public entities shall: 1. Analyze the demand and usage of open data to understand public demand and reprioritize datasets accordingly; 2. Collect, analyze and timely respond to users’ requests received directly or through the National Open Data Portal for the publishing of additional datasets.