OECD Expert Group on Open Government Data

Tá leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil anseo.

Working Party of Senior Digital Government Officials (E-Leaders) 10th Meeting of the Expert Group on Open Government Data

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Headquarters, Paris, France. 04 October 2024.

The Irish Open Data Team attended an exciting and informative meeting of the OECD Expert Group on Open Government Data held at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, France. This event was hosted by the OECD Directorate for Public Governance.

Welcome remarks were delivered by Janos Bertok, Deputy Director, and Barbara Ubaldi, Deputy Head of the Division and head of the Digital Government Unit, both of Directorate for Public Governance. The meeting then delved into the main insights from the 2023 OURdata Index, of which there are 600 data points and Ireland ranked sixth out of the 36 OECD Countries and 4 candidate countries. The OECD Open, Useful and Re-usable data (OURdata) Index is a comprehensive analysis of open data policies across the OECD Countries. It focuses on three main pillars: data availability, data accessibility, and government support for data re-use. The index underscores the increasing significance of Open Data in driving innovation, democratic engagement, and policymaking. The OECD highlighted and commended Ireland’s Open Data Engagement Fund as an exemplar of how the re-use of Open Data can be impactful. The project on Smart Dublin’s Air Quality, carried out in partnership with Dublin City Council and Google was singled out as being particularly noteworthy. 31% of datasets relating to companies are available across OECD Countries according to the OURdata Index 2023 findings. This highlights a gap in the availability of Open Data, as a majority of these datasets remain inaccessible. The index emphasises the importance of improving data availability to foster innovation, transparency, and informed decision-making. By making more company-related data openly accessible, governments can enhance business insights, economic research, and public trust. Companies and Company Ownership is also one of the six thematic categories of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 of 21 December 2022 laying down a list of specific high-value datasets and the arrangements for their publication and re-use.

The meeting then focussed on how advances in the deployment and use of AI in the public sector affect public sector data and Open Data policies. We heard from the Open Data Planning Team in the National Information Society Agency of Korea about works being undertaken at a National level.

Examples include

• The value they place on Open Data,
• The advances they are making in AI,
• The support they receive from the political level and
• The Korea Voice Analysis Model.

France, similar to Denmark, highlighted how both their National Open Data Portals and their Public Sector Data Catalogues are combined into one interface. High-Value Datasets (HVDs) for the green transition were also discussed, it was interesting to note that the OECD has 6 HVDs categories, of which 4 are the same as the 6 European HVD categories.  There were presentations from South Korea, France and the UK on their Open Government Data Activities and the OECD, and the Open Data Charter.  The OECD AI Global Report for 2025 will be launched next year to track compliance to OECD AI valued based principles. The 2023 OURdata Index will, in part, factor in to the scores that member states receive for this report.

Before the close of the meeting, delegates discussed the future priorities of the Expert Group based on our national priorities, the results of the 2023 OURdata Index, and rapid developments in areas such as government data, AI and digital government.