napo
23 de abril de 2024
"[..] I could have certainly done more, especially in terms of the statistical aspects. However, in our country, both private and non-profit organizations show reluctance to rely on the public domain for data, information, and content [...]"
(From the preface of "Il Trentino", Giovanni Zippel Editore, Trento, 1898)
With these words, Cesare Battisti — a historical figure who lived between the late 1800s and early 1900s — expressed his frustration in dealing with various organizations (public, private, and social interest) to access data needed to enhance his study of the geography and anthropology of Trentino (Italy). This type of stress is widely shared by anyone who has had, and still has, the need to access data, which often seems naturally available.
🔥Although described at the end of the nineteenth century, this situation still resonates today as a testimony to the long history of the demand for open data.🔥
However, until about fifteen years ago, it remained limited to those capable of understanding and processing data. In the following years, the ability to process data has significantly expanded, raising awareness even among non-technical people about its value, finding in open government a way to grow and integrate the concept into government policies.
In the past 15 years, we have witnessed the birth of numerous initiatives related to the open data theme, including developing portals that publish data. This evolution has radically changed how public administrations handle data, placing more emphasis on their publication than managing their lifecycle.
Thus, we have seen a constant growth in data availability, which, however, often needs to be more appealing due to lack of interest, levels of aggregation that limit their reuse, or lack of updates. Europe has always focused on this system, intervening in numerous directions to promote the availability of an essential resource in the digital common goods scenario: open data.
The most impactful of the latest actions is the implementing regulation (EU) 2023/138 of the Commission, dated December 21, 2022, which establishes a list of high-value data series and the related publication and reuse methods. The categories include:
✅ Geospatial data.
✅ Environmental and earth observation data (learn more about this topic here)
✅ Meteorological data.
✅ Statistical data.
✅ Business and business ownership data.
✅ Mobility data.
The annexe of this regulation details which data must be released by June 2024, specifying the granularity, geographical coverage, key attributes, formats, distribution methods, frequency, and timeliness of updates.
Some data (e.g., place names or house numbers) are commonly perceived as available to everyone on the list, but they are often different. Interestingly, a postal descriptor, such as postal codes (zip codes), is requested among the attributes of house numbers.
🤔 This raises the question of why not directly request the areas of postal codes.
Still, after careful analysis, it is discovered that this data is only sometimes available as open data, often managed by private entities (even if publicly owned)
🔔 Examining and reflecting on the list, it becomes clear that this regulation is necessary because not all data are open🔔
Often, there are various problems:
📌 Lack of resources.
📌 Business models revolving around those data for which opening might cause economic harm to a nation (for example, the case of the business register in Italy).
📌Laws that clash with the possibility of opening, or extreme cases of GDPR application.
This regulation proves valuable and necessary to provide a clear direction for allocating resources to create digital common goods that can generate real value.
✨The hope is that, in a not-too-distant future, reading a rant like Cesare Battisti's will resonate as something surprising, a time when data managed (at least by the public) was inaccessible.✨
However, those considerations from over a century ago still sound very current. We hope that this regulation will turn it into an unpleasant memory.
The journey is still long, but the accelerations we are witnessing are building a promising future where digital common goods play a crucial role.
🔔Do you want to learn more about Open Data and its possibilities?🔔
Discover how this dynamic ecosystem generates tangible benefits for society and businesses by catalysing innovation in both the private sector and public infrastructure due to its collaborative nature of providing a common good (open data).
👉 Enjoy this NGI Talk (webinar) for free by clicking here.
