Scottish Government Publishes “Open Data Resource Pack”

In a bid to promote transparency and open data within public sector organisations, the Scottish government has published what it is calling an “open data resource pack.”

According to Holyrood, the resource was developed with input from organisations across the public sector to form a guide containing tips and guidance for public authorities when developing their own plans for open data.

It claims the pack covers all the steps organisations should consider when they are thinking about releasing their data openly.

“The Open Data Resource Pack has been developed to support Scotland’s Open Data Strategy which was published in February 2015,” the Scottish government said.

“The Strategy sets out our ambition for making data open and available for others to use and reuse. The release of data is this way will provide a societal asset which offers significant benefits to many,” it added.

Included in the resource is information relating to Scotland’s strategy, existing legislation, what open data actually is and an overview of the Open Data Process.

The document recommends that public organisation start with a plan that consists of having a goal, assessing the use and publishing of open data, getting support and demonstrating value.

Once this plan has been formed, the Scottish government recommends selecting the data to be published, creating a dataset, making it available and offers advice on what to do once the open data is published.  

When open data is published, Holyrood says data should be continually improved, promoted to generate interest and public sector organisations should consider hosting events such as Hackathons to bring interested parties together.

© 24N.biz