Report to/Rapport au :
Information Technology Sub-Committee /
Sous-comité de la technologie de l’information
Submitted by/Soumis par:
Steve
Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,
City Operations/Opérations municipales
Contact Person/Personne-ressource: Guy
Michaud, Director/directeur
Information Technology Services Department/ Services de technologie de l’information
613‑580‑2424,
ext./poste 12880
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SUBJECT/ |
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OBJET: |
DONNÉES OUVERTES DE LA VILLE D’OTTAWA |
That
the Information Technology Sub-Committee receive this report
for information.
Open data is a philosophy and practice
requiring that certain data are made freely available to the public, in machine
readable format without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control. Most commonly, Open
Data focuses on non-textual material such as geographic information systems
(GIS) data. The Open Data
movement is gaining momentum worldwide with significant steps being taken by
government agencies (at all levels) in Europe and North America.
In the public sphere, the goal of Open Data is to remove barriers to
access to information created or managed by government institutions, while
respecting privacy and sensitivity concerns. Facilitating access to this information allows
entrepreneurs, academics, community groups and others to study communities and
develop applications that leverage the data to improve community experience and
stimulate economic growth.
The Mayor’s Task Force on eGovernment and City Council and Council have
recognized the value and importance of Open Data, and have been key drivers for
the City to adapt its policies and practices to embrace this movement.
The City is now taking concrete and measured steps to join the ranks of
other Canadian municipalities who have instituted Open Data programs. Corporate Communications and ITS have
partnered to create an infrastructure, raise awareness and connect with the
public in the development of City of Ottawa’s Open Data initiative. Staff
have worked closely with members of the public who have experience with
Open Data initiatives and who have expressed an interest in Open Data at the
City of Ottawa to inform and validate
the City’s approach and vision.
The first major Open Data milestone is the creation of a beta website
that will make available, in machine readable format, approximately 15-20 data
sets. The initial release focuses on
Parks and Recreation information, including (but not limited to) recreational
facilities, skating rinks and parks data that is already available on ottawa.ca.
Presenting this information in machine readable format effectively “unlocks” the
data allowing it to more easily be repurposed for mapping or other
applications.
L’accès libre aux
données (Open data) est une philosophie et une pratique selon lesquelles
certaines données sont rendues accessibles au public, en format lisible par
machine, sans restriction de droit d’auteur, de brevet ou autre mécanisme de
contrôle. Habituellement, l’accès libre aux données sert surtout pour le
matériel non-textuel, tel que des données provenant de systèmes d’information
géographique (S.I.S.). Le mouvement de l’Open
data prend de plus en plus d’ampleur sur la scène mondiale, alors que des
agences gouvernementales (à tous les paliers) en Europe et en Amérique du Nord
sont en train de franchir des étapes importantes pour s’y conformer.
Dans la sphère
publique, le but de l’accès libre aux données est de rendre plus accessible
l’information créée et administrée par les institutions gouvernementales, tout
en respectant le droit à la vie privée et la nature délicate de l’information.
Faciliter l’accès à cette information, permet aux entrepreneurs,
universitaires, groupes communautaires et autres, d’étudier les diverses
communautés et développer des applications pour tirer avantage des données afin
d’améliorer l’expérience des communautés et stimuler la croissance économique.
Le groupe de travail
du maire sur le gouvernement électronique et le Conseil municipal ont reconnu
la valeur et l’importance de l’accès libre aux données, et ont agi à titre de
moteurs déterminants, pour que la Ville adapte ses politiques et ses pratiques,
pour ainsi se conformer à ce mouvement.
La Ville prend
actuellement des mesures concrètes et modérées afin de se joindre à la liste
des municipalités canadiennes qui ont mis sur pied des programmes d’accès libre
aux données.
Les communications
corporatives et les services d’infotechnologie (SIT) ont uni leurs forces afin
de créer une infrastructure, sensibiliser la collectivité et rejoindre le
public en ce qui a trait au développement de l’initiative d’accès libre aux
données. Le personnel a travaillé en étroite collaboration avec des membres du
public possédant de l’expérience en initiative d’accès libre aux données, et
qui ont démontré un intérêt envers le libre accès aux données de la Ville
d’Ottawa pour informer en plus de valider l’approche et la vision de la Ville.
Le premier jalon
important de l’accès libre aux données est la création d’un site Web en version
bêta qui permettra d’avoir accès à environ 15 à 20 ensembles de données, en
format lisible par machine. Les premières données rendues accessibles couvrent
les parcs et offrent de l’information concernant le domaine récréatif, incluant
(mais ne se limitant pas à) les installations récréatives, les patinoires, et
des données sur des parcs déjà disponibles sur ottawa.ca. La présentation de
cette information en format lisible à la machine permet de « déverrouiller »
de manière efficace les données afin de les rendre plus facilement
réutilisables à des fins de cartographie ou pour d’autres applications.
International interest in the Open Data movement is illustrated by
Data.gov (USA), Data.australia.gov.au (Australia) and Data.gov.uk (UK),
websites created to release government data. At the municipal level, cities such as San
Francisco, New York, Washington DC in the United States and Toronto, Vancouver
and Edmonton in Canada have adopted the “Open” philosophy. These cities are benefitting from improved
transparency of local government, creating economic opportunity and leveraging
new technologies to provide improved public access to municipal data.
In addition to the worldwide focus on Open Data, there are a number of
drivers that compel the City of Ottawa to embrace the concept. City residents have been inquiring about the
City’s position on Open Data. The
e-Government Task force references the Open Data movement and urges the City to
move in that direction. Indeed, the notion
has been recognized by Council as important, as evidenced by Councillor
Desroches Motion at CSEDC to “review the City’s Data Dissemination Policy and
make recommendations to amend the Policy to allow for Open Access to Public
Data that will benefit the City and its citizens.”
While the City does not yet have a formal policy on Open Data, it has
been taking steps to align with the global trend.
In December 2009, Corporate Communications and Information Technology
Services partnered to conduct a consultation with members of the public who
have experience with the Open Data movement at other levels of government, as
well as parties with an interest in the topic. This session validated the direction the City
wishes to take and was a first step to engaging the public in the definition of
a way forward for Open Data in Ottawa.
Consultations are also planned with a view to raising awareness of Open
Data within the organisation, introducing the notion of information governance,
and identifying potential data sets for posting on the City’s Open Data
website.
Communications and ITS have been working together to develop a beta
release of a City of Ottawa Open Data website in 2010. The site will serve as a tangible first step
in the creation of infrastructure to enable the release of further data to the
citizenry.
Finally, the review of the City’s Data Dissemination Policy is
currently underway. A report will be
tabled at CSEDC on April 06, 2010 and subsequently Council on April 14, 2010
that will recommend changes that enable Open Data.
There are no specific rural implications associated with
this report.
Staff have worked closely with members of the public who have experience with Open Data initiatives and who have expressed an interest in Open Data at the City of Ottawa. This group has validated the steps taken to date, corroborated the Open Data vision and agreed to continue to participate in the evolution of the City’s Open Data program. The Legal department has reviewed and approved the Terms of Use statement that governs how the data that is accessed via the website can be used. Further consultations with stakeholders internal and external to the City are planned for the coming months.
SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTATION
N/A
The City Operations Department will action any direction received as part of consideration of this report.