KINGSTON, Jamaica – A new way of making government-held information available to the general public, proposed during US President Barack Obama’s first administration, is getting mixed reviews from attendees at a Freedom of Information conference hosted by the Jamaica Environmental Trust.
It’s called “open data”. The idea is for government agencies to proactively publish large amounts of information and records on websites for review, use and dissemination by anyone.
To a certain extent, the open data practice occurs under the Cayman Islands Freedom of Information Law where, each year, government agencies are required to release a “publication scheme”. Those lengthy lists of information are available in the government gazettes as well as on the Information Commissioner’s website.
However, the ‘open data’ regime would add a wrinkle. Rather than simply releasing raw records, in some cases, governments augment the information adding charts and background to help readers understand.
“The opening of public data without providing … context is a double-edged sword that can enclose larger issues,” according to a statement from the Open Data for Development, whose members presented at the FOI conference. “What good is knowing pure numbers without knowing other details that give meaning to these figures?”
Maurice McNaughton of the University of the West Indies gave an example of how open data might be used to good effect. Rather than simply release a spreadsheet of the Jamaican government budget, he said, it might be more helpful to chart what percentages of the budget are being spent in which areas.
“You can clearly see our problem with debt,” Mr. McNaughton said referring to a colour chart that divided up government spending.
Jamaican attorney Carole Excell, who led efforts to establish Cayman’s first Freedom of Information Law in 2007, told conference attendees that she’s sceptical of Mr. McNaughton’s claims and that open data regimes shouldn’t be considered a replacement for FOI or access to information laws.
Open data puts control entirely in government’s court, not only in what information to release, but how it should be released – the precise thing FOI laws – which allow individuals to request specific data and records – seek to avoid, Ms Excell said.
Also, the Carter Center’s Laura Neuman raised concerns about a practice known as “data dumping’ – where governments simply put reams of records in no discernable order somewhere in the public domain – generally causing those reading it to simply give up.
Mr. McNaughton agreed that open data was no replacement for FOI or open records laws, but felt the two might co-exist.
The Open Data for Development group admits there are some inherent problems with the project as well as some unresolved questions.
“Open data for all? Or limited access to certain data only for some users?” Who is authorised to process [data] and how, with what limitations? Who controls it?” were all questions raised about open data regimes.
“The use of open data and applications requires skills that not all citizens may have, so the benefits would be limited only to that part of town [that is] trained,” the Open Data for Development group noted.
Still, dozens of countries have joined open data efforts. As of December, 55 have signed onto initiatives like the open government partnership – including 15 in the Americas and the Caribbean.
Related Videos
