Imagine that useful information held by public institutions is made available in a way that fosters collaboration and thereby enriches the whole of society.
What is open data?
It is published public-sector information that can be easily used without unnecessary legal or technical barriers. On its own it need not say much – its value comes from subsequent processing. That processing gives rise to analyses, websites, mobile or desktop applications and smart document archives. In the Czech Republic, open data is defined by Act No. 106/1999 Coll., on Free Access to Information.
What can open data look like?
In connection with a town, it can be for example:
- public transport lines;
- planned road closures or congestion near where you live;
- weather information;
- a list of cultural, sports and other events;
- documents published by the town hall, with metadata.
By definition, this information should be provided so that it is easy to find and to process by machine, without unnecessary licensing restrictions and in an open, standardized format.
Examples of good practice
- Hlídač státu – a tool for checking state spending;
- Prázdné domy – a map of empty buildings;
- healin – up-to-date information on open pharmacies (the app is no longer available);
- Cityvizor – transparent data on the finances of towns and municipalities.
All of these sites are in Czech.
In conclusion
Open data is nothing new, and worldwide there is a growing trend in its use. It is also part of the Digital Czech Republic v. 2.0 strategy with goals up to 2020, from which this text partly draws.
Open data of towns and municipalities is the focus of, for example, the Otevřená města (Open Cities) association. More information is available on the otevřená data website.
> We live in the 21st century – the century of the information society – and open data > opens up further possibilities for us.
_Originally published in Czech in June 2018._