[et_pb_section bb_built="1" admin_label="Section" fullwidth="on" specialty="off"][et_pb_fullwidth_image admin_label="Fullwidth Image" src="https://news.communitech.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-20-at-4.21.08-PM.png" alt="Cross-Canada Trip Report: Atlantic Canada" title_text="Cross-Canada Trip Report: Atlantic Canada" show_in_lightbox="off" url_new_window="off" use_overlay="off" animation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid" /][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built="1" admin_label="section"][et_pb_row admin_label="row"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Subheading" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"]
Communication is key to Atlantic Canadians
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Interviews & Roundtables Convened
- Moncton, NB
- Charlottetown, PEI
- Halifax, NS
Common Themes
- Need for national data standards
- Government uncertainty of which data to prioritize
- Importance of internal open data champions in government
- Communicating the value of open data within government
- Provision of open data is a public service
Overall Insights
Overall, ODX heard a consistent desire to support open data businesses from stakeholders across Atlantic provinces. However, the need for better communication between businesses and governments was clear. One of the best examples of this emerged around which data sets to release: on the one hand, companies are asking for inventories of available data, while on the other hand, governments are asking for direction from entrepreneurs on which data sets they should prioritize. Addressing this misalignment represents a significant opportunity for both data suppliers and data users.
It was also clear from our afternoon roundtables that innovation-support organizations like the Venn Centre and Volta provide value to the ecosystem by connecting government and entrepreneurs. In both Moncton and Halifax, municipalities had worked with Venn and Volta to run competitions/hackathons, communicate with entrepreneurs, and raise awareness around the opportunities of open data. Moving forward, ODX sees an opportunity for organizations like the Canadian Digital Media Network to support and encourage interactions between companies and governments across the country.
What we heard from companies
Key Issues
- Need to know what data sets are available and where to find them
- Need a Canadian standard for data formats, structure and release platforms
- Single point of contact for questions and feedback
- More equitable procurement process that supports startups and SMEs, including innovative procurement models
- Remove pay-for-access and single-licence access to government data sets
Companies expressed difficulty scaling their businesses outside of local jurisdictions due to incompatible data formats and infrequent updates of data sets. Without reliable access to data that uses similar formats and structures, companies are stuck selling their products and services within confined markets. As there is currently no nationwide data standard, nor is there an entity mandated to co-ordinate standards, this is a persistent challenge that we expect to encounter as our tour progresses through central and western Canada.
When looking for data sets, we heard that companies prefer working directly with open data managers, rather than searching through data portals themselves. Companies felt it was more efficient to deal directly with the individuals who are responsible for monitoring data quality, updating data sets and maintaining the portals. It is for this reason that companies were eager to learn who their primary contact point in government was. A single contact point for questions about data sets was noted by companies as a highly desirable best practice.
Companies were emphatic during the roundtables that data sets released by government did not need to be perfect – in fact, they wanted to work with government to help improve the quality of their data. In many cases, they were hoping to improve government data by including an additional layer of analysis, and sell the resulting insights back into government. This presents another critical issue identified by both companies and government: the procurement process is complex and lengthy, and in many cases not optimized for smaller vendors. Unfortunately, this is a structural issue within government that requires a large investment of time and effort to change.
What we heard from government
Key Issues
- Need a Canadian standard for data formats, structure and release platforms
- Desire for direction from companies regarding data sets to prioritize
- Open data is a ‘side of desk’ project, lacking budget and staffing
- Better communication in government: Who will use the data? How will they use it? What will the social, economic and environmental benefits be? What is the cost?
- Open data is often seen as a risk to government at the working level
Across Atlantic Canada, governments expressed a commitment to opening data sets and creating an environment that supports companies using them. Despite this enthusiasm to help the private sector, capacity and privacy challenges within government can create seemingly insurmountable hurdles to increasing the frequency and quality of data release.
Governments were eager to adhere to a national data standard. They were straightforward in their request: ‘someone just let me know what format the data should be in, and I’ll try make it happen’. It is in this vein that one set of participants indicated the need for a national-level, third party organization to set standards around data formats and structures. It was felt that a non-government organization with dedicated and knowledgeable staff would be able to more quickly assess which data standards would be appropriate.
A key roadblock to opening more data sets was an inability to communicate to internal groups what open data is and how it can create value. We heard from multiple participants that: due to an unfamiliarity with how the data can be used, government employees often oppose opening data sets; there is concern about how it can be used maliciously; or that mistakes found in the data can hurt their career. This presents an opportunity for companies to better communicate to government how they intend on creating value from open data sets scheduled to be released. By making this case, government open data champions will have a stronger argument when advocating for data releases.
Despite these challenges, a dominant best practice emerged – leveraging internal champions is the best way to advance open data initiatives within government. Since open data strategies are usually initiated by the premier, mayor or local councilors, these initiatives can quickly lose momentum at the working level. It is therefore important to identify champions outside of the open data implementation team, and have them speak to how opening data sets has had a positive impact on their departments and jobs.
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John Chiappetta leads Projects & Initiatives at Canada’s Open Data Exchange (ODX). He works with companies and municipalities of all sizes to enhance their use of data and innovation to improve services, inform local decision-making and drive engagement. John believes that the most critical business questions are not answered with what data you could or should access, but by first working out what your business is looking to achieve.
John holds a Masters degree in Political Science and has completed undergraduate work in Political Science and Business.
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