Open data can take us to all kinds of marvellous social and economic destinations. Better health care, less congestion in our cities, strategic responses to disasters — the list of possibilities is long and imaginative.

Thing is, though, nobody is going to get there alone.

ODX — Canada’s Open Data Exchange — recently brought together 21 tech-sector leaders for a roundtable discussion about issues that fuel — or frustrate — efforts to create saleable products from the open data that governments produce.

It was our contribution to the consultation process around the federal government’s interest in open government. Transparency, economic development and empowering citizens are among the themes in this initiative.

So why is it important for the collective voice of these 21 companies to be heard?

We believe the opportunity of open data is so much bigger than putting government records online as a demonstration of democracy. Allowing the private sector to refine the raw ore of open data into marketable products creates jobs and abundant intellectual capital.

This is the kind of progress that deserves a place in a national innovation agenda.

For that reason, the private sector very much needs to be involved in the open-dialogue about open government. The open-data movement is better viewed as a partnership: governments have the information; entrepreneurs have the skills to turn it into useful tools.

Over the course of a few hours, the roundtable meeting condensed the conversation into a handful of themes that ODX packaged and filed as a submission to the Hon. Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board.

We covered a lot of ground, but here are some of the key points:

    • Improved access: To make the processing of open-data less costly and time-consuming, tech companies want governments to follow common standards in the release of information. We need fewer formats. The data should be machine-readable.


Companies also want better background and transparency about the data they’re using to ensure that it’s trustworthy. And they would like governments to be more timely with the release of data updates.

    • Leadership: A hodgepodge of standards and processes slows Canada’s progress on open data. The federal government could lead an innovative and agile movement by developing a common open-data framework with its provincial and municipal partners.


We also need to collect better data on open data — what’s being used and what isn’t. We want to keep the good stuff coming. Tech companies that build businesses out of open data depend on consistency.

    • Talent and education: Open data has created a need for people with analytical skills that are being still being defined. Are our schools — post-secondary and below — ready to meet the demand? How can open data be incorporated into every-day learning?


These are challenges we’d like to see our federal and provincial partners tackle. The companies at that roundtable, and many others around the country, would be happy to help.

This is what we do at ODX. We want to remove the barriers to — and doubts about — having companies create commercial products out of publicly funded research that governments release as open data.

We want to let in trust and common sense.

Kevin Tuer is Managing Director of Canada’s Open Data Exchange.