This article is written by Paul Connor, Executive Director of the Canadian Open Data Society.

  • The problem: Open data has enormous potential to transform society yet its true potential is untapped
  • Why it matters: Utilising open data effectively can lead to more prosperous and empowered societies
  • The solution: Anyone who can grasp and share a vision of open data’s possibilities to play a part in championing its cause

In the first part of this series on open data, I explored the history and principles behind open data. In this article I take a look at its purpose. So, why open data? I think the fundamental purpose of open data is to level playing fields. Between government and citizens. Between scientific researchers. Between journalists and special interests. Oftentimes, between buyers and sellers. And potentially, between powerful corporations and their consumers and competitors.

That's what is really exciting about it. If every organisation was required to publish open data, equal power and understanding could be given to everyone. This just might be what the doctor ordered for our gross economic disparities, low productivity, dwindling trust in governments, and increasing reliance on science and research combined with the spread of disinformation.

Best of all, it’s a prescription that requires no vast, unpredictable and potentially destructive revolutions, technological or ideological. Just leadership and support for instilling mandates, then a steady and expanding publication schedule, and free people pursuing their interests and the common interest one step at a time.

Usage across disciplines

We see increasing shares of open data in science, so that studies can be reproduced and better trusted, and so that data can be combined into ever-larger sets from which broader insights can be derived about climate change, ecologies and more. Startup businesses can leverage insights from open data to monetise new value for their customers, such as the mapping apps we all have on our phones. The United States Government once even proposed that internet giants be compelled to disgorge data about their activities in order to promote business competition with them by new market entrants (technology startups).

I believe that we are close to a quiet revolution in open data that could very soon fundamentally level all playing fields, everywhere.

In addition, bills of loading for international shipping have been released as open data and analysed to screen out the products of forced labour. Nations and states that are members of the ever-expanding Open Government Partnership increasingly release open data about elections, political donations, political expenses, lobbyists, government procurements, grants and more, promoting democratic accountability. And charities and non-profit organisations are now joining in with shares of data about international aid and activity impacts. Latterly, we are even seeing military intelligence services and civil society organisations verifying and publishing open data about war, atrocities and threats to international peace and security, both to bolster defences down to the citizen level, and to eventually hold transgressors to account.

Limitations

Of course, no one ever should suggest that anyone publish the private information of individuals, military operations plans, or weapons secrets. And respect for indigenous data sovereignty is now a vital consideration: the traditional knowledge and population data pertaining to indigenous nations as of right should be in the custody and control of those nations. But that still leaves a great deal of scope for progress.

However, as yet open data is far from universal. Not all governments publish it, and few that do publish everything they possibly could. Larger governments have generally gone for the low-hanging fruit, and perhaps even sought to avoid the embarrassment of releasing data that is aged, low-quality, or likely to highlight a failure of government policy or operations. Smaller governments may lack the specialists to dedicate to publishing open data regularly.

Also, private companies and non-profits that publish open data are still the exception. Although it is conceivable that publishing it could become obligatory under charities law (as in New Zealand), securities law (as in the USA), competition law (see above), or various certifying authorities (such as, possibly B Corporations).

There is also the question of standardisation. Even among the municipalities in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada, different field names and formatting are used to denote identical data, complicating the work of those who would wish to concatenate such into larger sets for greater utility, broader insights and possibly even training of artificial intelligence.

In short, there is considerable growth potential for open data, in scope, in geographical extent, in depth and in impact.

Potential

I believe that we are close to a quiet revolution in open data that could very soon fundamentally level all playing fields, everywhere, without the need to invent new ideologies or even new technologies.

I would even say open data could become an entirely new check and balance for democratic governments and societies. A semi-separate institution or professional community, on a par with our free press, independent judiciary, non-partisan elections commission, and in the case of Commonwealth realms like Canada and the United Kingdom, the constitutional monarch that is the final non-partisan adjudicator of our parliamentary democracy.

To get to that point will require continuing passion and steady effort by everyone who publishes; continuing demand and insightful application by everyone who is data literate and has the capacity to analyse; and above all leadership and championing of this cause by anyone who can grasp and share a vision of the ultimate possibilities of open data to contribute to an ever more peaceful, orderly, prosperous and empowered society.

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