Open Data Policy (BR0101)

Commitment 2: Establish, in a collaborative way, a reference model for an Open Data Policy that foster integration, training and awareness between society and the three government levels, starting from a mapping process of social demands.
Lead government institution Ministry of Transparency and Comptroller General of Brazil – CGU
Civil servant in charge for implementing at lead government institution Marcelo de Brito Vidal
Position - Department General Coordinator/Open Government and Transparency Coordination
E-mail marcelo.vidal@cgu.gov.br
Telephone (61) 2020-6538
Other involved actors Government Ministry of Transparency and Comptroller General of Brazil – CGU
Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management – MPDG
Ministry of Education – MEC
Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication – MCTIC
Ministry of Health
Civil Society Institute of Social Economics Research - INESC
Getúlio Vargas Foundation (DAPP/FGV)
W3C/CEWEB
Open Knowledge Brazil
Serenata de Amor
Status quo or problem/issue to be addressed Lack of an ecosystem that stimulates the disclosure and usage of open data.
Main objective Create an open data ecosystem in order to advance beyond the disclosing and availability of databases, reaching a scenario that guarantees its effective usage
Commitment short description Foster the disclosure and usage of federal, state and municipal government’s data that meet the society’s demands
OGP Challenge addressed by the Commitment Increase the availability of information about governmental activities
Support civic participation
Increase access to new technologies willing the disclosing and accountability processes
Commitment relevance Transparency strengthening over processes of data disclosing and the capacity of promoting public oversight by the society.
Goal Stimulate the process of data disclosing and begin a more effective process of the usage of the available data.
Situation Initiated in October 2018
Results description Not available
Implemented until July/2020

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfill the Commitment Start date: End date: Responsible:
1. Identification of actors on society and on the 3 governmental spheres
10/01/2018
11/30/2018 Code for Brazil *
CEWEB/W3C
MPDG
2. Mapping of the existing models of disclosing data
10/01/2018
01/31/2019 FGV DAPP/OKBR*
MPDG
Ministry of Health
3. Identification of potentialities and limits of the existing models
01/01/2019

03/31/2019 FGV DAPP/OKBR*
INESC
Serenata de Amor
4. Drafting of a reference model structure
04/01/2019
05/31/2019 CGU*
CEWEB/W3C
CTI/MCTIC
5. Production of text for each topic from the reference model
05/01/2019
01/31/2020 CGU e MP*
CEWEB/W3C
CTI/MCTIC
6. Hold a public consultation about the text produced for the reference model 10/01/2019 12/31/2019 CGU*
OKBR
7. Communication plan and disclosure of the model for the 3 spheres of government and the civil society
11/01/2019
02/29/2020 FGV DAPP/OKBR*
INESC
Serenata de Amor
8. Reference model launching 03/01/2020 03/31/2020 CGU*
MEC
9. Dissemination of the reference model 04/01/2020 07/31/2020 CGU*
INESC

Design Report

2. Open Data Ecosystem

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

“Create an open data ecosystem in order to advance beyond the disclosing and availability of databases, reaching a scenario that guarantees its effective usage.”

2.1. Identification of actors on society and on the 3 governmental spheres [11]

2.2. Mapping of the existing models of disclosing data

2.3. Identification of potentialities and limits of the existing models

2.4. Drafting of a reference model structure

2.5. Production of text for each topic from the reference model

2.6. Hold a public consultation about the text produced for the reference model

2.7. Communication plan and disclosure of the model for the 3 spheres of government and the civil society

2.8. Reference model launching

2.9. Dissemination of the reference model

Start Date: January 2018......                                                                            End Date: July 2020

Editorial note: to see the complete text, visit https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/brazil-national-action-plan-2018-2020/.

Context and Objectives

This commitment aims to create an open data ecosystem to promote effective usage of public data, an issue identified during the consultation phase as a critical challenge to advancing open data adoption in Brazil. [12] The effective use of open data has been identified as a key area for promoting open government, [13] and research has shown the importance of supporting an open data ecosystem to increase open data use. [14]

To address this usage problem, the commitment aims to foster the disclosure and usage of federal, state, and municipal government data to meet society’s demands. This includes co-creating with civil society a model for disclosing data (Milestones 2.1−2.6) and promoting the model among the different levels of government (2.7−2.9). Consequently, the commitment is relevant to access to information, given the improved data standards and the dissemination of the reference model. It is also relevant to the value of civic participation, given the co-creation nature of Milestone 2.1 and the public consultation component of Milestone 2.6. Interviewees agree, arguing the commitment advances transparency by boosting uses of open data. [15] They also note that it advances civic participation by engaging government and nongovernment stakeholders in assessing open data needs. [16] Nevertheless, although the commitment develops a model designed to advance access to information, the commitment falls short of being relevant to this OGP value. It only disseminates the model and does not include concrete steps to put it into practice.

The commitment is specific enough to be verifiable, and all milestones have a specific deliverable. Deliverables include mapping existing ecosystem models (Milestone 2.2), drafting a reference model structure (2.4), and holding a public consultation on the model (2.6).

The commitment has a minor potential impact. It could bring important advances in the adoption of an open data culture across the government. This potential can be achieved if policy implementation milestones are deployed on time and in full. The milestones of the commitment, as designed, do not include policy implementation and stop at the policy dissemination stage.

Next steps

The commitment is highly relevant and should be prioritized in future action plans if it is focused on increasing the adoption and impact of the developed standards. In the views of a civil society representative interviewed, an open data model can create “integration of open datasets amongst national and subnational governments” as well as “more opportunities for civic participation in open data processes.” [17] The commitment also has the potential to “increase the use of data by civil society organizations and companies” and “increase the channels for civil society to require government to open more datasets.” [18] It will also increase the capacity of cities to open data.

To increase the commitment’s potential impact, milestones related to launching and promoting the reference model (2.8 and 2.9) need to be deployed on time and in full. If this is done, there could be an opportunity to understand how the new model is promoting new uses of open datasets for transparency and accountability, and how the implemented model institutionalized civic participation with open data.

Transitional Results Report

Commitment 2. Open data ecosystem

Completion: COMPLETE

This commitment aimed to establish an open data ecosystem that fosters the disclosure and usage of federal, state, and municipal data in a way that meets society’s demands. [11] It strengthened transparency by setting data disclosure standards, sensitized civil society and the three branches of government on current disclosure efforts and best practices, and encouraged social accountability actions from civil society.

According to the government self-evaluation report, [12] all milestones of this commitment were completed, although the IRM evaluates early results as marginal. It is worth noting that the Reference Model for Open Data Disclosure, the main deliverable of the commitment, was published in October 2020. [13] However, the dissemination efforts of the model were hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. [14]

Milestone 1 on the identification of actors in the open data ecosystem was fulfilled through an online consultation. [15] As a learning, it highlighted the difficulty of systematically mapping actors/users given the dispersion and lack of direct exchanges in the ecosystem. [16] Milestones 2 and 3, on the identification of existing models of data disclosure and their strengths and limitations, resulted in the document “Modelos de Abertura de Dados: Potencialidades e Limites” (Data Opening Models: Potentials and Limits). [17]

Milestones 4, 5, and 6 sought to develop the reference model. An initial structure was presented (Milestone 4), [18] for which each theme was further elaborated (Milestone 5), [19] and improved and validated by public consultation (Milestone 6). [20] The consultation received 43 responses, [21] which were considered and responded to in a transparent manner. [22] The commitment coordinator highlighted the value of collaborative participation in the consultation process and, in general, for the development of the reference model. [23]

The final goal of the commitment was the launch (Milestone 8) and dissemination of the reference model (Milestones 7 and 9). The reference model, after incorporating the public consultation and expert feedback, was launched. [24] In general, the final model included an (1) introduction to the concepts and benefits of open data, (2) recommendations and best practices on data publication and reutilization, (3) guidelines and best practices directly related to states, municipalities and strategic national themes, and (4) fundamentals on open data governance structures. [25] Additionally, the guidelines to assist states and municipalities in disclosing and selecting a minimum set of information and topics within their jurisdiction were strengthened via a direct consultation of 186 specialists in diverse sectors at the national, state, and municipal levels. [26]

The dissemination of the reference model under Milestones 7 and 9 was documented in a communication plan [27] and a schedule that contained all the information and news published and posted by the aforementioned stakeholders. [28] However, the dissemination was significantly affected by the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic as planned events to disseminate the reference model and promote integration, capacity-building, and awareness among society at all administrative levels were not carried out. [29].