InspIS Information System (CZ0027)

Open data – information on schools and school facilities from the InspIS information system
Start and end date of commitment: 1 September 2018 – 1 August 2019
Lead implementing agency
Česká školní inspekce [Czech Schools Inspectorate]
Which public problem will be resolved by this commitment?
Česká školní inspekce holds data on schools and school facilities. Among other things, these data include practical information on the organisation of teaching, material equipment and the like, including publicly accessible inspection reports. The information gathered by the activity of Česká školní inspekce is also supplemented by information from the schools themselves. It is now available via the InspIS PORTAL public information system (https://portal.csicr.cz), which is frequently visited by members of the wider public and pupils’ legal representatives in particular. Publishing data from this system in open format will enable the wider use thereof among potential consumers, including via other electronic applications (e.g., other portals dedicated to schools and education, map systems and applications, etc.).
What is the commitment?
The commitment is to publish open data (information on schools) and public inspection outcomes from the InspIS PORTAL system and regular updates. This will be done with the highest possible efficiency without being a major burden on the staff of Česká školní inspekce.
How will the commitment contribute to solving a public problem?
The proposal is to create an electronic model of existing information held by the InspIS system to enable the automatic publication (and updates) of the database described above, in RDF open format (to allow automatic sharing with other information systems) and CSV format (or similar) for less technologically sophisticated access. This will satisfy both the requirements of other information systems operators (or their users) and professionals and the wider lay public.
How does the commitment relate to OGP values?
The commitment will significantly improve the accessibility of public information held by service authorities and will expand the information potential of such data, thanks to the option of publishing them and of linking to other data in electronic systems with a different purpose or much wider use than Česká školní inspekce’s “parent” system. Moreover, the commitment will enable professionals or the media to use the data. Given the above, the commitment unequivocally relates to the values of transparency and civil participation.
Further information
The proposal will be implemented as part of the Complex System of Financial Evaluation project within the Operational Programme of Research, Development and Education [OP RDE]. The Czech Schools Inspectorate has already initiated the implementation process.
Milestone activity with verifiable output
Preparation and implementation of a public tender for technical modifications to the InspIS system
Immediately - 15 September 2018
Modifications to the InspIS system
16 September 2018 - 31 December 2018
Pilot operation
01 January 2019 - 31 March 2019
Full operation, publication of data and the entry thereof into the National Catalogue, automation of updates
01 April 2019 - 01 August 2019
Name of the responsible person from the implementing agency
Bc. Kamil Melichárek
Role, Department
Director of the Department of ICT and Economic Reporting
Email and telephone
kamil.melicharek@csicr.cz, +420 251 023 225
Other stakeholders involved
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports – for the maximum consistency and validity, it is appropriate to publish (in the form of open data) the data from the Registry of Schools and School Facilities held by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (https://rejskol.msmt.cz) with which Česká školní inspekce’s data are linked.
EDUin, o.p.s.

6. Open data – information on schools and school facilities from the InspIS information system

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

The objective of the commitment is to publish in open data information on schools and school facilities from the InspIS Portal system and implement regular updates. Czech Schools Inspectorate holds data on schools and school facilities. Among other things, these data include practical information on the organisation of teaching, material equipment and the like. The information gathered by Czech Schools Inspectorate is also supplemented by information from the schools themselves. It is now available via the InspIS Portal - public information system (https://portal.csicr.cz), which is frequently visited by members of the wider public and pupils’ legal representatives. Publishing data from this system in open format will enable the wider use thereof among potential consumers, including via other electronic applications (e.g., other portals dedicated to schools and education, map systems and applications, etc.).

Milestones:

• Preparation and implementation of a public tender for technical modifications to the InspIS system;
• Modifications to the InspIS system;
• Pilot operation;
• Full operation, publication of data and the entry thereof into the National Open Data Catalogue, automation of updates’

For full text of the commitment please see: https://korupce.cz/partnerstvi-pro-otevrene-vladnuti-ogp/narodni-akcni-plany-nap/ctvrty-akcni-plan-2018-2020/faze-vytvoreni/

Start Date: 1 September 2018            

End Date: 1 August 2019

Context and Objectives

The main objective of this commitment is to ensure the disclosure and update of information on schools and school facilities in open data format. The Czech Schools Inspectorate currently holds data which includes practical information on the organization of teaching materials, available equipment, forms and extent of teaching subjects, etc. Now, this information is available at the InspIS PORTAL [10] and is supplemented by the schools themselves. The InspIS system was established seven years ago and currently has around 100,000 unique visitors per year. [11]

According to the information provided by the Czech Schools Inspectorate, the data is currently used by the wider public, and pupils’ legal representatives. The commitment aims to automatize the update and publication of databases in open format (RDF and CSV) and to enable data re-use by different information systems operators.

The commitment is specific enough to be verified as it includes clear milestones, such as the modifications to the InspIS system, carrying out a pilot operation, and the implementation of the full operation. However, it is not clear enough what type of data will be updated first, and if, through the implementation of this commitment, more educational data will be published. More specifications on the characteristics of the pilot phase would have been beneficial to determine the potential impact of the commitment.

The commitment is relevant to the OGP values of access to information and technology and innovation as it improves the quality of the information disclosed in the online InspIS PORTAL and promotes automatized updates for the available information. As written, this commitment has a minor potential impact as it focuses on improving the quality of the data published, and the internal process of automatized publication but it does not represent a major change in disclosure or accessibility of the data.  

Next steps

During implementation it is recommended to:

• Increase the added-value of this commitment in terms of uses of the information, and what synergies can be built with the open data published through Commitment 5. Future commitments could examine the scope for an integrated platform with the data from the two commitments so as to better reach their target audiences.
• Ensure clear prioritization of data to be published in open format.
• Conduct awareness-raising activities on the use of the available data.

[10] The InspIS PORTAL, https://portal.csicr.cz

[11]https://www.csicr.cz/en/About-us/Basic-Information, accessed 1 November 2019.

6. Open data—information on schools and school facilities from the InspIS information system

Completion: Complete

The Czech Schools Inspectorate (CSI) processed modifications to the InspIS system internally, rather than go through a tender process. A CSI representative said the internal modification facilitated the automatic aggregation and anonymization of data, making it easier and more efficient to publish than before. [13]

The National Catalogue of Open Data now publishes this database from the InspIS portal containing information about schools and facilities in open data format (CSV format). Schools provide the data voluntarily and through CSI surveys. [14]