Upgrade and Strengthen Open Data System (JM0002)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address? On a global scale, Open Data has become a major initiative by governments to increase the usefulness of research, information and data, encouraging government transparency, private sector technology growth, innovation and policy formulation. There is high demand for government data in Jamaica, and there is a vast amount of data available on government websites to meet this demand. However, the main limitation is that much of this data is not in a readily reusable form and the barriers to converting it have challenged potential application- builders. The Open Data Portal established by the government in June 2016 hosts data in a range of areas including on the economy, finance, infrastructure, health, education, agriculture and transportation. However, the Open Data Portal has experienced challenges in its operation, and much of the data on the portal is not current.

What is the commitment? To upgrade and strengthen the Open Data system in Jamaica through strategic actions in the Implementation Plan for the Open Data Policy, including upgrading of the Open Data Portal.

How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem? The Government of Jamaica Open Data Policy which was approved by the Cabinet in July 2021 provides the Vision, Guiding Principles, Goals, Objectives and Strategies for the advancement of Open Government Data in Jamaica. The Implementation Plan will provide the basis for the realization of the Open Data Goals. The key strategic actions included in the OGP Open Data commitment will address key constraints, including through upgrading the Open Data Portal, application of technology to automate aspects of the Open Data system, mapping relevant Open Government Data sets across the public sector, conducting a comprehensive demand survey of Open Data users across society, undertaking technology transfer and training, and expanding the participation of civil society in Open Data governance.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? The upgrading and strengthening of the Open Data system in Jamaica is relevant to the following OGP values: 1. Access to Information: The upgrading and strengthening of the Open Data system will significantly improve the provision of Open Government Data in Jamaica. The commitment will also strengthen the relationship between the Open Data system and the Access to Information system. 2. Civic Participation: The development of the Implementation Plan for the Open Data Policy will include stakeholder consultation and the representation and role of civil society on the Open Data Committee will be expanded. 3. Public Accountability: The increased availability of Open Government Data will enable more effective monitoring of performance of government entities, projects and programmes. 4. Technology and Innovation for Openness and Accountability: The strategic actions in the Implementation Plan for the Open Data Policy will deploy technology to increase the provision of Open Government Data, including upgrading of the Open Data Portal.

Additional information The upgrading and strengthening of the Open Data system in Jamaica is aligned with:  The Government of Jamaica Open Data Policy (2021)  Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan – National Outcome No. 6 Effective Governance, including National Strategy 6-1 Strengthen the Process of Citizen Participation in Governance, National Strategy 6-5 Strengthen Public Institutions to Deliver Efficient and Effective Public Goods and Services, and National Strategy 6-7 Strengthen Accountability and Transparency Mechanisms; National Outcome No. 11 A Technology-Enabled Society, including National Strategy 11-1 Integrate Science and Technology into All Areas of Development  Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTF) for the relevant three-year period  Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Target 16.10 Ensure public access to information; Open Data is also seen as playing a cross-cutting role, contributing towards the achievement of all seventeen SDGs.

Milestone Activity with a Verifiable Deliverable Start Date: End Date: Complete Implementation Plan for the Open Data Policy November 2021 March 2022 Strengthen Open Data Committee including expanded representation and role of civil society January 2022 March 2022 Conduct comprehensive demand survey of Open Data users across the public sector, private sector and civil society April 2022 May 2022 Conduct mapping of relevant Open Government Data sets across the public sector April 2022 September 2022 Upgrade the Open Data Portal, including application of technology to automate aspects of the Open Data system April 2022 December 2022 Publish and maintain a public list of Government data sets, including rationale and timelines for their publication or non-disclosure, and quarterly updates on priority list of data sets to be mainstreamed into the Open Data Portal6 January 2023 July 2023 Undertake technology transfer and training on the upgrading of the Open Data Portal January 2023 March 2023

Action Plan Review

Commitment 2. Upgrade and Strengthen the Open Data System in Jamaica

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Substantial

(Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology)

For a complete description of this commitment, see commitment 2 in the action plan.

Context and objectives

Jamaica’s new Open Data Policy, [1] approved by the Cabinet in July 2021, sets a new strategic framework that underpins the national Open Data Portal [2] as the country’s core access-to-information platform and commits to amending the ATI Act to include the proactive release of open government data (Strategy 1.1.1).

Commitment 2, an initiative of the GOJ, relaunches the national Open Data Portal as part of the policy’s deployment. This relaunch encompasses an expansion of the role of civil society in shaping the open data offer through a more significant presence on the Open Data Committee and a comprehensive survey on data demand across the public and private sectors and civil society. This commitment is intended to increase the involvement of state institutions and officials in policy implementation by mapping relevant data sets across the public sector and executing the necessary technology transfer and training.

Potential for results: Substantial

In 2014, research by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute showed how open data could potentially contribute to the overall development of the Jamaican economy, especially of the local tourism industry. [3] The same year, a report on open data readiness in Jamaica considered that the country already had most of the key elements to develop a successful open data policy. [4] The national Open Data Portal was launched in 2016, [5] while the 2017 (4th edition) of the Open Data Barometer placed the country as a regional leader on open data. [6] Despite this promising scenario, however, work to maintain current data on the Open Data Portal has lagged since 2018, diminishing the portal’s potential to inform citizens so that they can act on the information.

A complete, updated, and automated Open Data Portal, as envisioned in this commitment, could help the GOJ achieve the three main policy goals the Open Data Policy sets—namely, an informed and participatory citizenry, an increase in governmental efficiency through open data use, and an increase in the socioeconomic value of government data. Meanwhile, a more prominent role for civil society (as reflected in milestones 2 and 3) could steer the data offer to meet data user demand, adding to the Portal’s usefulness and sustainability over time.

Opportunities, challenges and recommendations during implementation

Three key aspects of this commitment must be achieved to realize the commitment’s potential for making the provision of open data sustainable, useful, and citizen oriented. These aspects go hand in hand with the mechanisms this commitment will put in place to implement the Open Data Portal after its overhaul. As the current state of the Portal shows (i.e., no new data sets or updates to existing data sets since mid-2018), readiness for open data and an awareness of the potential value of data for the economy do not ensure success. Data users must be given a key role in shaping the data offered, and mechanisms must be put in place to make data publication a cross-cutting, routine effort for institutions and state officials. To that end, the IRM makes the following recommendations:

• Make sure that the needs of vulnerable groups are considered: Open data and access to information are vital for enforcing the rights of people from disadvantaged or vulnerable groups. Implementation of the Open Data Policy should address the specific data needs of women and people from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Pansexual, Transgender, Genderqueer, Queer, Intersex, Agender, Asexual and other queer-identifying community (LGBTQIA+), among other vulnerable populations. Because adding their perspective to the publication of data could help provide better response to their needs, these groups should be represented across the stakeholder input process for both commitments.

• Help public organizations and officials understand why they should maintain public, open data: Once this commitment is implemented, it will be important to update and provide new, quality data continuously to maximize possibilities for data reuse. In this vein, public organizations and officials must understand why the data they publish matter and how they add to the creation of shared public value by government and citizens alike. In this way, the portal reboot would not be a one-time effort but rather part of a daily, internalized work routine.

• Work on public officials’ data literacy: Although the Open Data Policy includes efforts to improve data literacy among citizens, government officials should also receive training as part of the envisioned transition to a culture of openness in the Jamaican public sector. Multi-stakeholder training could help achieve the Open Data Policy goal of increasing governmental efficiency through open data use while also raising awareness among officials of the relevance and usefulness of open data beyond their duty to make data available. For example, Argentina’s National Public Administration Institute offers training on data analytics for public servants. [7]

Results Report

Commitment 2. Strengthening Open Data System

This commitment was intended to support the implementation of Jamaica's open data policy [1] by relaunching the national open data portal [2] and increasing the involvement of civil society and public officials to make the portal more relevant and user-friendly. While the implementing authorities reported that most of the internal preparatory activities had been initiated and even completed, these mostly consisted of procurement processes to hire the necessary consultants to carry out the planned activities without the activities actually commencing. These included surveying public demands for data, mapping of relevant datasets, and improvement of the open data portal. [3] There were no significant early results vis-à-vis the commitment’s initial objectives that could be linked to the activities foreseen in this commitment.