Promotion of publication and reuse of Open Data (MO0055)

Challenge:

As part of the implementation of commitments 4 and 10 related to the promotion of publication and reuse of open data, integrated respectively in the first and second national action plan of the Open Government, the Digital Development Agency has undertaken, in coordination with stakeholders, a series of organisational, technical, training, and awareness-raising measures in order to accelerate the development of open public data at the national level and to contribute improving the transparency of the administration towards users (citizens and businesses). These measures have led to tangible achievements in terms of engaging public bodies and institutions in organising workshops on open data, raising awareness and capacity-building for the officials of these bodies and institutions, as well as increasing the publication of open data, whether through the national open data portal (www.data.gov.ma) or sectoral portals,and setting up some technical frameworks necessary for the processing and publication of open data. However, and despite the aforementioned achievements and efforts taken by the Digital Development Agency and all stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of the national open data action plan, the process of open data publication and reuse is still not up to the desired aspirations of users, due to a multiple of challenges and issues that need to be addressed and overcome by taking the necessary measures to accelerate in advantage the development of Open Data at the national level and make of Morocco one of the leading countries in this field at regional and continental levels. The main challenges/issues encountered are as follows:
▪ The absence of a specific legal framework for open data to accelerate the promotion of data publication.
▪ The adequacy of published open data to users' needs and expectations, as well as their compliance with current technical standards and references.

Proposed solution:

Establishing a specific regulatory framework for open data and continuing to encourage and incentivise data users (businesses, researchers, civil society, etc.) to reuse the datasets published on the national portal http://www.data.gov.ma or sectoral portals to develop innovative solutions and improve the quality of this data. This can be achieved through: ▪ Conducting consultations with these users, especially civil society actors, to further identify their needs. ▪ Organizing additional editions of the Open Data hackathon.
▪ Publishing “use cases” of open data reuse. Among the proposed actions, the following are highlighted:
▪ Adopting the regulatory framework for Open Data and initiating the application of its provisions upon approval.
▪ Evaluating the quality of open data published on the national portal to ensure compliance with technical standards and references.
▪ Conducting consultative meetings with non-governmental actors (businesses, researchers, civil society, etc.) to identify their priority needs and the most requested data by these actors.
▪ Continuing to organise Open Data hackathons to encourage businesses, researchers, and civil society to reuse open data for creating innovative solutions.
▪ Continuing the dissemination of training and awareness sessions to educate relevant actors on the importance of open data publication.
▪ Continuing awareness campaigns for businesses, especially startups, to emphasise the importance of using/reusing open data.
▪ Developing interactive services on the national Open Data portal and supporting relevant administrations and institutions to update and enrich the content of the portal.

Scheduled Activities (Activities | Start Date | End Date):

Adoption of the regulatory framework for Open Data and application of its provisions upon approval | June 2024 | December 2025
Assessment of the open data quality published on the portal, ensuring compliance with technical standards and references | September 2024 | January 2025
Conducting consultative meetings and awareness campaigns for Open Data users (private sector particularly startups, civil society, researchers, etc.) to gather their feedback on the implementation of the Open Data initiative and raise awareness about the importance of using/reusing open data | October 2024 | December 2024
Organising an Open Data hackathon to encourage businesses, researchers, and civil society to reuse open data to create innovative digital solutions | December 2024 | December 2025
Development of interactive services on the national Open Data portal and support for relevant administrations and institutions to update and enrich the content of the portal | January 2025 | June 2025
Organizing training sessions and awareness campaigns for public entities, especially at the regional level, to raise awareness about the importance of open data publication | January 2024 | December 2024
Organizing awareness campaigns for businesses particularly startups, to emphasize the importance of using/reusing open data | June 2024 | June 2025
Adoption of the regulatory framework for Open Data and application of its provisions upon approval | May 2024 | December 2025

Expected results:
▪ Increase of the number of open data published by public bodies and institutions.
▪ Establishment of transparency and trust between the administration and citizens.
▪ Encouragement of scientific research and innovation.
▪ Promotion of investment and entrepreneurship.
▪ Encouragement of citizen participation and contribution to policy dialogues through data.
▪ Improvement of Morocco's ranking at international level in this field.
▪ Promotion of open data reuse and publication of “use cases” on the national portal.
▪ Facilitation of data exchange with different open databases/information systems for relevant public administrations and institutions.

Performance indicators:
▪ Progress in the development of manuals, frameworks, and technical standards regarding the collection, processing, publication, and use of open data.
▪ Number of beneficiaries of training in public administrations. ▪ Number of businesses benefiting from awareness campaigns.
▪ Number of participants in the hackathon and number of cases of open data reuse. ▪ Launch of interactive services on the national Open Data portal.
▪ Number of public bodies and institutions accompanied in inventorying their data. ▪ Progress of legal provisions regarding open data. Impact indicators:
▪ Number of open data sets published on the national portal. ▪ Number of cases of open data reuse published on the portal.

Impact indicators:
▪ Number of open data sets published on the national portal.
▪ Number of cases of open data reuse published on the portal.