Rethink Information Management and Active Access: Four ‘Open by Design’ Pilot Projects (NL0018)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Netherlands Action Plan 2013-2014
Action Plan Cycle: 2013
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
Access to Information, Open Data, Right to InformationIRM Review
IRM Report: Netherlands Final Report 2013-2014, Netherlands Progress Report 2013-2014
Early Results: Did Not Change
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Yes
Ambition (see definition): High
Implementation i
Description
To provide good, rapid access to government information, freedom of
information and open standards must be incorporated into the design of
information systems. For example, the system must allow non-public
information to be labelled as such when information is first created or a
form completed. Exactly what this implies for information systems will first
have to be determined in a number of pilot projects.
‘Open by design’ only works if a presumption of open access is taken into account from the moment information is created. New systems will not immediately prompt a change in procedures and culture, but they will facilitate change. To put this action into effect, it is important to take advantage of any ‘natural transition points’, such as when information systems are replaced, so that the changes can be effected in a cost- neutral way.
To prevent this action item from disrupting existing systems and thus incurring extra costs for the public sector, the plan is to conduct a number of pilot projects to determine functional requirements for new information systems and architectures and the way documents are generated in them.4 In central government (core ministries only), the first generic applications for storing documents will be available in two to three years
-Complete and publish open-by-design pilot projects
-Have functional requirements ready for new government
information systems