Open Data Plan (SE0017)

One common issue raised in all the studies carried out is that there is no national coordinated approach to open data and how Sweden should be working to develop it. As part of a wider whole of strategic data management, an open data action plan is therefore fundamental to working on this issue. This is also one of the most important recommendations regarding commitments in the OGP Action Plan submitted in Isaksson and Novak’s report.

As stated by OGP, open data is the cornerstone of open, collaborative administration. To demonstrate the Government’s ambitions with open data, Sweden must therefore draw up a
national open data action plan. This task has been given to DIGG, which is to produce a proposed action plan for making open data more accessible and using it more widely on the basis of the OECD’s OURdata index.

In addition to strategically developing the issue, an action plan will also aid transparency in that it will clearly set out how the Government is prioritising and working with open data.
• Responsible actor: Agency for Digital Government (DIGG). Report to be submitted by: March 31st, 2020.
• Other actors: Government Offices of Sweden (Ministry of Infrastructure).
• Contributes towards OGP principles: Transparency, Technology and Innovation.

1. A national open data action plan

Main Objective

"One common issue raised in all the studies carried out is that there is no national coordinated approach to open data and how Sweden should be working to develop it. As part of a wider whole of strategic data management, an open data action plan is therefore fundamental to working on this issue. This is also one of the most important recommendations regarding commitments in the OGP Action Plan submitted in Isaksson and Novak's report.

As stated by OGP, open data is the cornerstone of open, collaborative administration. To demonstrate the Government's ambitions with open data, Sweden must therefore draw up a national open data action plan. This task has been given to DIGG, which is to produce a proposed action plan for making open data more accessible and using it more widely on the basis of the OECD's OURdata index.

In addition to strategically developing the issue, an action plan will also aid transparency in that it will clearly set out how the Government is prioritising and working with open data."

Editorial Note: For the complete text of this commitment, please see Sweden's 2019-2021 action plan at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Sweden_Action-Plan_2019-2021_EN.pdf

Commitment Analysis

Although Sweden's public sector is characterised by high levels of transparency, there remains room for improvement regarding open data availability and accessibility in the country. Prior to the start of the action plan, Sweden was one of the few Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries that did not have a formal open data policy in place. ^[1] The OECD has noted that Sweden lagged behind other OECD countries in:

• defining overarching formal requirements for all ministries and agencies to publish and share data
• implementing open government data requirements (e.g. timeliness of data sharing, use of open formats) as part of performance indicators of organisations
• encouraging and guiding public sector organisations to carry out consultations with users to inform open data plans and prioritising data publication. ^[2]

Furthermore, Sweden ranked 23 out of the EU28+ countries in the European Commission's 2019 Open Data Maturity Index, putting it in the "Follower" group. ^[3] The Index notes that, although Sweden has guidelines that recommend all public bodies appoint a responsible person for open data, only a few public bodies comply with this recommendation. ^[4]

To improve open data infrastructure and policy framework and address these inconsistencies, this commitment aims to propose a national open data action plan for Sweden. The Agency for Digital Governance (DIGG) is responsible for creating the open data action plan proposal. This proposal for a national open data action plan is relevant to the OGP value of access to information. The commitment is verifiable, though the only planned activity is for DIGG to produce a proposed action plan, using the OECD's OURdata index as a basis. ^[5]

The OECD has found that open data initiatives in Sweden are often "isolated and silo-driven," and developed by small groups of public agencies rather than government-wide efforts. ^[6] Therefore, the creation of a single, comprehensive open data strategy for all ministries and agencies could significantly improve open data availability and accessibility of open data in Sweden. In particular, it could help standardise open data publishing practices across all government ministries and agencies, including the format and timing of publication.

Ultimately, the potential impact of the national open data action plan will depend on its content and the way in which it is implemented across the government. According to a DIGG representative, all government agencies in Sweden are proposed to be covered by the open data action plan. ^[7] DIGG will develop its action plan proposal through workshops with open data users and civil society working in open data. ^[8] DIGG will also determine which datasets to include in the proposed action plan based on the expressed user needs on high-value datasets, according to the open data and public sector information (PSI) directive, as well as through an analysis of high-value data in the OURdata index. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, there will be a consultation process during the creation of the strategy, which will involve representatives of the industry and IT sectors, civil society, public agencies, and municipal and regional governments. ^[9] It should be noted, however, that the commitment calls for DIGG to provide a proposed action plan, and not a final plan. After DIGG develops its proposal, the Swedish parliament and responsible ministries must ensure its realisation. ^[10]

According to the action plan, the draft national open data strategy will be completed by March 2020. ^[11] According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, it is currently not decided whether the final open data action plan will have a revision process, but the plan will be continuously updated in collaboration with stakeholders. ^[12] In order to maximise the ambition of the new open data action plan, the IRM recommends the following:

• The government could continuously consult data users in its implementation, including CSOs and open data experts. This could help build mutual ownership of the open data action plan and ensure stakeholders are able to monitor compliance with its principles and recommendations.
• Periodically revisit and update the plan to ensure it continues to meet the needs of data users in Sweden.
• Once the action plan is in place, the IRM recommends raising awareness and promoting its usage among public agencies responsible for publishing data. For example, Ireland's second OGP action plan included a commitment to develop an open data strategy 2017-2020 in consultation with relevant stakeholders, along with trainings and awareness raising among public servants on open data. ^[13]
• Lastly, the IRM recommends that Sweden's open data action plan prioritise certain categories of data relevant to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with OGP guidance. ^[14]

Commitment 1. A national open data action plan

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential impact: Moderate

● Completion: Limited

● Did it open government? No evidence of early results

The Agency for Digital Government (DIGG) published a draft open data action plan, [16] but the government did not formally adopt it and it has therefore not been implemented further. The reasons why the adoption process was not completed remain unclear, although civil society interviewees mentioned a lack of political leadership and willingness to push to adopt the plan. [17] The OECD has previously pointed out that Sweden tends to prefer isolated projects rather than a countrywide consistent strategy, [18] which might also feed into why top-down guidelines (such as a national open data action plan) by central government are not common in Swedish political tradition. [19]

The weaknesses of open data in Sweden are recognised in the introduction of the plan, with references to OECD criticisms. Promising components include developing ‘open by default’ and ‘open by design’ principles, the removal of access fees to high-value datasets, and a request to all public administrations to report on their progress regarding open data. In general, the proposal calls for a clearer governance by granting DIGG a leading role. However, much of the wording remains vague. In several cases, ‘proposed actions’ consist of asking the government to ‘encourage’ or ‘consider’ relevant public policies.

The consultation process behind the open data action plan was mostly informal, limited to what public officials called ‘ongoing dialogue’ [20] with potential data users. Civil society interviewees stated that they were not consulted and that they have not observed any significant change [21] (in some cases mentioning that they have barely heard of this plan). Transparency International Sweden continues to recommend Sweden adopt an ‘open data by default’ approach, potentially indicating limited impact of the draft action plan so far. [22]