Implementation of Open Data Charter Principles (SE0022)

In addition to the formal adoption of the ODC principles, practical and operational work is needed to implement the six principles contained in the Charter. These principles provide guidance for how members can work more actively to help increase the availability of open data as well as increasing the usability of open data. To this end, a national government actor will be designated as the point of contact and be responsible for the implementation of the principles.

The Government therefore intends to appoint DIGG as the national point of contact, with the task among others of being responsible for the implementation of the ODC principles. Furthermore, the Government also intends that, within the framework of this task, DIGG will develop targeted activities to increase knowledge about and the dissemination of the principles and for follow-up of the principles.

Action Plan Review

Commitment 2. Special point of contact and implementation of open data principles

Commitment Cluster 1: Open data (Ministry of Finance, Agency for Digital Government)

For a complete description of the commitments in this cluster, see Commitments 1, 2, and 3 in the action plan here.

Context and objectives:

In the 2022 Global Data Barometer, an international civil society initiative to assess the quality of open data, Sweden ranked among the lowest EU countries. [1] In the European Data Portal’s 2022 Open Data Maturity Report, Sweden ranked 18^th among the EU27+ countries and remained classified as an open data “Follower”. [2] In April 2022, the government passed a law that implemented the EU Directive 2019/1024 on the reuse of public sector information. [3] Amendments to the law entered into force in August 2022. [4]

During Sweden’s fourth action plan (2019-2022), the Agency for Digital Government (Digg) established a new open data portal and the number of datasets tripled. [5] However, public authorities did not address datasets which were priorities for civil society, such as public procurement. In addition, Sweden did not complete a commitment to adopt a national open data action plan. This draft open data action plan (that was never formally implemented) recommended incorporating the principle of “open by default” into law. [6] DIGG has national principles on how to make information publicly available and a national data strategy, but neither are mandatory. [7]

The commitments in this cluster aim to further develop Sweden’s work with open data. Commitment 1 calls for adopting the International Open Data Charter (ODC). [8] Under Commitment 2, the government will appoint DIGG as Sweden’s national contact point for implementing the ODC. In this capacity, Digg will develop activities to increase knowledge about the ODC principles. Under Commitment 3, the government will task Digg to promote open access to purchasing data. During the co-creation process, civil society offered feedback on how the commitment on purchasing data could be best implemented. Open Knowledge Sweden is conducting a project around open contracting called “Open Up!” (previously in partnership with Digg) and has identified which parts of government need to be involved. However, this feedback was not taken into account because the government representatives did not have the necessary time or leverage to expand the commitment to relevant parts of government (such as the National Agency for Public Procurement, the National Financial Management Authority, and the Swedish Space Corporation). [9]

In April 2022 (before the co-creation process started), the government commissioned DIGG to propose how Sweden could adopt the ODC principles. ^[10] NOD’s readout of the consultation meeting on 19 October 2022 mentions discussions around access to purchasing data. ^[11] While the ODC is not explicitly referenced in this readout, the Ministry of Finance noted that the commitments concerning ODC and tasks to Digg were covered in the discussions around improving accessibility of data, bridging knowledge gaps, and opening purchasing data. [12] Moreover, the adoption of the ODC principles by the government has also been a priority for Swedish civil society for many years. [13]

Potential for results: Modest

According to a representative from Open Knowledge Sweden, the adoption of the ODC principles could send a political signal to the public administration on improving open data practices. ^[14] However, the representative believes the impact of the ODC will remain limited if the government does not enshrine “open by default” into law. Moreover, a representative of Civic Tech Sweden expressed skepticism about Digg’s capacity to fully implement the ODC principles. ^[15] A data specialist at Digg noted that Digg can only promote the principle of “open by default” but cannot sanction non-compliance, in the current regulatory framework. [16]

On 30 March 2023, the government tasked Digg to implement the ODC principles. ^[17] DIGG is developing a roadmap for the ODC. [18] Digg will provide guidelines and conduct awareness raising and training for civil servants on sharing and maintaining data. The goal of this project is to change the culture of open data in public administration and avoid a situation where only a few isolated experts work on data. Digg will also organize a “data ambassadors” program for volunteer governmental participants (technical-level officers who work within, or on behalf of, public administration). ^[19] This program aims to improve the skills of participants so they may support open data within their organizations. Digg was already in charge of open data within Sweden’s public administration before the action plan, so the governance has not changed, but the leadership for adopting and implementing the ODC is clearer. According to the representative of Open Knowledge Sweden, it would have been more efficient if the central government had taken the leadership instead of Digg, although the representative also recognized this change would be difficult to implement. [20]

This cluster represents a modest improvement to Sweden’s existing policies and practices on open data. The ODC principles provide the public administration a clear framework on how to share and promote data in a way that benefits society. The International ODC also offers Sweden a chance to learn from and collaborate with other national and subnational governments around open data. However, the adoption of the ODC principles does not generate binding or institutionalized changes across public institutions. The OGP action plan does not specify if these principles will become legally binding, nor does it identify how datasets (i.e., on public purchasing) will be opened.

Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations during implementation

Adopting the ODC principles can help the Swedish government move from reactive openness to a proactive “open by default” system where public officials are required to publish data if there is no obstacle to it. Another challenge to implementing the ODC is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Unlike the ODC, the GDPR is legally binding, and public officials must avoid sharing data that could infringe on the GDPR. Sweden is also highly decentralized, so the responsibility of open data is shared by local administrations. The data ambassador program and the trainings of civil servants (part of the roadmap for the ODC) could help overcome this challenge, but Digg needs to clarify the scope of these programs. Another way to overcome this challenge could be to build bridges between open data work and the anti-corruption work under Commitment 4 in this action plan. Lastly, Sweden’s existing freedom of information (FoI) laws are paper-based, allowing the government to send requested documents to citizens as paper files. This means that there will be two potentially competing frameworks: an existing, legally-binding FoI framework and an emerging, non-mandatory principle of open data. A judgement by the Supreme Court in June 2023 suggests that, under Sweden’s current legislation, the government cannot be required to send documents as open data. [21] The way to overcome this ambiguity would be to legally enforce the ODC principles, including “open by default”.

For strong results during implementation, the IRM recommends the following actions:

• Release a detailed roadmap for implementing the ODC principles and clarify the scope of the data ambassador program. As mentioned, Digg is currently developing a roadmap for implementing the ODC principles in the public administration. Digg should release this roadmap as soon as it is ready. Digg could draw on the guidelines from the International ODC for implementing the ODC principles. [22] It will also be important for Digg to clarify how many people will participate as data ambassadors and how many civil servants will take part in the trainings. Digg could establish indicators to measure the impact of these programs.
• Ensure the national law is in line with the ODC requirements, notably to mandate “open by default”. The government could consider passing legislation that requires the public administration to open certain datasets with sanctions for non-compliance. For Sweden, it will be particularly important to overcome constraints of the existing paper-based FoI framework by legally mandating the “open by default” principle. For example, France’s Digital Republic Law institutes “open by default”. [23]
• Support local authorities and municipalities on open data. Digg could offer technical support to local authorities and municipalities on open data, possibly with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. For example, Open Knowledge Sweden has recommended creating a national ombudsperson to represent the public interest in open data practices and a coordination hub on open data for national and local authorities. [24] Germany, another decentralized country, has an Open Data Competence Centre that organizes open data fora and conferences to inform federal, state, and non-government representatives about open data publication. [25] It also supports knowledge sharing through a website which lists data-use cases. [26] Digg could organize similar fora for the data ambassadors and develop a similar repository of data-use cases in Sweden. Digg and the central government could also encourage the adoption of the ODC by regional and municipal governments. For example, in its 2017 OGP Local action plan, the province of Ontario, Canada adopted the ODC for the province’s Open Data Directive. [27]
• Prioritize opening datasets that support public integrity reforms. These commitments could set a foundation for eventual legislative changes to mandate publishing key political integrity datasets. The readout from the October 2022 consultation meeting indicates that civil society is interested in improving transparency around public procurement, lobbying activities, conflicts of interests, beneficial ownership, and political finance. [28] For example, data on public sector purchasing could support the creation of a central public procurement database, preferably maintained by the Public Procurement Authority. In addition, legislation could be changed to update the financial data that political parties are required to publish.