Tom Steinberg, the chap behind the trail-blazing mySociety (creators of, among other things, Pledgebank, Writetothem and - my favourite - Theyworkforyou), has worked with Ed Mayo of the National Consumer Council to produce an interesting and challenging report to the government on the re-use of public sector information. The report proposes opening up the rich and diverse range of government information to wider uses by the public, and recommends revisiting the licensing terms under which the information is made available. Tom and Ed promise to tell "a story of opportunities rather than problems".
I've not read the report right through yet, but selected highlights I picked up from the list of recommendations include these:
"To encourage innovation in the re-use of information by noncommercial users, UK trading funds should, in consultation with OPSI, examine the introduction of non-commercial re-use licences, along the lines of those pioneered by the BBC’s Backstage project and Google Maps."
"To promote innovation, Ordnance Survey should, by the end of December 2007, launch its Open Space project to allow non-commercial experimentation with mapping data."
"... government should commission and publish an independent review of the costs and benefits of the current trading fund charging model for the re-use of public sector information"
"To improve the supply of government information for re-use, the Better Regulation Executive should promote publication of regulatory information, and should work with OPSI to encourage publication in open formats and under licences permitting re-use"
At first glance, some of the proposals may be seen as provocative by some stakeholders, especially given the sums involved (the report says that "revenues to government from the sale and licensing of public sector information are around £340 million, and the total market for public sector information stands at £590 million per year" with the OFT expecting this to double). On the other hand, the report is based on wide-ranging research and informed opinion, and advocates a more strategic approach to getting value out of public information, which is likely to find a receptive audience both in government and among users.
It will also be interesting to see what effect the proposals might have on the (relatively) recent re-use of public sector information regs.
Tom says that the government response is expected in a few weeks.
Comments