Who is behind datadotgc.ca?
Good question! Please check out our about page.
What is Open Data?
Open data is a philosophy and practice requiring that certain data are freely available to everyone, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control. For government data to be open it must, at a minimum comply with three laws of open data. In short:
- If it can’t be spidered or indexed, it doesn’t exist (something this website seeks to help accomplish)
- If it isn’t available in open and machine readable format, it can’t engage (something we hope to help enhance in version 2.0 of this site)
- If a legal framework doesn’t allow it to be repurposed, it doesn’t empower (sadly there is nothing we can do on this front wherever licenses present an obstacle)
Why does Open Government Data Matter?
Great questions. The short version - open data matters because it gives us a window into how our government operates so we can enhance it services, help build on its analysis and, when necessary, hold it to account. Data also powers our economy, better information and data can mean more efficient services, higher productivity, and more informed choices. As one of the biggest generators of data in the country the Government sits on what is increasingly becoming one of the most important public goods we have. It needs to share that public good so that the wealth it creates and democratic debates it enhances can be more widly spread.
But there are lots of people who are more articulate than us on this subject. Some suggested reading and viewing includes
- Tim Berners-Lee's TED talks: the original and the year open data went worldwide (sadly, Canada didn't)
- Data and Transparency: Of Government and Geeks in The Economist
- Special Report on Managing Information, The Open Society in The Economist
- Opening up Government Data 'will deliver £6bn boost' according to the British Conservative Party
I know the URL of a structured government data set... can I add it?
Exciting! Definitely yes. We'd love to add it to the list. Click on "Liberate a Data Set" in the menu above. Instructions on how to proceed are located there as well.
Hmmm, I notice you seem to be focusing on Federal Government Data... any plans to branch out?
Yes, at some point we'd like to facilitate searching for open data sets at every level. You can of course add data sets from other levels, but it won't impact our pretty graph.
What software is powering this site?
This site is powered by Drupal and CKAN (the Comprehensive Knowledge Archive Network, which is a project of the Open Knowledge Foundation)
Are there future plans for datadotgc.ca?
Yes, indeed, we are hoping to add Microsoft’s OGDI (Open Government Data Initiative) which, where licenses permit, will allow us to offer APIs for many of the data sets. We hope this might encourage people to use the data sets in applications and websites.
I think I may be into this whole datadotgc.ca thing and I'd like to help make it more robust/have more features/do something I'd love, can I help?
Definitely! Please click on How to Get Involved in the menu above.