Open Government Data meets M2M

Already widespread in countries such as the USA, the UK and our neighboring country Austria, the topic of open government data is still very difficult in Germany. In an expert interview with Wolfang Palka, doctoral student at the Chair of Information Systems, Faculty of Computer Science, at the Technical University of Munich, Stefan Meyer, Business Consultant at doubleSlash, gets to the bottom of the questions of what steps are necessary to clear up the situation and how IT service providers like doubleSlash in particular can use and promote this exciting topic.

1. what is "open government data" and what is the current focus of research?

Open government has the potential to address important goals of public administration: increasing economic and social benefits and strengthening democracy in the form of citizen participation[ref]Francoli, M.: What Makes Governments 'Open'? Journal of eDemocracy and Open Government, 3 (2), 152-165 (2011)[/ref]. While in the past only the provision of information was addressed (e.g. data on financial expenditure), the focus today is not only on transparency but also on participation and collaboration [ref]Nam, T.: Suggesting frameworks of citizen-sourcing via Government 2.0. Government In-formation Quarterly, 29, 12-20 (2012)[/ref] [ref] S., Reddick, C.G.: Open e-government in US state governments: Survey evidence from chief information officers. Government Information Quarterly, 29, 115-122, (2012)[/ref] [ref]Scholl, H.J., Luna-Reyes, L.F.: Uncovering dynamics of open government, transparency, participation, and collaboration. In: Proceedings of the 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2011)[/ref].
The provision of open government data is an essential basis for enabling public administration stakeholders to do this. This data is made accessible to stakeholders with the help of so-called open government data portals. Both citizens and (non-profit) organizations can access public administration data online and in a machine-readable format and use it to develop innovative value-added services [ref] S., Reddick, C.G.: Open e-government in US state governments: Survey evidence from chief information officers. Government Information Quarterly, 29, 115-122, (2012)[/ref] [ref]Janssen, K.: The influence of the PSI directive on open government data: An overview of recent developments. Government Information Quarterly, 28, 446-456 (2011)[/ref]. Based on [ref]Großmann, M., Koschek, H.: Unternehmensportale. Fundamentals, architectures, technologies. Springer Verlag, Berlin u. a. (2005)[/ref], open government data portals thus represent a central and personal entry point (single point of access) into the information world of public administration, from which connections to the relevant information (open government data) and services can be established.
There are already a large number of such portals worldwide [ref]Janssen, K.: The influence of the PSI directive on open government data: An overview of recent developments. Government Information Quarterly, 28, 446-456 (2011)[/ref] [ref]McDermott, P.: Building open government. Government Information Quarterly, 27, 401-413 (2010)[/ref]. In addition, developments in practice show that OG data portals are generating more and more interest both in the EU and internationally [ref] S., Reddick, C.G.: Open e-government in US state governments: Survey evidence from chief information officers. Government Information Quarterly, 29, 115-122, (2012)[/ref][ref]Janssen, K.: The influence of the PSI directive on open government data: An overview of recent developments. Government Information Quarterly, 28, 446-456 (2011)[/ref]. However, despite the growing interest in the implementation of such portals, there is still no systematic approach to the introduction and operation of these projects. There is also a lack of a stringent and thorough analysis of previous initiatives and open government data portals.

The aim of my research is to develop a system for the provision of open government data.  

2. the research approaches the topic from the theoretical side as well as on the basis of practical examples. What examples of "Open Government Data" applications, be it cell phone apps and/or web applications, are there, especially in Germany?

Internationally, I see the portals data.gov in the USA and data.gov.uk in the UK as prime examples. But Vienna with data.wien.gv.at or Berlin daten.berlin.de are also good examples of the provision of open government data. In the area of applications, I think the city of Bonn's Open311 is great. Here, citizens can use a web application to report issues such as broken streetlights or garbage. A selection of other examples: Fundmap, playgrounds in Bremen - playground app, tree register - visualizations, short-term parking zones Vienna.

Note on tree cadastre: in Austria, for example, a game was also developed based on this data. In general, open government data can be attractive for game developers, e.g. Scotland Yard using public transport data and other geodata.

3. which countries are pioneers in the field of open government data?

Pioneers in the field of open government (data) are the USA, the UK, New Zealand and Austria. These countries have been working intensively for years on the nationwide introduction of open government data portals and have already successfully implemented open government data portals.

4 A current challenge is to give "Open Government Data" greater visibility and a more prominent status as a topic in Germany. What hurdles need to be overcome to achieve this?

On the citizen side, I see the level of awareness as a particular hurdle. According to the eGovernment Monitor 2012, only around 55% were aware of the possibility of online participation initiatives. In general, however, the problem is that citizens are usually not even aware of what is available. From a developer's perspective, I have learned that some of the data that would be of interest to this group is not available.

5 Why is an IT service provider like doubleSlash important for research?

Service providers such as doubleslash are an important point of contact for research due to their experience. In my opinion, doubleslash could develop applications in the field of open government data relatively quickly that could generate demand. It is therefore important for research to know what requirements a service provider like doubleslash has in the area of open government data.

6. from the perspective of a modern IT service provider like doubleSlash, what developments, measures and initiatives can we expect in the near future?

I was told that in Austria, for example, a kind of roundtable has already been set up where developers and administrators sit around a table. They discuss which data is interesting and should therefore be made available. At the same time, the administration can show what it has and what it should make available. This gives developers new ideas and allows them to develop exciting applications. In my opinion, such roundtables would also be an important step in Germany.

7 In addition to marketing and sales, doubleSlash is strongly represented in the service area. The topic of M2M has taken center stage. How can "Open Government Data" and M2M solutions deliver meaningful results?

Exciting applications in the field of telematics could be developed on the basis of geodata. I see the "intersection" of different data as particularly exciting. For example, the combination of geodata with information on specific locations.

8 There are parallels, particularly in the areas of M2M platforms and open government data portals. What needs to be taken into account?

In my view, the topic of systematics and standardization is one of the most important issues. In the area of open government data portals, there is still a lack of a certain system or standard for the provision of open government data. This results in a large number of isolated solutions of varying quality. I would therefore recommend ensuring that a system or standard is also developed for M2M platforms within the framework of committees or similar.  

9. which "Open Government Data" application would you personally like to see, regardless of its technical feasibility?

I myself would find a real estate search application extremely exciting at the moment. In other words, an app that allows me to set a number of factors, from price per square meter to environmental impact (noise, ozone, etc.) to offers for kindergartens and schools.