Open Data in the Canadian Government
By Gerald Trites,
FCA, FCPA
We live in a world of
data driven decisions. Governments, companies, investors and everyday citizens
are striving to find ways to make use of the data they have, and find the data they
need. The
Open Government initiative of the Government of Canada is an important part of these
efforts.
As the preamble to the Canadian Open Government website
states, “Governments around the world are taking advantage of digital
technologies to advance transparency and make information more readily
available to the public.” This is true, as evidenced by activities in the
UK, US, EU and others.
Now, the government is
in the process of developing a fourth plan for Open Government, which includes open
data. Consultations are going on throughout the winter of 2017/18. This is an
opportunity for Canadians to get involved in an important initiative.
Several basic objectives underpin the initiative:
-
“Open by default is about providing easy and
consistent access to government data and information in open, standardized,
digital formats.”
-
“understanding how well the Government is doing
as a whole, or in key areas of interest, is challenging because data is
presented across multiple reports and information sources.”
The sources of information include Statistics Canada, other
Government departments such as Finance, various business registries and
companies themselves.
With regard to Statistics Canada, the commitments include: “Statistics
Canada will increase access to high-quality statistical information in open
formats, including releasing all 2016 Census data a full 10 months sooner than
the 2011 Census. Steps will also be taken to ensure the data are well
understood by Canadians.” The words “in open formats” are important.
Also, important is this additional stated objective: “Provide
access to high-quality, open statistical data and information from Statistics
Canada, free of charge, in machine-readable formats.” Again, the words “in machine-readable
formats” is noteworthy.
With regard to Finance, the plan states “Starting with
Budget 2017, make all data from Budget charts and tables available in near real
time to facilitate analysis by citizens and Parliamentarians.” Provision of
data in near real time that is useful for analysis is a challenge, especially
considering the data comes from diverse technological sources. Therefore the
data format chosen needs to be platform independent.
There are business registries at all levels of government.
Another commitment stated in the website is “The Government of Canada will
provide searchable information on Canadian businesses that is held in business
registries at the federal, provincial, and territorial level.”
It is worth noting that the largest registry in the UK, where
some 3.5 million companies file their information, has been requiring inline
XBRL since 2010. The EU is bringing in
sweeping requirements for 2020.
Inline XBRL is an international standard for presenting data
that meets all the requirements for presentation of government data from
Statistics Canada, Finance and other departments. It is now required by the
Securities and Exchange Commission for larger companies so all the large companies
in Canada will be required to file in XBRL on December 15, 2017. There are
other forms of structured standardized data, but only XBRL has met the test of time
for financial data and has achieved such a high level of acceptance around the
world.
The government has said that they will “Develop a proof of
concept and prototype of a digital solution for reducing burden in the areas of
corporate search, registration, and reporting for Canadian businesses that is
expandable to all registries across Canada in order to drive consistency in
corporate data provided to the public by both federal and provincial
governments.” XBRL is there for the taking. And its standardized, machine readable
and platform independent. Seems like a clear case.
posted by Gerald Trites @ 11:34 am
1 comments
1 Comments:
Being the 'third attempt' at an Open data policy is in itself telling.
It's a great aspiration, hard but not impossible to achieve, and has been done elsewhere.
Yet fundamentally it is a very simple construct that is often polluted by 'Self-interest' and 'political influence'.
As stated at Data Amplified 2017, "It's all about the meaning"!
In linguistics, meaning is the information or concept that a [regulator has asked to be reported, or] a sender intends to convey, or does not convey, in communication with a receiver. (Wikipedia)
To ensure this happens four key enablers can be used individually or collectively to provide a digital service delivery solution:
1. a business identifier (This is who I am)
2. a digital credential (I am who I say I am)
3. a data dictionary of standardised terms and definitions (This is the dictionary I am using)
4. a digital messaging framework, method and infrastructure (Here is my story, and how to get it to you)
This requires the development of ‘fit for purpose’, collaborative co-development with all levels of government, commercial software providers, business and industry to ensure we create:
- 'fit for purpose' solutions,
- a consistent user experience for businesses across the government’s digital services landscape
- a whole-of-economy digital infrastructure that is a key enabler of digital, cloud computing and big data strategies.
SBR Data Solutions has the knowledge, experience and expertise to help, and $billions in savings to prove it!
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