88348 OPEN DATA READINESS ASSESSMENT Prepared for Government of Antigua and Barbuda June 2013 1 Executive Summary Antigua and Barbuda is in a position to move forward quickly with an Open Data initiative. In doing so, it would not only lead the Caribbean in the supply of Open Data but it could also use its first-mover advantage to harness the skills and enthusiasm of people throughout the region to generate data applications which would benefit Antigua and Barbuda. In addition, existing modernization and digitization programs already underway for financial and other process would make it possible for Antigua and Barbuda to be in the top class globally in Open Data for government transparency- particularly if financial transaction data were to be released. Since the data is already centralized and digitized there would be no technical difficulty in doing so. In addition to reputational and transparency benefits, an Open Data program could lead to greater business efficiency and competitiveness in Antigua and Barbuda, both in absolute terms and relative to other countries in the region, in key areas such as tourism and foreign inward investment, and to community engagement in addressing public service improvement. Again, Antigua and Barbuda could have a first-mover advantage. This assessment has found that Antigua and Barbuda has strengths in its institutions (particularly the Ministry of Telecommunications, Science and Technology (TST) and the Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Public Administration (FEPA)), in relevant laws and in its high-quality internet infrastructure which give a sound foundation on which to build. However a successful Open Data initiative would require: (1) Collective political commitment and sustained political leadership and communication across government. (2) Rapid policy development, within the framework of existing laws, and the rationalization and partial removal of existing charging practices. Policy development should involve collaboration with the new Information Commissioner and re-invigoration of the Freedom of Information Act, 2004. (3) Demand-side initiatives to stimulate the use of Antigua and Barbuda’s data and the skills in using it, including promotion of application development in areas which are of particular importance to Antigua and Barbuda including tourism, disaster management and financial transparency. The costs of an Open Data initiative would not be substantial: where data exists in digital form it is easy to extract for publication in reusable form, and many Ministry programs already have in principle commitments to do so; and where Antigua and Barbuda’s existing ICT infrastructure cannot be used there are opportunities to share costs with others in the region. (Where data is still held in paper form, publication as Open Data should be seen as part of any justified digitization project.) 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 2 Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 5 1. LEADERSHIP ........................................................................................................................... 7 2. POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK .................................................................... 10 3. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND SKILLS WITHIN GOVERNMENT.................................................................................................................. 16 4. DATA WITHIN GOVERNMENT .......................................................................................... 20 4A. KEY DATASET FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................. 24 5. DEMAND FOR OPEN DATA / CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT ................................................ 39 6. DATA USER COMMUNITIES .............................................................................................. 43 7. FINANCING............................................................................................................................. 46 8. NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND SKILLS INFRASTRUCTURE .................................... 48 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 50 OUTLINE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ..................................................................................... 52 3 Methodology This "Open Data Readiness Assessment" was prepared for the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. It is the product of a joint team of experts representing the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, the World Bank and the Caribbean Open Institute. The purpose of this assessment is to assist the government in diagnosing what actions the government could consider in order to establish an Open Data initiative. This means more than just launching an Open Data portal for publishing data in one place or issuing a policy. An Open Data initiative involves addressing both the supply and the reuse of Open Data, as well as other aspects such as skills development, financing for the government’s Open Data agenda and targeted innovation financing linked to Open Data. The World Bank Open Data Readiness Assessment Framework uses an “ecosystem” approach to Open Data, meaning it is designed to look at the larger environment for Open Data – “supply” side issues like the policy/legal framework, data existing within government and infrastructure (including standards) as well as “demand” side issues like citizen engagement mechanisms and existing demand for government data among user communities (such as developers, the media and government agencies). This Assessment evaluates readiness based on eight dimensions considered essential for an Open Data initiative that builds a sustainable Open Data ecosystem. Its recommendations assume that an Open Data initiative will address various aspects of an Open Data ecosystem. The readiness assessment is intended to be action-oriented. For each dimension, it proposes a set of actions that can form the basis of an Open Data Action Plan. The recommendations and actions proposed are based on global best practices while also incorporating the needs and experiences of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to date. Within each dimension, the assessment considers a set of primary questions, and for each, notes evidence that favors or disfavors readiness. The evaluation of each dimension and primary question is color-coded:  Green (G) means there is clear evidence of readiness  Yellow (Y) means that evidence of readiness is less clear  Red (R) means there is an absence of evidence for readiness  Grey (O) means insufficient information to assess readiness When addressing a particular question, evidence of readiness has a “+” sign. Evidence against readiness has a “-“ sign. Evidence that has mixed implications or neither favors nor weighs against readiness has an “o” sign. 4 Not all evidence is weighed equally when determining the overall color indicator for a given primary question. Certain factors may weigh more heavily when deciding readiness status. Acknowledgements This Open Data Readiness Assessment Report was prepared with support from the Government of Antigua & Barbuda, the World Bank, the International Research Centre of Canada and the Caribbean Open Institute. Its primary author is Andrew Stott, Senior e-Government Consultant to the World Bank and the UK government’s former Director of Transparency and Digital Engagement. The team was led by Anat Lewin, ICT Operations Officer, World Bank, and included Axel Rifon-Perez, ICT Policy Analyst and Amparo Balivian, Lead Economist and lead of the Open Government Data Working Group at the World Bank. The team collaborated closely with the Caribbean Open Institute, led by Dr. Maurice McNaughton of the Centre of Excellence for IT-enabled Innovation at the Mona School of Business and Management, University of the West Indies and comprised Dr. Patrick Hosein, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, and Amparo Arango, e- Health Consultant to the Ministry of Health, Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) and PAHO, Dominican Republic. The Caribbean Open Institute was supported by the International Research Centre of Canada through Fernando Perini, Senior Program Officer, Information and Networks. World Bank funding for this assessment was provided by the Open Data Trust Fund under the Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building of the Development Economics Data Group (DECDG), the Caribbean Country Management Unit, and the Latin America and Caribbean ‘ICT Beam’. The team would like to thank Dr. Edmond Mansoor, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister responsible for Telecommunications, Science and Technology and his Open Data Readiness Assessment counterpart team led by Daryl Jackson, Telecommunications Consultant and comprising Asha Christian-Philip, Isoke Perry, Nasheta Richards and Clement Samuel. The review team also wishes to thank the following Antigua & Barbuda stakeholders, in alphabetical order, for agreeing to be interviewed for the study, and whose input and feedback contributed greatly to this report: Antigua & Barbuda Chamber of Dr. Errol Samuel, Ms. Holly Peters, Mr. Shreedhar Commerce Nene Antigua & Barbuda Media Congress Mr. Colin James Chief Health Inspector Mr. Lionel Michael Development Control Authority Mr. Frederick Southwell Government Registry Ms. Cecile Hill 5 Information Commissioner Mr. Alister Thomas Intellectual Property Office Ms. Ricki Camacho Meteorological Office Mr. Keithley Meade Ministry of Agriculture Mr. Robelto Isaac Ministry of Education Dr. Patricia George, Ms. Priscilla Nicholas Ministry of Finance, Economy and Minister Harold Lovell, Dr. Gale Archibald, Mr. Public Administration (FEPA) Daniel Knight, Mr. Ralph Warner Ministry of Health – Health Informatics Health Informatics Unit Department Ministry of Telecommunications, Mr. Luxmore Edwards Science and Technology (TST) National Office of Disaster Services Mr. Philmore Mullin Office of National Drug and Money Col. Edward Croft Laundering Policy (ONDCP) Public Works Department Mr. Walter Christopher Mr. Trent Davis, Mr. Sidlow Frank, Mr. Cleofoster Software Developers Spencer Statistical Division Mr. Rohan Anthony Survey Department Mr. Vernon Bird UWI Open Campus Mr. Ian Benn, Ms. Alison Hull A special thank you is also extended to those individuals who attended the Open Data Public Forum. The comments and concerns expressed during this event provided a valuable insight into the public demand for Government data in Antigua & Barbuda. 6 1. LEADERSHIP 1.1 Is there visible political leadership for Open Data/Open Government? (Importance: Very High) Yellow + The Minister with responsibility for ICT is prepared to champion an Open Data initiative, he was actively engaged in the Open Data Readiness Assessment process and he ordered immediate action on some of the “quick wins”; + There is an excellent track record of political leadership on IT and communications infrastructure delivery. + The Minister of FEPA is leading a program to modernize and increase the transparency of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda’s central financial systems, and saw greater financial transparency as essential to Antigua and Barbuda’s commitments. - There was no evidence of a wider Government political commitment to Open Data and Open Government; the lack of full implementation of the 2004 Freedom of Information Act (including the appointment of information officers in each Ministry) may signify a low priority. + From interviews inside and outside government there was no evidence that there was political hostility towards Open Data; it is most likely that it simply has not been prioritized in the political agenda. + the recent appointment by the Government of a new (and independent) Information Commissioner with a clear agenda to take action to implement the Act may signify a raising of priorities in this area. 1.2 Is there an established political structure for policy and implementation of cross- government initiatives? (Importance: High) Yellow + There is a structure for the implementation of cross-government IT initiatives - with a Government data center and a number of functions centralized in the Ministry of Telecommunications, Science and Technology. + Similarly some of the financial functions, such as procurement and payments, are centralized in the Ministry of FEPA, meaning that the implementation of Open Data in these areas does not require as much cross-government co-ordination as in other jurisdictions. - However there is no formal structure, other than the Cabinet itself, for the implementation of cross-government initiatives. 7 1.3 Are there existing political activities or plans relevant to Open Data? (Importance: Medium) Green + Improvement in financial systems and greater financial transparency are urgently being made in order to raise the assessment of Antigua and Barbuda by the EU due in December. + Promotion of tourism is a major political priority, and there is the potential of Open Data to provide better information services to potential tourists as well as to visitors once on- island. + There is political importance to Disaster Risk Management, and the importance of data both in planning and in response is increasingly recognized. 1.4 Does the wider political context help or hinder Open Data? (Importance: High) Green + The wider political context is one of modernization and promotion of economic growth. This has already been evidenced by the promotion of high-quality mobile and mobile data services, and by the phased program of modernization of government services and processes. + The wider political context of the Caribbean - both within the Organisation of East Caribbean States and more widely - also creates an environment for innovation and growth. + There is a friendly rivalry among Caribbean states so Antigua and Barbuda taking a leading position on Open Data (as it has started to do by having the first Open Data Readiness Assessment itself) is an opportunity for regionally- and globally-recognized regional leadership. Assessment of Leadership and Recommended Actions Question Area Importance Assessment Red/Yellow/ Commentary Green rating Political Leadership Very High Yellow High level political leadership on Open Data does not fully exist yet, but political leadership has been demonstrated in closely related fields. Political Structure High Yellow The cross-government structure for Open Data implementation does not exist, but 8 the fact that Antigua and Barbuda is a small country with several Open Data- related functions centralized significantly mitigates the risks of operating without it. Existing Activities Medium Green Existing political priorities fit closely with opportunities for early progress on Open Data Wider Context High Green The wider context provides drivers for Open Data leadership, particularly as Antigua and Barbuda has “first mover” advantage. OVERALL Very High Yellow The political potential is there, but it would need to be crystallized into political backing across government and specific commitments by the Cabinet collectively to the principles and the delivery of an Open Data initiative. Leadership Recommendations for Action Plan Action Responsibility Timescale Comments 1.1 Develop a declaration Various models available for such on “Open Data” for a declaration - cf for instance agreement by the Cabinet Australia and New Zealand and subsequent Ministry of publication. This should Months 1-2 TST include specific key datasets and a rolling program of release from each Ministry. 1.2 Secure Cabinet . agreement to the Minister of Month 2 declaration on Open Data TST policy, and then publish 1.3 Appoint a clear Prime Minister Month 2 Clear, empowered and sustainable political leader to be the political leadership will be “public face” of the essential. Provide high-level initiative and to work with backing for initiatives across political colleagues to government. ensure delivery 9 2. POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK Note: This section is policy analysis and advice based on information and opinions collected during this study and common policy and legislative issues arising in other jurisdictions. It does not constitute legal advice; nor does it attempt to cover the full extent of the laws which might apply to Open Data in general or to the disclosure of information of specific types or by specific bodies. Recommendation 2.6 suggests that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda should commission a formal legal study and advice from its lawyers. 2.1 What policies exist related to public sector information that may impact Open Data? Yellow + There is an established, modern, Copyright Act enacted in 2003. + Copyright in Ministries’ data vests in the Government collectively. o There is currently no specific concept of “Government Copyright” or “Crown Copyright”, although one is being considered for future enactment in revisions to the Copyright Act. This could usefully ensure that any information produced with public funds or for a public service belonged to the Government (and so could be released as Open Data), even if it was produced by a contractor. + The Intellectual Property Office provides expert advice to Government on copyright and licensing issues when needed. To date this has not been much needed, but the expertise exists and there are established processes for seeking advice. o There had been a case where unauthorized copying of official information had taken place, and the Intellectual Property Office had assisted the information holder in asserting the Government’s rights. - The Intellectual Property Office however only provides advice. We were advised that decisions on licensing of government information probably rest with the Prime Minister’s office, but since this has not been an issue to date the decision-making process is not formalized. - Copyright in the data of statutory boards vests in each of the Boards themselves. Licensing their information would require agreement with them individually or the introduction of a form of Government Copyright which applied to them. o Some public bodies charge some customers for access to information which they hold. The rationale for doing so and the pricing policies were not clearly articulated across government. In particular: * any revenue from sales of information was returned directly to the Ministry of FEPA. Public bodies operated on a gross funding basis agreed with the Ministry 10 of FEPA. While it is possible that from year to year annual budgets are adjusted to enable the requested services to be provided at the level demanded, public bodies were exposed to the risk of additional demand for services within each financial year. * provision of information to other Ministries was not charged. * there was no clear rationale for the level of pricing set. In some cases it seemed to reflect the cost of the work involved to respond to the request (especially where the information was kept on paper files), but in other cases it seemed also to reflect some of the costs of collecting and maintaining the information. * some agencies had ambitions in principle to move to a self-funding basis. However we did not see the management information systems which would be necessary for them to do so safely. o There was concern in the Statistics Division that release of statistical data in reusable form would introduce the risk that official statistics would be surreptitiously modified and presented as authoritative. Other National Statistics Offices have faced and tackled this problem by publishing both a PDF version as the definitive version, and also a reusable data file version of the same information without the formal status of official statistics, or by requiring the attribution to point to the definitive version on the official website. 2.2 What policies/laws exist on government secrecy and access to information? Yellow + Article 12 of the Constitution provides that: “ [freedom of expression] includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive information and ideas without interference, freedom to disseminate information and ideas without interference (whether the dissemination be to the public generally or to any person or class of persons) and freedom from interference with his correspondence or other means of communication.” + There is a Freedom of Information Act enacted in 2004, whose stated purpose is to “give maximum effect to [the right in Article 12 of the Constitution] in respect of information held by public authorities etc. (subject only to such exceptions as are reasonably justifiable in a democratic society or specifically prescribed by law) and to enhance good governance through knowledge, transparency and accountability. + The Freedom of Information Act specifically requires (Section 10) “Every public authority shall, in the public interest, publish and disseminate in an accessible form, updated annually, basic information, clearly dated including (a) an accurate and sufficiently detailed description of its structure, functions, duties and finances; (b) 11 relevant details concerning services it provides directly to members of the public; … (d) a simple guide containing adequate information about its record-keeping systems, the types and forms of information it holds, the categories of information it publishes and the procedure to be followed in making a request for information; …(g) the content of all decisions and policies it has adopted which affect the public, along with the reasons for them, any authoritative interpretations of them, and any important background material”. This is a relatively strong policy commitment to proactive publication and, importantly, requires Ministries to maintain and publish details of the datasets which they hold (a feature only just introduced by President Obama in the United States). + In terms of policy, the Antigua and Barbuda Freedom of Information Act is rated best in the Caribbean and 7th in the world by Access-Info and the Center for Law and Democracy1. However the authors of these ratings did comment: “This law scored quite well, but there are some uncertainties as to whether it belongs on this ranking. … we have been unable to properly confirm whether this law has in any way been implemented, ….. Although this methodology does not purport to measure implementation, this may be an exceptional case in that some indications we have received back from regional experts are that the law is purely theoretical.”2 - After 9 years, the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act is still lacking. There is an absence of the guidance required by the Act for citizens and for officials, and a network of Information Officers in each Ministry had not been created. No officials interviewed for this Assessment could recall being asked for information under the Freedom of Information Act, and there seemed to be only one celebrated case where journalists had sought information under the Act. + A new Information Commissioner has been appointed. He told us that he is personally determined to move quickly to implement the Act, including the appointment of an Information Officer in each Ministry by August 2013. However he is concerned that his office is still under-resourced for the scale of the task now to be done. - The Freedom of Information Act appears to provide for access to information3, but it does not appear clearly to give a right of re-use of that information. The Act (like some similar Acts in other jurisdictions) appears silent on the requestor’s rights to use the information. 1 http://www.rti-rating.org/ 2 http://www.rti-rating.org/view_country.php?country_name=Antigua 3 Section 15 12 + The Freedom of Information Act provides4 that an applicant can request the information in a specific format, and that the public body should meet that preference where it could reasonably be met. The Act specifically mentions that an applicant can request “a transcript of the content of a record, in …electronic … where such transcript is capable of being produced using equipment normally available to the authority”. This should mean, for instance, that information maintained on spreadsheets but published as PDF files should be obtainable as spreadsheet under the Freedom of Information Act (although this provision would not help where the information is “a document that is available for public inspection in a registry maintained by the Registrar or other public authority”5); + The Statistics Act 1975 specifically requires the Statistics Division to “collect, compile, analyze, abstract and publish statistics portraying various aspects of the social, demographic and economic conditions of the people of Antigua and Barbuda”6; o The Statistics Act provides that “Information collected through inquiries conducted under this Act may not be published in a manner which enables the identification of the cost of production, capital employed and profits arising in any particular undertaking or business or which discloses the affairs of an individual household or person.7” This is a fairly typical provision. 2.3 What policies/laws help or hinder the use of information by public and civil society? Green + As already mentioned, the use of information by public and civil society is embedded in Article 12 of the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda. + Many officials said that part of their normal duties was to supply information to the public and to other stakeholders; this was a clear part of the government’s culture, and was not linked to the specific requirements of the Freedom of Information Act. Assessment of Policy/Legislative Framework and Recommended Actions Question Area Importance Assessment Red/Yellow/ Commentary Green rating 4 Section 21 5 Section 16(1)(c) 6 Section 3(1)(a) 7 Section 12(1) 13 Policies on reuse of High Yellow The copyright position is satisfactory, but information the policy on charging is unsystematic and potentially inimical to Open Data. Policies on Access High Yellow The Freedom of Information Act is well to Information and regarded in theory, but it has not been put Secrecy into practice. Wider use of High Green Wider use of information is supported information explicitly in the Constitution OVERALL High Yellow There are no show-stoppers, but a detailed policy for Open Data would need to be developed and would need to be accompanied by work on charging policy and making the FOI Act provisions for proactive disclosure “live”. Policy/Legislative Framework Recommendations for Action Plan Action Responsibility Timescale Comments 2.1 Develop overall Open Ministry of Months 2-4 Develop policy in conjunction Data policy, including TST with Information Commissioner “Open by Default”, as the FOI implementation and standards, processes and the Open Data policy should, other recommendations in although different in nature, be this Assessment closely aligned where appropriate 2.2 Develop Open Data Intellectual Months 2-4 Rather than draft a specific licensing policy Property Antigua and Barbuda license Office emerging best practice is that the globally recognized Open License “Creative Commons Attribution” be adopted. 14 2.3 Clarify data charging Ministry of Months 2-6 The US Federal policy is that the policy, with a presumption FEPA information already belongs to the that electronic copies of taxpayers who have paid for it, information will be and so is available free. In the available free of charge UK and some European countries there is a legacy of charging for certain data, which is now having to be dismantled. Economic analysis shows that the maximum national value is obtained when information is available at the marginal cost of distribution, which on the internet is free. However this need not prevent public bodies charging for information where there are specific costs, for instance for paper copies, for manual searches of registers, or for certification that the copy is a true copy of an official record. 2.4 Ensure that the Intellectual Timing Ad hoc action may be needed to proposed “Government Property dependent ensure that Government retains Copyright” provision Office on ownership of essential data in makes clear that legislative contracts passed before information produced by program Government Copyright is enacted Statutory Boards and by contractors belongs to the Government and so that the Government can release it as Open Data 2.5 Develop policies that Statistics Months 1-2 Other National Statistics Offices allow publication of Division have found ways of managing this statistics in reusable form risk, as indicated in the text. without the risk of Statistics are a “Quick Win” surreptitious change to dataset official statistics 2.6 Conduct a formal legal Attorney Months 1-2 study of the law of General Antigua and Barbuda as it relates to Open Data and obtain advice from lawyers of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda 15 3. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND SKILLS WITHIN GOVERNMENT 3.1 Is there an agency or entity that has the mandate, project management experience and technical skills to manage an Open Data portal? (Importance: Very High) Green + The Ministry of TST operate the Government of Antigua and Barbuda website and the Government Data Center including Government shared ICT infrastructure. It has the related mandates, the project skills and most of the technical skills necessary to implement an Open Data initiative. - The Ministry of TST does not currently have the precise technical skills (e.g., in the Python language) to install an Open Source portal package such as CKAN, although some programmers are learning Python. However they could quickly develop these skills, or the CKAN package could be acquired as a supported and hosted service - perhaps in a way which provided a platform for the Caribbean more generally. o The Ministry of TST does not have any experience of the use of public Cloud Computing services. There is an understandable caution about security for sensitive data. 3.2 Do any agencies have a CIO, CTO or permanent official positions dedicated to data management? (Importance: Medium High) Yellow + Some Ministries have these positions, particularly where their data has been digitized. Other Ministries are talking about setting up “Data Units” as they start to digitize their data. - For some IT systems the owning Ministry is reliant on off-island external vendors to make changes to system, including the changes necessary to unlock the data held in those systems. This could introduce extra cost and delay. 3.3 Are there any inter-agency mechanisms to coordinate on ICT issues (such as for technical matters)? (Importance: Medium High) Green + The Ministry of TST provides strong leadership in this area, and provides a range of centralized technical services to avoid duplication within the public sector. 16 3.4 Is there any process currently used to measure agency performance or quality of service delivery? (Importance: Medium) Unable to assess o There was no evidence of a systematic agency performance measurement framework, but this does not materially affect the overall Assessment. 3.5 Is there an agency or ministry primarily responsible for data or statistics? (Importance: Medium) Green + The Ministry of TST is responsible for IT policy and many IT services, and has a good view of data more generally. + The Statistics Division is responsible for official statistics for the Government as a whole, although some key macro-economic data are collected and published by the East Caribbean Central Bank. o The Archivist’s responsibilities under the Archives and Records Act are more for the preservation of past records than for policies on current records. + The Intellectual Property Office is responsible for advice on copyright and licensing of government information (see section 2). Assessment of Institutional Preparedness and Recommended Actions Question Area Importance Assessment Red/Yellow/ Commentary Green rating Lead OGD Agency Very High Green The Ministry of TST is very well placed to lead the initiative CIOs/Inter-agency Medium High Yellow The strength of each Ministry depends Mechanisms to a large degree on the extent to which its information has been digitized. Performance Medium Unable to No information available management assess Data/Stats Agency Medium Green There are clear single-point responsibilities OVERALL Medium High Green 17 Institutional Recommendations for Action Plan Action Responsibility Timescale Comments 3.1 The Ministry of TST Ministry of Month 1 should lead the TST implementation of an Open Data initiative; they are best placed to do so. 3.2 The Ministry of TST Ministry of Months 1-2 should form a distinct core TST team to lead the initiative; with the wide responsibilities of the Ministry there is a risk of focus being lost. However the team should be supported by a working group of experts from within the Ministry and elsewhere in Government (eg Intellectual Property Office) 3.3 For the quick wins, Ministry of Months 3-6 data should be hosted on TST the Government Website 3.4 At a later stage there Ministry of Month 7 UWI has already expressed an should be a migration to a TST onwards interest in providing a shared standard Open Data portal CKAN instance to provide an software package. Open Data portal for Antigua and Options and skills Barbuda and for other interested requirements for doing so Caribbean nations. should be investigated, and the possibility of sharing costs and skills requirements with other Caribbean countries should be evaluated. 18 Action Responsibility Timescale Comments 3.5 The Ministry of TST Ministry of Months 3-4 By definition Open Data does not should consider the TST raise the security issues which hosting of large Open have been raised in relation to Data datasets on public other uses of Cloud. Using it for cloud storage large Open Data sets would be more efficient than enhancing the Government Data Center and would help the Ministry of TST develop Cloud skills and experience more generally. 19 4. DATA WITHIN GOVERNMENT 4.1 What are the policies/laws on the management of government information? Red - There is no systematic policy or laws on the management of government information. There are some obligations within the Freedom of Information Act and within the Archives and Records Act, but these do not seem to be commonly applied. 4.2 Does the government have a coherent view of its data holdings? Yellow - Although there is an obligation to do so under the Freedom of Information Act, there is no evidence that there is a systematic or coherent view of data holdings across government. In some Ministries there was a “Data Unit” or equivalent that had a view of the Ministry’s own data, but in other Ministries data holdings were a matter for individual units. + Ministries which have digitized their key records unsurprisingly tend to understand better what data they hold than Ministries who still hold their records on paper. + The centralization and integration of certain functions, such as finance, budgeting, procurement and payments means that there is a good understanding of those datasets. + The emergence of “Data Units” may signify that the Government is starting to see data as a strategic resource as well as a transactional record. + The scale of Antigua and Barbuda would make it the task of bringing even manual systems into Open Data doable 4.3 How and where is government data held? Yellow + There is a Government Data Center which holds a lot of the digitized data of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. - Digitisation is patchy. There are some good systems, but also some ad hoc spreadsheets held on local PCs and servers, and some data which is not digitised at all. - However substantial amounts of information, including key datasets such as the Company Register, are still held in the form of paper records. 20 4.4 What data is already published - either free or for a fee - and on what conditions? Green + A substantial amount of data is already published, although it is not usually in a machine-readable and re-usable form. A lot of information is published as PDFs, even though it is clearly derived from structured databases. + There was some evidence that Ministries would release information in response to requests, although not many such requests were made through the Freedom of Information Act. o Some of the data is charged for, but policies are inconsistent, and it is not possible to see whether the charge is for the data or whether it is for the retrieval service. - Little attention has been paid to terms of licensing and, in particular, licensing for re-use as well as access. 4.5 Are there agencies with established capabilities in data management that could give leadership to a wider initiative? Green + The Ministry of TST has a good capability and could give leadership to a wider initiative. Other Ministries, such as the Ministry of FEPA and the Ministry of Education, have data management capabilities in their specific fields. - Elsewhere in Government there are several projects to digitise key datasets under way, but opening the data is either considered out of scope or is undefined in detail. Assessment of Data within Government and Recommended Actions Question Area Importance Assessment Red/Yellow/ Commentary Green rating Policies on Medium Red Although appropriate policies are not in Information place, this not necessarily needed in order Management to start an Open Data initiative. It is good practice to implement these for commonality in action by ministries. 21 View of Data High Yellow There is no comprehensive government Holdings view. However Ministries which have digitized their key records have a better view than those who have not yet done so, and since digitized records are clearly more suitable for early release as Open Data the absence of a comprehensive view need not impede progress on an Open Data initiative. How is data held Very High Yellow Digitized data held as part of structured systems is held in a form and in locations which should be relatively easy to supply data to an Open Data portal. Locally held data and data held in non-digital records is more problematical, but may not be a short-term problem Existing publication Medium Green There are good examples of digitized data of data being published already, although sometimes for a charge and usually not in reusable form. Agencies with High Green The Ministry of TST is able to lead, and a existing capability number of other Ministries have capabilities relating to their own data Availability of key Very High Yellow The availability of key datasets depends datasets on the extent to which they are digitized and on overcoming, in some cases, charging policies. OVERALL High Yellow Data within Government Recommendations for Action Plan Action Responsibility Timescale Comments 4.1 Introduce a staged Ministry of Releases: release of data, starting TST 1A: Month 2 with a number of quick 1B: Month 4 wins of easily releasable 2: Month 6 data which is already And then digitized, then ensuring beyond delivery of Open Data parts of existing publication plans, and tackle more difficult datasets 22 4.2 Specific programs of Ministry of Months 4-6 work should be put in TST place to ensure that digitized data which cannot be immediately released have a defined pathway to release 4.3 All programs to Ministry of Months 4-6 digitize datasets TST currently held in paper form should be reviewed to ensure that they have, as an integral component, the necessary functionality to release the data once it is digitized 23 4A. KEY DATASET FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional This information The Met Office The Met Office is + businesses have already Quick Win: release as is already freely has the technical keen to release this asked for this data in API soon as practicable, and available on the capability to data and have the format Weather forecast place on Open Data page Met Office implement an resources to + Better/faster and observation of Government website data website API - it is already implement and communication of weather without waiting for the under test manage it. conditions including commissioning of an threats of extreme Open Data portal (1A) conditions This information The Ministry of + Education data is Quick Win: release as is already freely Education is willing essential for parents to soon as practicable, and available in PDF to have this data choose schools for their place on Open Data page format, so there is released in reusable children and to press their of Government website no policy issue in form teachers and headteachers without waiting for the its release to improve performance at Education data commissioning of an local level. Open Data portal (1A) + Educational performance data compared with educational budget data is a key accountability - Potential pressure for additional spending 24 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional This information The PDF is The Statistic + This is key data which Quick Win: release as is already freely generated from Division is willing businesses in Antigua and soon as practicable, and available in PDF Excel to consider Barbuda and potential place on Open Data page format. The spreadsheets. releasing this data foreign inward investors of Government website Statistics The spreadsheets in reusable form have been requesting. without waiting for the Division is need to be subject to resources + Release in reusable form commissioning of an concerned to checked for and necessary will make better use of the Open Data portal (1A) Official Statistical prevent the hidden metadata, safeguards professional work already data surreptitious and then released undertaken by the modification of Statistics Division official statistics, - The definitive version of and this can the official statistics needs managed as to be highlighted on the indicated in the government website to text maintain the integrity of the official statistics 25 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional Much of this There are existing The Ministry of + Budgetary information Release by the end of information is plans to enhance FEPA has the is key citizen September 2013, in line already publicly the FreeBalance institutional engagement and with existing plans. (1B) available in the system to provide capacity to transparency information 400-page budget an online “results implement the + Transparency will help Budget and book. The portal” by results portal and improve the rating of spending data publication of September 2013. the simultaneous Antigua and Barbuda further detail for The staging table release of its data in + The amount of data in the purposes of required for this reusable form. the budget book is financial could be simply considerable, but it is transparency is an released as a impossible to process; existing policy reusable data file making it available in priority as well reusable form will set the bar high for others in the Caribbean. 26 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional The National The Office The NODS insisted + There is political Release by the end of Office of Disaster collected data on having a political importance to Disaster September 2013, (1B) Services (NODS) during 9 months leadership that Risk Management, and the possesses a for the future accounts for the importance of data both in There is no established comprehensive Geonode legal responsibility planning and in response is system to collect post- spatial data platform. and consequences increasingly recognized. disaster personal inventory. There GeoNode is a of releasing data + Subject to resources and information uploaded by is no problem in web-based (e.g. map on necessary safeguards, citizenship: this could be releasing non- application and tsunami, which are NODS would not impede a potential app to be sensitive data platform for potential spots but the release of disaster developed. (Geospatial developing GIS not certain in case management data which Information and for deploying of disaster). would become a quick win System GIS) such spatial data Ensure“Government (main datasets Disaster as data on critical infrastructures Copyright” computerized and Management Data facilities, shelters, (SDI). provision (include machinery readable). schools, and It is developed as information +Geonode platform is release map an intra-agency produced by developer friendly and information on platform but it is Statutory Boards open source. The platform hurricanes areas, developer and National is nourished with complete evacuation and friendly so it Offices belongs to datasets. emergency routes could become a the Government that -Lack of effective data and flood zones. quick win in can release it as management and time All data could be terms of open Open Data and consuming. in an open source source and reuse avoid charge for platform for of data. data) sharing geospatial CARICOM has a data and maps. regional policy and (see Technical: agreement on GeoNode). information sharing 27 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional This information The underlying The Inland Revenue + Key “core reference Release by the end of giving the data is held on a Department is data” for the operation of September 2013, or as business computer willing to release the business-to-business soon thereafter as the identifiers, name database, so it the data (indeed it sector, including credit Inland Revenue and addresses of should be considers that it has rating. Department can achieve businesses relatively simple an unfulfilled + Places Antigua and it (1B) (registered to write and run a obligation to do so) Barbuda in the upper part companies, query and it has the of the league of Business Identifiers partnership and periodically to technical capacity to transparency of company sole traders) extract the data. do so. registers. should already be The data can then - While business-related published; the be published in data about sole traders is Inland Revenue raw form not normally regarded as Department has sensitive personal data, not been able to there will need to be resource doing so communication and explanation in order to avoid privacy concerns 28 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional The Registers of The registers are The Registrar did + Better policy outcome: Release within 6 months, Professionals maintained not consider that these registers are after appropriate maintained by the manually but it there would be a maintained in order that consultation (2) Registrar would not be a problem in the public can locate (lawyers, doctors, major job to put publishing these qualified professionals, vets, marriage them into registers and greater availability of officers) and by reusable form information would assist Registers of others (eg private periodically. this. Professionals surveyors by the - Personal data within the Surveyor) are registers would have to be intended to be considered, in consultation published, so with the professional there would not bodies for these be policy issue in professions. However making these prima facie these are available as Open public registers anyway. Data. This information This information The Registrar was + Greater transparency in Release within 3 months, could be released is held on prepared to consider the property market, aiding and periodically free of charge computer since release of this data both buyers and sellers (monthly) thereafter. If Property price-paid without affecting 2005. A + Proven area where possible release data information the revenue relatively small value-added services can back to 2005 to enable stream from software change be built on the data (cf Zillow/Zoopla-style providing full would be needed Zillow in the US, Zoopla pricing algorithms to copies of the to extract the data in the UK) operate better. (1B) Land Register from the database entry 29 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional This information Anonymised Promotion of + Better data for tourist- Release within 3 months, could be released landing card data tourism is a major related businesses in and monthly thereafter using the data is already political priority. Antigua to plan and price (1B) compiled in the uploaded to the There is the their services register of Caribbean potential of Open - Risk of competitor immigration8 Tourism Board Data to provide nations using the data to (e.g.entry points: for analysis better information compete better - however airport, harbor). services to potential this data is already pooled The civil society tourists as well as to on a Caribbean basis so and private sector visitors once on- limited additional risk (e.g. Chamber of island. Tourism data Commerce, Dr. Mansoor Antigua Hotels committed on and Tourist enhancing the Association9, release of quick community of wins datasets (e.g. developers) could Tourism data) reuse the information to develop apps, increase efficiency and attract more foreign investors. 8 http://www.immigration.gov.ag/ 9 http://www.antiguahotels.org/v2/index.php. The Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association is a non-government organization and the representative voice of the local tourism private sector with a membership which comprises hotels, airlines and nearly 50 other tourism- related entities. 30 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional Existing policy Information is Statistics Division + Core data for a wide Release within 3 that Census held on computer, acknowledge that range of business and months, in line with information but it is not clear census data should government needs; easy current publication plans should be how the existing be published availability on the internet (1B) released in publication plans would greatly increase conformance with would operate accessibility and reuse PARIS21. Data + Existing plans to publish Population Census is scheduled to be the data so costs already in results published in June Statistics Division budget 2013 - already - Any Census information delayed has privacy issues, but these would already have been considered in existing publication plans - the channel or form of publication does not affect these. 31 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional Cadastral maps There is an The Surveyor is + Better access to Release within 6 are available to existing plan to keen to put this information by those months, using planned the public at the put cadastral information online, working with property online facility but public counter in maps online but currently + Lower costs to business without charging. Most the Surveyor’s intends to charge + Better service to of the current charges are office. There is a potential foreign investors for the costs of the search fee of + Avoids need for service of manually EC$35 and then payment administration in searching records and EC$5 for each online system manually printing paper parcel map hard + Would still charge on a copies. There would be copy. cost-related basis for Cadastral maps no significant transaction searches and paper copies costs in making the at the counter online system free. - Potential loss of future While it would revenue cannibalize some of the existing counter traffic, this would already be expected due to the planned online, paid, system anyway (2) 32 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional Topographic There is a The Surveyor has + Mapping data is the Release within 6 maps are digitized vector been concerned that basis of many Open Data months (2) available, and topographic map maps are already applications for the paper copies can at 1:50,000. being copied and visualization of other be purchased There are sold, and that it is information. scanned versions difficult and time- + Allows more of the 52 sheets consuming to competition in the of 1:5000 maps enforce copyright in business of making maps, these maps with the possibility of Topographic maps greater innovation and diversity. + Saves current costs of copyright enforcement - Possible effect on existing revenue for paper maps, but evidence elsewhere shows that this is not material - digital maps are used in other ways. 33 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional The Land The Land The Registrar would + Easier access to Consider publication as Registration Register is be prepared to make information by businesses Open Data. Review system is 100% computerized. A the information and individuals should consider the complete. Copies software available online, but + Greater transparency of issues of the actual cost of Land Register enhancement only for a fee. the market for land and of online access and entries can be would be housing whether charging a fee purchased for required to make + Easier to identify owners reflective of this amount Land Register EC$35 this information of disused land and bring would be worthwhile. entries (uncertified) and available online back into use, aiding The Review should also EC$50 (certified) development and renewal consider whether the - Potential loss of revenue, costs should be included but could be covered (see in Registration fees as an recommendation). easier and more dependable way of covering the costs (3) 34 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional There is already a 95% of The Ministry of + Publication would make Consider publication as commitment to government FEPA would be Antigua and Barbuda Open Data , aiming budget and payments are able to do this, but “world class” in this key provisionally to do so outturn made by the it would require the test of Transparency within 6 months (2) transparency (see FreeBalance approval of the + Range of commercial above). The system, and it is Accountant General (eg Spikes Cavell) and policy of planned to reach and the Minister of community (eg Open Financial publishing 100%. Extracting Finance. Spending) applications transactions/ individual data periodically which could use the data payments has not is feasible + Useful business Payments been considered intelligence yet in Antigua + More competitive supply and Barbuda to government + Behavioral effects on public servants leading to more economical spending - Sensitive spending items: a redaction policy aligned with the FOI could be adopted Existing plans to Procurement Ministry of FEPA + Greater transparency Consider publication as introduce the module of prepared to consider + Greater confidence in Open Data as the Procurement FreeBalance procurement system by existing plans to Procurement data module of would need to be potential government implement the FreeBalance, in implemented, as suppliers, leading to Procurement Module are order to make in current plans greater competition progressed. (3) procurement more transparent 35 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional Information on Data on all Chief Health + Publication of Publication as Open individual inspections is Inspector at Central inspections of food service Data would need to inspections is currently held Board of Health establishments well proven await digitization of currently held only in paper oversees all these elsewhere as improving Chief Inspector’s office. manually and not form. inspections public safety In the meantime the Inspections: released, but it + Publication of data about policy issues should be would be released mosquito areas has Hotels, restaurants, considered, and the in response to an allowed significant street food, caterers; different types of FOI Act request, reduction in dengue fever inspections prioritized and has done so cases in Lahore, Pakistan Drinking and for release. Where there recreational water in response to + Recreational water is a competition element, quality court orders. quality information should Antigua and Barbuda Some concerns improve competitive should proactively push Occupational Health about public position of Antigua and for publication of response Barbuda in tourism, Mosquito, rats and comparative data across because water quality is other vectors the Caribbean. (4) better than some competitors - Adverse inspection data could weaken competitive position if other nations do not publish it. 36 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional Information Extensive data Ministry of + Enhance the productivity Ministry of Agriculture already made collections, down Agriculture is & effectiveness of should develop a Data available to to farm level, and considering setting extension officers using Plan for its Data Unit, the interested parties about imports, up a “Data Unit” to tablet-based Apps built digitization of remaining such as students but much held make better use of around the Open Data, for data flows, and for Open and prospective only in paper its data more efficient data Data (4) students form collection and informed advice to farmers Design data collection + Leverage current Open processes around an open Agricultural data Data initiatives in Jamaica data platform which can - Registered through collaboration with take advantage of mobile Farmers COI and Rural Agriculture Apps to enhance data - Farm Properties Development Authority processing efficiency, - Agriculture + Provide a platform for validation and currency Production improved linkages - Retail/Farmgate between Agriculture Encourage Developer Crop prices stakeholders and other communities to examine sectors i.e. Agro- Agriculture Apps being Processors, Tourism, developed in Education, etc. Jamaica/COI for + Open Data enables new adaptation/re-use in approaches in tackling Antigua issues such as praedial larceny, production planning & forecasting 37 Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation* Policy Technical Institutional The Companies The Companies The manual nature + Key data for business-to- The IFC-assisted Register is Register is kept of searches puts a business services, project for digitization manually manually. There lot of pressure on including credit checking of the business registers searchable, with a are around 13,000 the staff of the + Increasingly a global should be scoped to EC$20 search fee companies on the Intellectual Property expectation that companies including the release of and a EC$1 per register, with Office registration data will be company and other page copying fee 300-500 added freely available in order to relevant information as Companies Register to the private each year. track transnational Open Data (4) sector. There are businesses about 40 such searches a day. The Inland Revenue and other statutory bodies do not pay for searches. 38 5. DEMAND FOR OPEN DATA / CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT 5.1 What is the level and nature of demand for data from Civil Society and the media? Yellow - There was limited evidence of explicit demand for data from the public and from civil society. The Freedom of Information Act is not being widely used to obtain data. - Although the media have made some limited use of the Freedom of Information Act, data journalism skills are not well developed. In addition, the team was told that the competitive media environment meant that editors were reluctant to allocate the time needed for investigative or deeply researched stories. + The high level of mobile phone penetration and smartphone ownership suggests that there could be a market for apps using Open Government Data. + There was a strong demand for data from the academic community. Population census and demographic data, economic, tourism, crime, health and education data was considered particularly important. + Developer communities were interested in government Open Data, particularly in the fields of agriculture, census and demographics, public services and government spending. - Civil Society and the public are not aware of what data is held by the government. This limited their ability to ask for it. 5.2 What is the level and nature of demand for data from business/private sector? Green + There was evidence of business demand for data: Weather, Trade, Census and Tourism. The re-usable format of the twice-daily weather forecast was being developed as a result of requests from business. + In the absence of local data, one business application developer had been trying to re- engineer data about Antigua and Barbuda from more readily available US data. + There was evidence that potential inward investors sought data in order to evaluate investment in Antigua and Barbuda against investment in other countries, but that data was not easy, or in some cases possible, to obtain. We were told that this could place Antigua and Barbuda at a disadvantage when being considered as an investment destination relative to competitors. 39 - Business was not aware of what data was held by the government. This limited their ability to ask for it. 5.3 To what extent can people engage with government through social media and other digital channels? Green + The Government has an extensive social media operation, with extensive use of Facebook and the facilities to produce engaging online video content. The social media team is pro-active in generating content. - While the viewing figures for the social media content was impressive, it was not clear that this was leading to a lot of active engagement back to the government. + The wide availability of very good mobile data services (including 4G) means that most engagement is through mobile channels. 5.4 What is the extent of intra- and inter-government demand for data? Green + There is evidence of bi-lateral arrangements to share data between public bodies. This particularly applies to “reference data”. Costs of sharing data are borne where they fall - the team found no instances of inter-agency charging, even in cases where the public or private sector were being charged for the same data. 5.5 How do public agencies listen to demands for data and respond? Yellow + Some public agencies were willingly supplying data to the private sector or the public in response to ad hoc demands. This may explain the limited use which is being made of the formal Freedom of Information Act procedures. - There seemed to be no established mechanism to request more data. Requests were not being made under the Freedom of Information Act so there was no surrogate set of requests for public agencies to consider. - Some public bodies were starting to take a more pro-active stance in terms of the management of their data and extracting more value from it, but others were not considering how their data could be used more widely and were not engaging with prospective data users. 40 Assessment of Demand for Open Data and Recommended Actions Question Area Importance Assessment Red/Yellow/ Commentary Green rating Demand from civil Very High Yellow This is an under-developed area, society and media although evidence from elsewhere in the Caribbean is that there is likely to be a significant appetite for data which, because it is not being met, is not visible yet. Demand from High Green There is some active demand for data business from business, but because there is insufficient information about the data available this demand is being suppressed from its true level. Digital Engagement High Green There is extensive digital engagement, particularly through mobile devices. Intra-government High Green There are extensive transfers of demand for data reference and other data within government. Costs are borne by the data provider. Response to Medium Yellow Requests for data are very much ad hoc demands for data and there is no recognized system for such requests. The Freedom of Information Act is not being used for this purpose OVERALL High Yellow Under-developed demand for data, although indicators that there is considerable latent demand yet to be met. Demand for Data Recommendations for Action Plan Action Responsibility Timescale Comments 5.1 Engage potential data Ministry of Months 3-4 As an early part of the Open users in dialogue on what TST Data initiative there should be data they want engagement with potential data users. The Government’s social media expertise could be used in this. 5.2 Establish data request Ministry of Months 3-4 A data request process is part of system as part of TST the best practice in Open Data Government website, portals, and because current and then transfer to Open potential data users do not know Data portal when ready who to ask it should be established on the G overnment 41 website without waiting for the Open Data portal 5.3 Establish a process Ministry of Months 3-4 It will be important for the lead for handling data TST Minister to have the chance to requests, including review any proposed refusals to informed scrutiny of supply data, and to purse this reasons why data should politically if needed. not be released 42 6. DATA USER COMMUNITIES 6.1 Are there infomediaries (such as data journalists) who are able to help translate Open Data into meaningful information for the public? (Importance: High) Yellow - Data journalism is still comparatively under-developed in Antigua and Barbuda, and journalists lack both “data skills” and the time for investigative work. + The work of the Caribbean Open Institute has shown significant capability and enthusiasm for using data in innovative and engaging ways, and to address regional and sectorial problems, across the Caribbean, especially among young people. + The Caribbean Open Data Conferences and Code Sprints have already engaged people in Jamaica, Barbados, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago and the Dominican Republic. Although there has not been direct Antiguan and Barbudan participation so far it is believed that similar enthusiasm exists in Antigua and Barbuda. + There is considerable regional mobility - both physically and virtually - and if Antigua and Barbuda is a first mover in Open Data then it is likely that developers throughout the region will seize upon Antigua and Barbuda’s data as the first systematic data release and produce innovative applications. 6.2 Has government engaged in activities to promote reuse of government-held data (e.g., in developing apps or organizing co-creation events)? (Importance: High) Red - There has been no direct Government activity in this area yet. + The Government does however plan to commence a GATE Cadet program to develop skills in computer hardware and these could be extended to cover data/software skills 6.3 Is there an Apps Economy that already exists in your country/locality? (Importance: Medium High) Yellow + A mobile application development training program, involving 30 young people has been establish by the Precision Center in Antigua, including Android, Java and XML skills. + Infodev hosted a mobile innovation feasibility workshop in Antigua in 2012, and plans to launch a Mobile Innovations Program in the Caribbean over the next 12-18 months. 43 6.4 Is there an academic or research community that both trains people with technical skills and has people skilled at data analysis? (Importance: Medium) Green + Relevant courses are run by the Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of Information Technology (although not to bachelor level) and by the University of the West Indies (although not in-person in Antigua). Assessment of Data User Communities and Recommended Actions Question Area Importance Assessment Red/Yellow/ Commentary Green rating Infomediaries / Data High Yellow Journalism Promoting Reuse High Red Apps Economy Medium High Yellow Academic / Medium Green Research Community OVERALL Medium Yellow High Data User Communities Recommendations for Action Plan Action Responsibility Timescale Comments 6.1 “Hackathons” and Ministry of Month 2 Because Antigua and Barbuda competitions should be TST Month 4 has first-mover advantage they used to test demand for Month 6 could draw in enthusiasts not Open Data and to And just from Antigua and Barbuda demonstrate innovative onwards but also from other Caribbean uses both to stakeholders nations. in Government and to potential data users. 6.2 A program of Ministry of Month 2 Hackathons and competitions Hackathons and TST Month 4 could be around key themes competitions should be Month 6 such as Tourism, Disaster linked to key stages of And Management and Financial releasing government onwards Transparency. These could use data and to key themes Antigua and Barbuda data and of importance to the because the themes are relevant Government throughout the region they could attract wider participation 44 6.3 Government should Ministry of Months 5-6 This would build on the consider extending the TST establish structures and success GATE-Cadet program to of the GATE program cover relevant software and data skills 6.4 Government should Ministry of Month 9 This would also provide an work with the Caribbean TST event for which Antigua could Open Institute to bring aim to have implemented the the 2014 Caribbean first phase of its Open Data Open Data Conference initiative, including the Open to Antigua Data portal, all the policy development, and the release of key datasets including all the “Green” datasets in Section 4 above. 6.5 Government should Ministry of Month 4 This would provide an event stimulate the demand TST hosted by Antigua and be run as side of the media a wider OECS/Caribbean event. through a Data The World Bank Institute has an Journalism Bootcamp. established Data Journalism Bootcamp program that could be used. 45 7. FINANCING 7.1 Have sufficient resources been identified to fund an initial phase of an Open Data initiative, including apps development? (Importance: Very High) Yellow + Most of the identified early key datasets are either produced as part of existing, funded, projects with a commitment to transparency or can be produced by simple extraction from current data systems + Where there are existing or planned projects for the digitization of records or business processes currently kept manually then it should be possible to include the small increment in functionality to support Open Data within the budgets already allocated or planned + Existing policy offices (such as the Intellectual Property Office) should be able to help formulate policy as part of their normal responsibilities. - The Ministry of TST has no budget for a small central unit to manage an Open Data initiative. o Hackathons and competitions would need some funding, although there is the opportunity to partner with others to deliver them and to leverage existing programs in the region + The existing Government social media operation could provide resources to communicate Open Data effectively to the online community. 7.2 Is the necessary ICT infrastructure present for Open Data and do enough staff have the skills needed to manage an Open Data initiative? Importance: Medium High) Green + The Government Data Center and the government website could provide an initial presence for an Open Data website + There are a variety of options for hosting a full Open Data portal, including a facility which could be shared with others in the Caribbean + The Ministry of TST does have staff with the skills and project management experience to manage an Open Data initiative, if funding could be found. + Technical skills are largely available or being acquired, and there is the opportunity to leverage skills through the involvement of others in the region. 46 7.3 Does government have innovation funding mechanisms? (Importance: Medium High) Unable to assess o There was no relevant evidence on this. Assessment of Open Data Financing and Recommended Actions Question Area Importance Assessment Red/Yellow/ Commentary Green rating Funding Open Data Very High Yellow Key need is funding for small central Initiatives unit, and perhaps a smaller amount of funding for hackathons Financing Training Medium High Green Existing skills and infrastructure could & Infrastructure be used at the start of the initiative, and then there are opportunity to share costs with others Financing Medium High Unable to No evidence Innovation Assess OVERALL High Green If a small central unit could be funded then there would not be significant other financial barriers to making early rapid progress Open Data Financing Recommendations for Action Plan Action Responsibility Timescale Comments 7.1 Fund small central Ministry of Months 1-2 Important first step unit to lead FEPA 7.2 Identify modest Ministry of Months 3-4 funding and partnership TST mechanisms for hackathons and competitions 7.3 Develop regional Ministry of Months 3-6 cost-sharing approach TST with potential partners such as Caribbean Open Institute or GeoNode, and present to potential sponsors/donors 47 8. NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND SKILLS INFRASTRUCTURE 8.1 Is Internet access at sufficient levels and at low enough cost to support a robust Open Data ecosystem in your country/locality? (Importance: High) Green + There are 182 Mobile Cellular Subscriptions (MCS) per 100 people + 82% of the population use the internet + There is good broadband availability, although demand is suppressed by the general availability of exceptionally good mobile data. + There is good availability of mobile and mobile data, with one 4G service already operational and a second likely to be operational by the end of 2013 + Antigua has good-quality internet links with the rest of the world through submarine optical cable. 8.2 Does government use shared infrastructure or services? (Importance: Medium High) Green + Most Government IT is centralized in a Government Data Center and a central project planning, web development and technical support function. 8.3 How strong is the government’s overall ICT skill base among senior government leaders and civil servants? (Importance: High) Yellow + The Ministry of TST has strong ICT skills both at strategic and at engineer levels. - There was some evidence of concern within Government of the lack of skills to strategically leverage data. This was one of the drivers for the establishment of “Data Units” in some Ministries. 8.4 How strong are the IT industry, developer community and overall digital literacy? (Importance: High) Green + There is a small but active developer community appropriate to the size of the Antigua and Barbuda market. Business reported that IT skills were available in the labor market when needed. 8.5 How active is the government’s presence on the Web? (Importance: Medium) Green + The Government has a strong web presence actively maintained; most of the content is on a single Government website, although some Ministries and individuals also maintain other websites. Assessment of Technology/Skills Infrastructure and Recommended Actions 48 Question Area Importance Assessment Red/Yellow/ Commentary Green rating* Internet/Mobile High Green Very strong infrastructure base, infrastructure especially in mobile Shared Medium High Green This is the established operating Infrastructure & model for ICT services Services ICT Skills Base in High Yellow Good technical and project Government management skills; some concerns about skills to use data strategically in all Ministries ICT Skills Base High Green Appropriate for size and demand in Outside Antigua and Barbuda Government Government Online Medium Green Good and actively maintained web Presence presence OVERALL High Green Technology/Skills Infrastructure Recommendations for Action Plan Action Responsibility Timescale Comments 8.1 The Open Data Ministry of Months 5-12 This should be an ongoing initiative TST theme communications should positive encourage the re- use of Open Data within Government itself 8.2 Consideration should Training Months 7-12 This could be prioritized around be given to a program to Division skills in using financial and develop Data Skills in performance data. senior officials 49 CONCLUSION This Open Data Readiness Assessment is designed to produce a rapid evaluation of a government’s readiness to sustain an Open Data initiative. In doing this, the Assessment looks at key dimensions. While each dimension is important, the Assessment methodology gives each a weighted rating of relative importance. DIMENSION IMPORTANCE RATING Leadership VERY HIGH Yellow Policy/Legal Framework HIGH Yellow Institutional MEDIUM HIGH Green Preparedness Data within Government HIGH Yellow Demand for Data HIGH Yellow Open Data Ecosystem MEDIUM HIGH Yellow Financing HIGH Green Technology & Skills HIGH Green Infrastructure Analysis & Key Datasets HIGH Recommendations Provided It is important to note that all governments have their own combination of challenges and comparative advantages as they implement Open Data initiatives. Open Data offers opportunities for every government to drive innovation, improve public services and engage citizens in new ways. Figure 1 below provides a visual representation of the current readiness of Antigua and Barbuda as it prepares to execute its Open Data agenda. It attempts to capture in simple terms the strengths and challenges among the dimensions of Open Data readiness evaluated during this assessment. 50 Figure 1 Open Data Readiness - Antigua LEADERSHIP YELLOW 4 INFRASTRUCTURE 3 POLICY/LEGAL & SKILLS GREEN YELLOW 2 1 FINANCING 0 INSTITUTIONAL GREEN GREEN OPEN DATA DATA WITHIN ECOSYSTEM GOVERNMENT YELLOW YELLOW DEMAND FOR OPEN DATA YELLOW 51 OUTLINE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-9 12 Y2 Y3 A. Policy Development 1.1 Develop a declaration and release plan for agreement by the Cabinet. 1.2 Secure and Cabinet agreement to the declaration on Open Data policy 1.3 Appoint a clear political leader 2.1 Develop overall Open Data policy, including “Open by Default”, standards, processes and other recommendations in this Assessment 2.2 Develop Open Data licensing policy 2.3 Clarify data charging policy 2.4 Proposed “Government Copyright” 2.5 Develop policies that allow publication of statistics in reusable form without the risk of surreptitious change to official statistics 2.6 Formal legal study and advice B. Implementation Project 3.1 The Ministry of TST should lead the implementation of an Open Data initiative; they are best placed to do so. 3.2 The Ministry of TST should form a distinct core team to lead the initiative 3.3 For the quick wins, data should be hosted on the Government Website 3.4 At a later stage there should be a migration to a standard Open Data portal software package. 3.5 The Ministry of TST should consider the hosting of large Open Data datasets on public cloud storage 7.1 Fund small central unit to lead 52 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-9 12 Y2 Y3 7.2 Identify modest funding and partnership mechanisms for hackathons and competitions 7.3 Develop cost-sharing approach with potential partners such as Caribbean Open Institute or GeoNode C. Release of Data 4.1 Introduce a staged release of data, starting with a 1A 1B 2 3 4 5 number of quick wins of easily releasable 4.2 ensure that digitized data which cannot be immediately released have a defined pathway to release 4.3 All programs to digitize datasets currently held in paper form should be reviewed D. Use of and Demand for Data 5.1 Engage potential data users in dialogue on what data they want 5.2 Establish data request system as part of Government website; transfer to Open Data portal when ready 5.3 Establish a process for handling data requests, including scrutiny of reasons for refusals 6.1 “Hackathons” and competitions should be used to demonstrate innovative uses 6.2 A program of Hackathons and competitions should be linked to key stages of releasing government 6.3 Government should consider extending the GATE- Cadet program to cover relevant software and data skills 6.4 Bring the 2014 Caribbean Open Data Conference to Antigua 8.1 Encourage the re-use of Open Data within Government itself 8.2 Consideration should be given to a program to develop Data Skills in senior officials 53