I read the The Foundational Four guide when it was first shared by Deborah Anton, Australia’s Interim National Data Commissioner. To date Deborah’s Linkedin post has received 143 thumbs up, 8 claps of applause and one love heart (you might rightly guess who shared the love!).
Five months on and I’m still feeling that love, because the guide is a clear indication that open data programs are beginning to drive impact within Government in ways which will resonate for years and decades to come.
The Four Foundations are –
- Leadership: A senior leader is responsible and accountable for data across the agency
- Data Strategy: An agency has a clear vision and plan for using data to achieve objectives
- Governance: Mechanisms exist to oversee data management
- Asset Discovery: Data assets have been identified and recorded
The growth and level of professionalism exhibited through data management practices in the public sector has reached new levels, with notable examples such as the launch of the Australian Public Sector Data Professionals Stream.
On a global level the Open Data Policy Lab recently suggested that we are now at the genesis of the Third Wave of Open Data and have released a white paper positioning the third wave in more detail.
The Third Wave takes a much more purpose-directed approach than prior waves; it seeks not simply to open data, but to do so in a way that focuses on impactful reuse, especially through inter-sectoral collaborations and partnerships.
Source: https://opendatapolicylab.org/third-wave-of-open-data/
I’ll come back to the subject of the third wave in a future blog, but suggest it would be worth downloading and reading the article (here).
