Links to Public Sector Information (PSI) Re-use Web Resources

The European Commission's Information Society Web Portal on Public Sector Information (Access and Re-use) covering topics such as: PSI Directive, Implementation, PSI Group, Practices in Member States, PSI Projects and more. Follow the EC PSI Web Portal on Twitter.

EVPSI stands for: (Extracting Value from Public Sector Information: Legal Framework and Regional Policies) (l’Extracting Value From Public Sector Information, o più brevemente Progetto EVPSI).

It is the innovative Piedmont regional public sector information project. The EVPSI Project, which started November 2009, is financed by the Piedmont Region. Its partners are the Department of Legal Studies of Torino Law School, the Nexa Center for Internet & Society of the Politecnico di Torino the Fondazione Rosselli), and the Eastern Piedmont University. The main Project objective is to maximise the benefits achievable from the access and the re-use of PSI by the end of 2012 with guidelines published.

Follow EVPSI on Twitter: @EVPSI

The Austrian Open Government Data Initiative’s Blog is online supported by website about their work and a public wiki. The initiative is working to provide better and more universal access to public (non-personal) data mashups and greater availability of government data. To indicate your interest or to become involved in the initiative, send an email to info-AT-opendata.at.

Follow the Austrian Open Government Data Initiative on Twitter: @opendataAT

AELID is focused on advancing the state of the art in research and innovation on Linked Data in Spain and Europe as well as aiming to create an ecosystem of researchers and entrepreneurs, to encourage the exchange of knowledge and experiences, serve as a platform for information and training.

The blog by the Norwegian Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs (FAD) inviting input into the development of a Norwegian Government data portal. Data.norge.no is described as a meeting place for all persons interested in government data – those who work in government agencies and manage the data and those who use technology to re-use the data. Everyone is invited to follow the blog and join the debate and discussions.

Questions can be sent via Twitter to @fornyingsdep

Olav Anders Øvrebø’s 'Facts First' Blog on the Vox Public online magazine publishes on the opening up of government data for re-use from Norway and throughout Europe and how the data can be used in new ways. Posts are in Norwegian and English. The Vox Publica magazine (Norwegian online magazine about democracy and freedom of expression) is published by the Department of Information and Media Studies (Information Media), University of Bergen.

Follow Olav Anders Øvrebø on Twitter @oovrebo

Antti Poikola, along with Kari A. Hintikka and Petri Kola, is the author of the Finnish Open Government Data Guidebook, commissioned by the Finnish Ministry of Transportation and Communication. Antti’s blog covers topics on opening up government data and the re-use of public sector information in Finland and Europe.

Follow Antti Poikola on Twitter @apoikola

LAPSI (Legal Aspects of Public Sector Information) is a Thematic Network project funded under the European Commission's ICT Policy Support Programme (or ICT PSP) for a 30 month period (March 2010 to July 2012).

The Network co-ordinator is the NEXA CENTER of the Politecnico di Torino, Italy. The Network Partner organisations encompass 19 other universities and institutions from 13 countries. The work of the LAPSI Network is supported by an Advisory Board composed of high level experts.

The LAPSI Network’s objective is to provide a focal point for policy discussions and strategic action on legal issues related to the re-use of public sector information in the context of the ongoing review of the European PSI R-use Directive (2003/98/EC). The aim is to identify and discuss legal barriers to access and re-use of PSI (such as intellectual property rights issues, privacy, competition law) in the digital environment and suggest ways to overcome them.

During the course of its work LAPSI will be hosting public events including thematic seminars, public conferences and primers. Network activities are focused on making recommendations for policies and strategies to overcome legal barriers to PSI re-use.

In addition to the public website, LAPSI offers a public wiki on the project’s work.

The data.gov.uk site was launched by the UK government on the 21 January 2010. It provides access to data sets from across the UK government with access to more data sets planned. All of the data is in non-personal and in a format that can be re-used by any individual or business to create innovative new software tools, such as applications about house prices, local amenities, and services or access to local hospitals. The site includes documentation on its work and future development plans as well as a forum, blog, wiki and resources pages with options for sharing ideas and discussing technical issues.

ECRN (European Civil Registry Network) is a project funded under the European Commission’s Information and Communication Technologies Policy Support Program for Competitive and Innovation programme (or ICT PSP) (June 2008 to November 2010). ECRN is striving to become the European Service Platform for the Civil Registry with the establishment of an ECR_Platform among the Civil Acts Registries of National Administrations. ECRN is implementing an ambitious policy of strategic co-operation with key players of the Civil Registry in Europe with the set-up of an experimental system designed to ensure the safe and certain identification of the Civil Acts (birth, death, marriage, divorce etc.) exchange.

LiberTIC is a French non profit promoting opendata in France and also working on e-democracy and government 2.0. Its members are following worldwide news on these topics and communicate via microblogging and their two blogs on the evolution of local data opening.

After the Opendata Barcamp of La Cantine in Paris. LiberTIC launched a local network in the city of Nantes and lobby in favor of free data.

You can follow their initiatives at Libertic (FR) or edemocratie(EN)

Follow LiberTic on Twitter

Le collectif RegardsCitoyens.org est une association de fait constituée de citoyens de tous âges et régions qui se sont rencontrés sur Internet dans un désir commun de proposer un accès simplifié au fonctionnement de nos institutions démocratiques.

English Translation: Regards Citoyens is French Association of citizens with shared interest in opening up information about the functioning of democratic institutions in France. They follow the global open data movement and work together with international organisations such as the Open Knowledge Foundation. The site includes a blog, press and more.

Follow Regards Citoyens on Twitter

The Talis Nodalities Blog publishes podcasts of in-depth and comprehensive interviews with persons (internationally) working with the semantic web, linked data and the opening up of government data. Talis is directly involved in semantic web work and working collaboratively with the data.gov.uk initiative. Talis is providing hosting and search services for the Linked Data published through data.gov.uk. In addition, the podcasts Talis resources include the Talis platform, news and magazine

The London Datastore web portal, developed by the Greater London Authority (GLA), is committed to providing access to the data that the GLA and other public sector organisations hold, and for all Londoners to see and use free of charge however they see fit.

The London Datastore is working with the UK televisions Channel 4 campaign Innovation for the Public (4iP) who have created a Developers’ Fund to encourage the masses of technical talent available in London to transform raw data into Facebook apps, websites or mobile products which people can actually find useful.

Follow the London Datastore on Twitter or Google Groups

Mysociety.org is a charitable project building websites that give people simple, tangible benefits in the civic and community aspects of their lives. It is also works to teach the public and voluntary sectors, by demonstration, how to use the internet to most efficiently to improve their lives. MySociety runs most of the best-known democracy and transparency websites in the UK, sites like TheyWorkForYou and WriteToThem (which way back in the dawn of time was called FaxYourMP). MySociety builds websites of a democratic bent for other people, such as the No 10 Downing Street Petitions Website, for the Prime Minister’s Office.

eaves.ca is the website of David Eaves, who is a social media expert and a key proponent behind the Open Vancouver data motion. David advises the Vancouver Mayor on open government and works with two spin-offs of the Harvard Negotiation Project and serves as a fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Queen's University. In addition to his writing and advocacy, David serves on the International Reference Group of Australia’s Web 2.0 Taskforce and other initiatives. David Eaves has published the ‘Three Laws of Open Government’ (international edition). The website includes blog postings on current issues related opening up government data in North America and elsewhere. Follow David Eaves on Twitter

A website maintained by the Australian government providing free access to information of Australian official statistics, statistical indicators and public access datasets. These cover all areas of Australian political, economic and social policy. They include maps, electoral boundaries, national and regional statistical datasets and popilation files. An online catalogue can be searched or browsed.

The Government 2.0 Taskforces site, Mashup Australia, ran a competition during October and November 2009 to help show why open access to Australian government information is good for the economy and society. To help competitors some datasets were released under a Creative Commons licence (or a similar type of open licence) in a range of mashable formats.

The winning entry mashups are published on the website.

Linkeddata.org is a comprehensive site that provides a home for, or pointers to, resources from across the Linked Data community. The site is administered by Tom Heath on behalf of the Linked Data community. The site describes linked data as in the following excerpt.

“Linked Data is about using the Web to connect related data that was not previously linked, or using the Web to lower the barriers to linking data currently linked using other methods. More specifically, Wikipedia defines Linked Data as "a term used to describe a recommended best practice for exposing, sharing, and connecting pieces of data , information , and knowledge on the Semantic Web using URIs and RDF ." Information on the site includes: Guides and Tutorials, Frequently Asked Questions, Glossary, Images and Posters, Presentations, Data Sets, Tools, Events, Call for Papers, Research, News and Blogs, Domains, and Links to Additional Resources.

The OpenData Network is a new initiative to promote open data in Germany. The Network is an active part of German and European civil society. It is a non-profit civil society NGO. The aim is to help promote open data, open access, open government, transparency, participation and collaboration. The focus is on promoting, researching and supporting the development of new methods and tools for data liberation, data visualisation, participation and collaboration. (twitter/opendatablog)