Public Sector Information
State of Play in Cyprus
Presentation:
Dimitris Michail
PAPD, MoF
Introduction
 Who we are..
 The Open Data Landscape in Cyprus
 The National PSI Action Plan 2014-2018
 Conclusions
Who we are..
 PSI Team set up in 2008 in the Public Administration and
Personnel Department, MoF
 Team responsible for the implementation of Directive
2006/98/EC and the promotion of PSI re-use in Cyprus
 Member of European PSI Group
 Commissioned the 2011 PSI Study (Deloitte). The results of
the study served as the base for Cyprus PSI Strategy.
 Successfully lead the negotiations for the review of the
Directive during the Cyprus EU presidency
 Currently running several projects promoting PSI re-use in
Cyprus
The Cyprus Open Data
Landscape
Public Sector Information Directive
 In 2006, Cyprus transposed Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector
information into Law N. 132(I)2006.
 PAPD is the body responsible for the implementation of the Directive in Cyprus
 PSI reuse in Cyprus not widespread (cultural and legal barriers, absence of
dedicated portal)
 Currently in the process of transposing the recently reviewed Directive
2013/37/EC into national law.
 The new national law on PSI, expected to be adopted by mid-2015, is
anticipated together with the National Action Plan to create all the necessary
implementation mechanisms for the re- use of public sector information.
Open Data Landscape
Departmental Websites
 Ministerial and Departmental
 Information regarding their public
task
 General information, Legislation,
Application forms, Annual reports,
Statistics, Studies, Projects, Public
Tender
Government Web Portal



functions as a central information
point for citizens, non residents and
business
Provides information about laws,
policies, statistics, projects, action
plans, yearly reports) and
links to electronic services
Open Data Landscape
Specialized portals
 i.e. e-procurement portal,
https://www.eprocurement.go
v.cy/
 Dedicated to government
procurement
Municipalities
Local Initiatives


i.e. the Sewage Board of
Limassol - Amathus (SBLA)

First local agency involved
in psi re-use

dedicated portal for the
publication of the data that it
produces

Information on cultural
events, places of interest
(museums, parks, theatres,
historical places), parking
places
Projects, maps, statistics,
annual budgets, etc
Open Data Landscape
 Information/datasets scattered on the various departmental
websites therefore difficult to locate
 Up to the discretion of the PSB to decide what information to
open up for re-use
 Non homogenous / non organized collection/ presentation
of data
 In some cases the content is not updated on a regular basis
 Data made available in some cases in non-machine readable
and in others in non-digital forms,
 Interoperability not a priority for PSBs
% of companies that
make use of public
sector information
18%
Ναι
Όχι
82%
How easy is it to obtain
information from public
sector bodies?
5%
So…



Πολύ Εύκολη
21%
Despite latest initiatives and some progress…
Cyprus still lags behind in opening up its PS data
PAPD in 2011 commissioned a PSI Study (Deloitte Cyprus)
in order to identify the appropriate mechanisms that would
enable PSI re-use in Cyprus.
34%
16%
24%
Εύκολη
Ουδέτερη
Δύσκολη
Πολύ
Δύσκολη
2014 - 2018
PSI
National Action Plan
9
Action Plan 2014-2018
A. Implementation of appropriate Mechanisms to enable PSI re-use
B. Transposition of the new Directive 2013/37/EC
C. Development of National Open Data Portal
D. Promotion of PSI re-use to both Public and Private Sectors
A. Setting up the Appropriate Mechanisms
OVERVIEWING / COORDINATION
MECHANISM
Dispute and Complaints
Resolution Mechanism
Current Independent Authority
Impartial review body will be
responsible for the resolution
of disputes arising from PSI
re-use
Public Administration and Personnel Department
Transpose the Directive into national law
Guide and support PSBs
Licensing conditions
Promote PSI reuse to the private and public sector
3
Dissemination Mechanism
Department of Information
Technology Services
Development and Maintenance of the
Portal
Training of the departmental PSI
champions
Costing Mechanism
Treasury of the Republic
Will set the pricing of public sector
information
Approve charges related to the
provision of PSI
B. Transposing the new Directive 2013/37/EC
New national comprehensive PSI Legislation in 2015. It is
expected to:
 Transpose the Directive 2013/37/EE into National Legislation
 Formally set up the Overviewing, Dispute Resolution, Costing and
Licensing Mechanisms
 Deadline: July 2015
 Currently: working with partners on preparing final draft to be
submitted to Legal Services
C. National Open Data Portal (data.gov.cy)
 Developed in association with the
Department of Information
Technology Services
 One-stop-shop in the form of a web
portal for the provision of public
sector information
 Aims to host or offer links to public
datasets produced by PSBs
 User friendly / easy access to
datasets in machine readable
formats
 Allows user to search, download
and submit requests for datasets
 Final checks being performed by
PAPD and DITS
 Expected to go live in November
D. Promoting PSI re-use
Raising Awareness among PSBs about:
Public
Sector




Implementation of the Law regarding PSI re-use
Obligations with regards to PSI
National Open Data Portal
Commitment to publish and update their data catalogues
Initiatives
 Developing guidelines (licensing, costing, formats)
 Training/ Seminars / Workshops
 Setting up PSI networks
 PSI Departmental Champions
Promoting
PSI
Re-Use
Private
Sector
Initiatives
 Conferences
 Press Releases and Articles
 Information Material
 Competitions (hackathlon)
Raising Awareness among citizens and businesses about:
 Provisions of the Law regarding PSI re-use
 Their rights
 National Open Data Portal
Conclusions
Conclusions
 PSI - an untapped fuel reserve for economic growth, new
investment and job creation
 PSI Re-Use relatively new in Cyprus
 Citizens and Businesses becoming more and more interested in
PSI re-use
 Exciting years ahead..
 National Open Data Portal (2014)
 New Comprehensive Legislation (2015)
 Events / Conferences / Competitions Promoting PSI Re-Use
(2014-….)
Upcoming Event...
Upcoming Event...
Conference on PSI and Open Data for
the public sector
•
25th of November 2014
•
Organized by PAPD in collaboration with PWC Belgium (Open Data
Support - DG CONNECT)
•
Open Data Support is a 36 month project of DG CONNECT of the European
Commission to improve the visibility and facilitate the access to datasets
published on local and national open data portals in order to increase their reuse within and across borders. Open Data Support is a pan-European initiative
targeting both those data publishers that are well underway but also the ones
that are just starting.
•
All Public Sector Bodies will be invited as well as media