Harnessing the power of unrestricted data
In the digital age, the concept of Government-as-a-Platform (GaaP) is gaining traction, offering a promising avenue for various sectors, including government, industry, and the public. This transformative idea involves the shared use of common technology and services for IT reuse, as well as APIs that foster innovation across government and third parties.
The UK government has been actively exploring this approach, with the Open Data Institute (ODI) leading the charge. The ODI, an independent, world-leading centre that advances the open data culture, argues that data publication should be integrated into all government digital services. This would position the government as a convener and enabler, rather than the first mover of civic action.
The 2012 Open Data White Paper, titled 'Unleashing the Potential', outlined the UK government's vision to simplify, clean, and speed up access to data. Since then, the focus has expanded beyond government as a publisher to include the government's role as a consumer. This collective identification, investment, and development of vital skills are crucial to maintaining the UK's world-leading position.
The ODI's 2015 roadmap further emphasised the importance of this shift, suggesting that tying open data more explicitly into the day-to-day operations of government, such as decision making, policy development, and performance management, could drive demand for further improvements.
In Germany, similar initiatives are underway. The "Digitaler Staat" project, coordinated by the NEGZ (National E-Government Competence Center), aims to create a legal and technical architecture to enable model-based state modernization across federal, state, and municipal levels. The German government is advancing the use of open data by integrating digital twins and model-based approaches to better coordinate administrative tasks and control financial relationships, promoting transparency and efficiency in daily government operations.
Effective GaaP would put the right data in the hands of the right people as part of business as usual. Increased use of open data in practical government operations could lead to improvements in the depth, currency, and accuracy of the open data available. This, in turn, could benefit not only the government but also industry and the public.
The UK's commitment to GaaP aligns with Sir Tim Berners-Lee's call on governments to honour their promises on open data. As a member of D5, a global network of digitally advanced governments, including South Korea, Estonia, Israel, and New Zealand, the UK is well-positioned to learn from and contribute to this global movement.
However, challenges remain. A 2013 survey found that more than half of civil servants struggled to access data from other parts of the public sector. David Lawton, technical director at Informed Solutions and member of the Cabinet Offices' Data Standards and Panel, highlighted this issue.
To overcome these challenges, the UK must actively nurture, develop, and professionalize its digital skills base to make it easy for government to access a rich marketplace of specialist digital suppliers. By doing so, the UK can reap the benefits of GaaP and maintain its position as a world leader in digital innovation.
Tim O'Reilly, who popularized the term 'open source', suggested that government should treat information produced by and on behalf of citizens as a national asset. The ODI's recent national members' event emphasised the need for organisations to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the GaaP agenda. Good architecture could build-in, not bolt-on, secure and controlled production and publishing of open data to government services, reducing costs.
In conclusion, the adoption of GaaP offers a promising avenue for the UK and other governments to reap the benefits of open data, promoting transparency, efficiency, and innovation across various sectors.
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