Stages of the Open Data Lifecycle
The Open Data Policy defines the general rules and obligations that the Estidamah Center shall comply with throughout the stages of the open data lifecycle, which include the following:
An Open Data and Information Officer shall be appointed within the Data Office. The primary responsibility of this role is to support planning, implementation, and reporting related to the open data agenda in alignment with this policy. The responsibilities of this role include the following:
Developing and documenting the required processes across all stages of the open data lifecycle, including, but not limited to, the following:
Processes for identifying public data sets to be published by the Estidamah Center.
Processes to verify that open data comply with requirements related to information security, personal data privacy, and data quality, including conducting regular reviews and addressing any related concerns.
Processes to ensure that data sets are published and updated in the appropriate format and in accordance with the specified schedule, while ensuring their completeness and high quality, and ensuring the exclusion of any restricted data.
Processes to collect feedback, analyze performance at the organizational level, and improve the overall impact of open data at the national level.
2- Ensuring that the Open Data Plan is reviewed and updated on a regular basis.
3- Submitting an annual report to the Data Office on the Open Data Plan and the level of progress achieved in meeting the objectives set out in the plan.
4- Coordinating the organization of a training course on all matters related to open data, with the support of or in coordination with the Data Office.
Coordinate the launch of awareness campaigns to ensure that potential users are aware of the availability, nature, and quality of the open data published by the Estidamah Center.
An Open Data Plan shall be developed that includes strategic objectives, data sets, and the methodology and criteria for prioritization. The Open Data Plan shall include the following: The strategic objectives for open data at the level of the Estidamah Center.
1- Methodology and criteria for prioritization.
2- Identification of the Estidamah Center's data sets to be published and their prioritization.
3- Key performance indicators and objectives related to open data for the Estidamah Center.
4- Training needs related to open data.
5- Responsibilities of the Estidamah Center and the responsibilities of beneficiaries.
7- Terms of reuse.
8- Channels for Accessing Open Data.
9- Timelines for Publishing and Updating Open Data.
Open data sets are identified through the following steps:
- Identifying Public Data and Information: To assess the value of data, all data sets classified as "Public" shall be identified through the data classification process. It shall also be ensured that personal data are protected in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Policy to prevent the accidental disclosure of private information. Subsequently, the potential benefits, applications, and possible uses of each data set shall be identified.
- Assessing the Usefulness of Data: After identifying the data sets, the key factors related to data usefulness are examined, as they play a major role in assessing their value. These factors include data completeness, accuracy, consistency, applicable restrictions, exclusivity, potential risks associated with publication, and the possibility of accessing and integrating the data with other data sets.
- Identifying Potential Stakeholders: After assessing the usefulness of the data, all potential stakeholders across the entire value chain shall be identified, along with understanding their key motivations. These may include generating revenue through the development of data products or developing services for the public good, such as those that contribute to improving quality of life.
- Metadata for the identified open data sets shall be documented and published.
- An assessment shall be conducted to determine whether combining multiple open data sets may result in elevating the classification level of the data to protected data.
The Estidamah Center's open data sets shall be published on the National Open Data Platform through the following steps:
- Publishing its open data sets on the National Open Data Platform.
- Ensuring that the data are published in multiple standardized, unified, machine-readable, and non-proprietary formats, including but not limited to CSV, JSON, XML, and RDF. Data set files shall also be accompanied by documentation explaining how they can be used.
Published open data sets shall be updated regularly in accordance with the following:
- Ensuring that all published open data sets are updated regularly in accordance with the established mechanism and timelines.
- Continuously reviewing data sets to ensure compliance with the specified regulatory requirements.
- Ensuring that metadata are updated, particularly whenever data elements within the published open data sets are modified.
- Maintaining data traceability by documenting data sources and preserving version histories of the data sets.
- Publishing open data sets while clearly specifying any quality-related limitations and documenting them within the metadata.
The performance of open data shall be monitored through the following:
- Analyzing the volume of requests for the published open data and the rate of their use to understand the overall demand, and reprioritizing data sets accordingly.
- Collecting and analyzing user requests for the publication of additional data sets and responding to such requests in a timely manner, whether submitted directly or through the National Open Data Platform.
Roles and Responsibilities
The Director is responsible for the practices related to open data within the Center. The responsibilities include the following:
- Approval of the Open Data Plan: Approving the implementation of the Open Data Plan within the entity and overseeing its execution.
- Allocation of Open Data Roles: Assigning the various roles related to open data.
- Approval of the Annual Open Data Report: Approving the annual open data report prepared by the Director of the Data Management Office.
The Director serves as the strategic director for operations related to open data within the Center. The responsibilities include the following:
- Strategic Planning for Open Data: Overseeing the development of the Open Data Plan and submitting it to the Director of the Estidamah Center or the authorized representative. The Director is also responsible for reviewing open data performance, identifying improvement opportunities, and reflecting these insights in the Open Data Plan.
- Oversight of Open Data: Reviewing activities related to identifying open data and prioritizing them, approving their publication, and ensuring the implementation of activities related to updating such data.
- Compliance with the Open Data Policy: Ensuring that open data activities at the Estidamah Center comply with national data policies, including but not limited to data classification, personal data privacy protection, and freedom of information.
- Coordination with the Office: The Director of the Data Management Office serves as the primary coordinator between the Estidamah Center and the Office regarding open data matters. The Director is responsible for resolving issues related to the Center's open data and escalating them to the Office when necessary.
The Open Data and Information Officer serves as the operational director for open data within the Estidamah Center. The responsibilities include the following:
- Open Data Planning: Developing the Open Data Plan, including the methodology for identifying priority open data, and establishing objectives and key performance indicators in coordination with the Director of the Data Management Office.
- Open Data Management: Managing open data activities within the entity, specifically including: identifying open data, prioritizing data sets for publication, preparing data sets for publication and documenting metadata, publishing open data sets on the National Open Data Platform, updating and maintaining published data sets, and reviewing their quality.
- Collecting Open Data Requests: Reviewing feedback related to open data relevant to the Estidamah Center and recording and analyzing requests for the publication of specific data sets as open data.
- Open Data Awareness and Education: Educating and raising awareness among the entity's employees regarding open data and supporting national awareness campaigns in coordination with the Director of the Data Management Office.
- Secondary Coordination with the Office: The Open Data and Information Officer coordinates with the Office when necessary as a second-level point of coordination.
- Approval of the Open Data Plan: Contributing to the development of the Open Data Plan and managing the teams responsible for implementing the plan in coordination with the Open Data and Information Officer.
- Prioritization of Open Data: Providing advice to the Open Data and Information Officer regarding the value of public data sets and the investments required for their publication and updating.
- Review and Approval of Data Sets: Reviewing and approving data sets to ensure that they meet the specifications defined in the policy in terms of quality, completeness, and metadata documentation before submitting them for publication.
- Identification of Open Data Sets: The Business Data Specialist reviews and identifies the data that are created and processed by the department in which they work on a regular basis and classifies them as public data where applicable.
- Preparation of Open Data Sets: Preparing open data sets to be published to ensure that they meet the specifications defined in the policy in terms of quality, completeness, and metadata documentation before submitting them for publication.
- Updating Open Data Sets: Updating published open data sets and the related metadata.
Management of the Open Data Policy
This policy shall come into effect from the date of approval of this document as indicated by the signatures included in the approval table. An approved copy of the document shall be published by the Data Office.
- The policy shall be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any changes or to improve the provisions of this policy.
- Any changes to this policy shall be reviewed by the Data Office and approved by the Director of the Estidamah Center or the authorized representative.
Compliance with the Open Data Policy shall be measured in accordance with the standards and performance indicators established by the Data Office and in alignment with the requirements of the National Data Management Office. Compliance standards shall be reviewed periodically by the Office Director, and an annual report shall be submitted to the Office.