Open Data Index for cities 2018: challenges for open data at the local level

Abstract

The Open Data Index for cities was created by FGV DAPP (Department of Public Policy Analysis of FGV) and OKBr (Open Knowledge Brazil) to assess the level of data openness in the local level. The evaluation was conducted in 2018 with data collected in 2017 from 8 selected cities in Brazil: Belo Horizonte – MG, Brasília – DF, Natal – RN, Porto Alegre – RS, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Salvador – BA, São Paulo – SP and Uberlândia – MG. The study evaluated the degree of openness for 17 datasets for each city through a web-survey filled by local groups based on the Open Definition criteria and then reviewed by FGV DAPP and OKBr with the collaboration of the Open Knowledge Forum. The results show that only a quarter of the datasets evaluated were in full accordance with those criteria, while the main problems were insufficiency of metadata, unavailability of bulk download, datasets with incomplete and outdated information and absence of data in open formats. Those problems are also very common in the federal sphere, based on earlier assessments. The highest frequency of bottlenecks were found in Land Ownership, Company Register, Air Quality and Water Quality data. We also highlighted that little change was perceived from the last assessment (2016) for São Paulo – SP and Rio de Janeiro – RJ, even though some good practices were also highlighted. Lastly, we proposed some guidelines for open data policies in the local level.