PSI Competition launched!

London: 1 July 2008

Three years after the European Union (EU) Directive 2003/98/EC came into force in all Member States the UK Cabinet Office Power of Information Task Force has launched a competition to stimulate the re-use of public sector information. The prize on offer is £20000 (€25000) to develop the best ideas to the next level.

The Directive 2003/98/EC came into force withinin the European Union on 31 December 2003 and sets out a framework within which public sector information maybe re-used both for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

One of the major obstacles with respect to implementing the Directive 2003/98/EC has been to enlighten potential stakeholders as to the opportunity that now exists and that is potentially available and the above mentioned Competition might well assist Society at large to grasp hold of the opportunity.

The reaction to the announcement of the Competition has been good so far and has included amongst others the BBC, The Guardian newspaper, Guardian Free Our Data blog, The Bill blog.

The competition is certainly a low cost innovative and positive step towards stimulating the re-use of public sector information in the UK but many existing commercial re-users of public sector information no doubt will wish that the UK Government would embrace with equal enthusiasm and determination a number of the issues that are currently reducing the potential of economic activity that can be derived from the re-use of public sector information, failure to do so may well lead to disappointment down stream from those that have chosen to enter the PSI re-use domain as a result of the Competition. The Competition will however demonstrate that if public sector information is made freely available – easy access, no financial charge, no licenses (or as second best no complex licenses), no restrictions on re-use, no stifling of societies initiatives by copying them; then PSI will be re-used and if this is the outcome then the Competition will have done good.

If the Competition has such positive outcomes then perhaps it is time to stimulate the same interest with a pan European competition.

Interestingly similar good ideas were considered at the OECD meeting held in Paris in February 2008, which have now results in the ratification of the OECD PSI Policy Principles.

The Competition is also timely in that the European Commission is currently reviewing the impact of the PSI Directive and is due to report in the autumn of 2008.