Unlocking PSI Potential
The United Kingdom Report on the Re-use of Public Sector Information 2008 - published
London: 22 July 2008
The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), UK has published their annual report on the status of the Re-use of Public Sector Information within the UK. Michael Wills, Minister for Information, Ministry of Justice in the forward to the report titled - The United Kingdom Report on the Re-use of Public Sector Information 2008 states:
“I am tremendously encouraged by the progress that has been achieved so far. We are already beginning to see many new, exciting and innovative services based on PSI. I know that there are hurdles to clear, but this Government is committed to building on and achieving the PSI vision set out in this Report.”
Carol Tullo, Director, Office of Public Sector Information states in the Executive Summary:
“This time last year OPSI produced a report1 marking the first two years of operation of the UK regime for public sector information (PSI) and tracking progress made to date. As with the first report, OPSI’s aim was to ensure that the legislation that underpinned the various UK tools and initiatives to deliver PSI services “is recognised, understood and put into practice”. How far that has been achieved and the challenges that lie ahead are set out in this Report.
The UK has a mature understanding of how OPSI embedded the European Directive on the Re-use of PSI and the implemented Re-use of PSI Regulations in its PSI approach. The Timeline re-produced at pages 36-39 is designed to track how selected key actions, events and factors, internal and external to government, have influenced and shaped the current state of play. It is a visual representation of the journey so far and how once parallel policy activity and initiatives are now linked.
In the UK, the story of moving to a far more enabling approach for PSI re-use starts in 2001. OPSI has been able to benefit from longer experience, compared to other member states, in experimenting and innovating in this space.
In the past year the reports and initiatives, such as the Power of Information Review and the Commercial Use of Public Information study, that were referenced in last year’s report have become active drivers of ideas and change. This month saw the launch of a new online service, to gather and assess requests for PSI in more re-usable forms. As the regulator for PSI re‑use, OPSI understands that people can encounter problems getting hold of the information they need in the formats they want. This service is designed to help unlock these information assets. This and other developments are charted in the report to demonstrate where PSI sits in the UK.
The structure of this Report reflects the work at European Union (EU) level and so, OPSI has grouped the coverage around the key themes under review by the European Commission (EC) as it assesses the first three years of operation of the Directive. The UK emerges well in its direction of travel. There is still a lot to deliver to meet expectations and see the benefits that accrue to the economy and society for us all from the largest creator of information in the UK. PSI spans everything from legislation, house prices, timetables to mapping and school statistics. To give a sense of pace, at the same time the UK implemented the Directive in 2005, the term Web 2.0 was just being invented. As this information is searched and found more easily than ever before through search engines, social networking sites and wikis; more people are using PSI and are hungry for greater re-use. The initiatives and reviews and assessments that are drawn together here demonstrate OPSI’s commitment to keeping up momentum and building on the base they have achieved.
When OPSI started out in 2005 the focus concentrated on the value and benefits of PSI in encouraging a thriving information economy. This is now complemented by the engagement of communities and citizens to shape solutions. It recognises that the public sector does not have a monopoly on ideas for making the most of information and how the user wants to receive access and use it. There has never been a more important or exciting time for PSI re-use.:”
Related ePSIplus news
OPSI Reviews UK PSI Implementation
Related ePSIplus reports
UK Report on the Re-use of PSI 2008
OPSI Report on UK Implementation of the European Directive on PSI Re-use
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