By Peter McComb and Malene Felsing
What are open data?
The New Zealand government defines open data as data that anyone can use and share - data which have open licences, are openly accessible and are both human- and machine-readable1.
Following the example of numerous countries, in August 2017 the New Zealand government adopted the International Open Data Charter, a non-binding agreement mandating that government data are open and accessible to all. The Open Data Charter builds on the New Zealand Declaration on Open and Transparent Government and the Data and Information Management Principles, through which the government has communicated an expectation that agencies proactively release high-value data, and work towards an ‘open by default’ approach2.
These policies were adopted based on evidence from overseas that open data enables the development of new knowledge, tools and services, which drive economic development.
Benefits of open data
Since the inception of the term ‘open data’ in 1996, and the concurrent explosion of the internet and the movement towards open source code, the benefits of open data have been assessed by many. The results of the research show that data create more value when they are widely utilised and well-governed.
The clear benefits of open data include:
- Increased innovation as data become accessible to users from different disciplines.
- Reduced barriers to entry into markets.
- Creation of economic value through the development of new products, services or activities.
- Efficiency gains in the public sector as agencies gain access to data that help streamline operations, and through non-duplication of data collection efforts.
- Improvement in efficiency and productivity of private businesses using the data.
- Flow-on effects as emerging second-order users add further economic and social benefits to the economy.
- Increased government tax revenue through expanded economic activity, as well as higher revenue for individual agencies through the sale of high-value information to companies.
- Public engagement as the wider population can access educational and cultural knowledge.
- Improved social welfare as society benefits from transparent and accessible information, stimulating collaboration, participation and social innovation.
- Greater transparency and accountability of public service providers.
- Better policy-making based on better data.
There are numerous examples of international macroeconomic studies into the economic impact of open government data. A 2014 report3 assessing the value of open data for G20 economies predicted an AU$19 billion return on investment over five years from doubling the accessibility and use of Australian government and research data.
Who benefits the most?
Most analyses agree that open data benefits everyone - there are no real losers and widespread wins, because open data makes better use of existing resources. Consumers and the broader society stands to win the most, although there are some benefits to data providers. A European Union study4 concluded that releasing public sector information leads to modest direct revenues to governments. It estimated that most European nations would see a gain of 1% of agency budget, but that gains of up to 25% were possible. These estimates were based on the Netherlands and the UK, who both gather revenue from opening up government data. However, all studies agree that that open data creates new types of businesses, providing opportunities for small and medium enterprises and business models like advertiser-pays rather than end-user-pays5.
Open weather data
Of all the different types of public sector data, weather data have been identified as particularly important because everyone - including individuals, private companies, local and national government departments - can all benefit from it. Applications that make use of open weather data can therefore potentially have a huge impact.
Several studies have attempted to place a value on open weather data. Research from 20096 indicated that US adults used more than 300 billion forecasts per year at the time, which was valued (by the general public) at $286 per household per year, providing an aggregate annual valuation of weather forecasts of about US$31.5 billion. At the time, government and private sectors spent US$5.1 billion on meteorological operations, research and forecasting, which means that the value provided by weather forecasts was 6.2 times higher than the cost of producing them.
Open weather data in New Zealand?
This is a really good question for New Zealand to ponder during 2018. We have a small economy with a big ocean to manage and we tend to get a lot of weather! There are two state-funded organisations independently collecting data and independently producing high quality national weather forecasts, plus a range of international weather forecast providers with various types and qualities of data available. So, what is our current source of weather truth? Is there a better way for the needs of the New Zealand economy and general public to be served? To answer that question in a meaningful way, it’s helpful to consider where exactly data comes into the equation.