When did Taiwan, as a government, start to support open data ? And How ?
The Open Data portal was set up in 2013, built on the Freedom of Government Information Act of 2005.
Currently there are 13 guidelines in effect to support the government’s open data efforts.
Why is it important, according to you, to further open public data?
Opening government data is key to facilitate cross-agency and cross-sectoral communication; improve administrative efficiency; satisfy requirements of the people; and empower citizens to monitor government operations.
Do you have examples of public/citizen initiatives that used public data to investigate or create new services ?
Yes. Since 2013, I personally maintain MoeDict.tw as part of the project to “reclaim our language”, eventually leading to subsequent crowd lexicography projects such as iTaigi and Amis MoeDict.
Would you say most of the job is done or do you still have to be proactive to further open public data ?
There is still a lot work to be done, especially around cross-sector collaboration where data comes from citizens. See the Civil IoT project for an example of this in action.
Would you say Taiwan deserves its first place in the Open Data Index ranking and why?
Please refer to this transcript for an elaboration.
Do you have examples of relevant actions your government has done to really improve open data ?
The commitment to Civil IoT reinforces our message of cross-sectoral open data collaboration.
The widespread adoption of a national Open Government Data License across ministries and municipalities is another key action.
The integration of open standards into our procurement regulations helped as well.
Recently, 6 big Taiwanese cities signed the Open Data Charter, what does that mean? How is that a step towards more transparency?
It speaks to the vibrancy our regional innovation and city-level exchange mechanisms, for example from the Smart City Summit & Expo.
Such mechanisms help spread best practices and help raise awareness and expectations from the civil societies.
Do you think France has a lot to learn from your example?
We can certainly learn from each other, especially in exchanges around social innovation — Taiwan’s civil society drives most of the policy ideas listed here, including co-creating the open government data license.
And how does (or could) France benefit/learn from your country’s actions?
Come visit! The g0v Summit this October is an excellent place to start a discussion.
Did you ever happen to look at some of the French government initiatives/actions to improve your own actions ?
Yes. My office, the Public Digital Innovation Space (PDIS), is inspired by Etalab; we compared notes during WCIT last year.
We also learned from the “Digital Republic” bill’s consultation process and implemented similar ideas, such as mandatory online public discussion period of 60 days for all regulation changes and legislative drafts before sending to the parliament, as well as for all 1300+ public spending projects embarked across all ministries.