Spain develops Open Data guide for municipalities and local entities

As highlighted in a recent European Data Portal Report on Open Data barriers, local administrations in particular face challenges with regard to the skills and capacity required to publish Open Data. To overcome these challenges, the Federation of Municipalities and Provinces of Spain (FEMP) presented the Strategic Guide to Open Data which comprises a series of actions, guidelines and recommendations so that municipalities and local authorities can effectively publish their data for re-use by citizens, civil society organisations, companies and/or other public administrations.

More specifically, the guide details the characteristics of an Open Data portal (basic components, conditions of use or terms of re-use), the legal framework for the re-use of public sector information, as well as the technological plan (tools, platforms and formats), along with measurement systems for successful Open Data initiatives. The guide provides information ranging from the tools needed for data curation, extraction, visualisation and transformation, to platforms, re-usable formats, standards, data interoperability and security. It also incorporates a training and dissemination plan that includes training for technical personnel who works with data as well as training for citizens.

Although this Open Data Guide is specifically developed for municipalities, it also represents a useful manual for all Open Data stakeholders - be they public administration bodies, academic institutions, civil society organisations, business entrepreneurs, or citizens interested in the topic of Open Data re-use.
Would you like to know more? The guide is available online here!