How to build the bridge: Budget Open Data Policy

The promised land: Actionable budget transparency policy

Public Information Public Value Why we want to go there? The data opening process contributes to a successful budget transparency policy Public data vs. Open data Opening process International standards Budgetary data publishers, particularly teams from finance ministries at any level of government, are expected to know the minimum steps for the opening process and the concepts to differentiate public data from open data, identify potential users and recognize the sources from which information come. It also provides practical guidance on topics such as the debugging and cleaning of data sets, the use and linking of national and international standards, as well as about user licenses, to protect users. Finally, recognizing that this process entails a challenge for many governments, it also incorporates considerations on human and other types of resources necessary for the process and its sustainability. This process does not conclude with the publication, but must continue as a cycle constantly returning to users in order to improve the use, use and impact of open data. Listen to the demand Promote the use of data Public Information Public Value

Tips and tricks Based on Mexico’s experience

Build a bridge based on what citizens need How to arrive to the promised land? Build a bridge based on what citizens need Listen to the demand Consider what others have done Identify people and organizations interested in your information Source and format of your information: aspects to take into account regarding the origin of the data and its format, how to identify the areas involved in the process, analyze the starting point of the quality of the information…

Listen to the demand Hackathons & Data Expeditions Public consultation Researches by Civil Society, Investigation Centres, Universities, etc.

New information? Subnational governments? Where do we start? When talking about publishing data, we need to consider the levels of data openness… JSON? Excel? CSV? PDF? API? Then, the route to follow and the actions to perform in the opening of data will mostly depend on the origin of it: New information? Subnational governments? Own MOF systems?

What kind of bridge we want to build? The construction plan: What kind of bridge we want to build? Materials Source and format of your information Structure Verify national and/or international standards Free vs. Toll Consider a license that allows both its commercial and non-commercial use without restrictions. The publication of budget information in open formats increases the inputs available to the public. What a data standard is, the advantages of using them and some strategies to standardize budget information. What to consider to open budget data with a license that allows both its commercial and non-commercial use and reuse without restrictions (toll-free bridge)

Building the bridge The consolidation of a budget transparency policy -> help people get on the bridge Maintenance Updating? Periodicity? Technological infrastructure? Quality data Avoid confusing information Orderly and quality information to publish + Technical & Technological staff + Diffusion and visualization trends Quality certification: cleaning and debugging Maintenance: sustainability Details of some common errors during the processing of the information and how to correct them: Factors that, when not taken into account, can jeopardize the medium and long-term success of the openness process, such as updating, periodicity, technological infrastructure, temporal and human costs, among others. The consolidation of a budget transparency policy should consider a multidisciplinary team comprised of technical staff who are experts in the information to be published, and experts in technology.

It is hard to promote the use of uninteresting data… Make it usable! It is hard to promote the use of uninteresting data…

Do people know where the bridge leads to? Do they want to go there? How to encourage its use? Do people know where the bridge leads to? Do they want to go there? Think about data reusers Data Expeditions Hackathons/ Creathons Research papers contests Visualizations Spread and promote the use of your data:

There is no single way to build a bridge to a strong Budget Open Data Policy

Show the impact Give context to, link and visualize the data to unleash the impact in the daily life of people Visualization Information + society = Public value

Actionable data Social Networks Take part of events Face-to-face Workshops Online Courses

Take the data to the street ★ Phase 1: Analyse ★ Phase 2: Were do we go? Participants chose the projects they will review and the strategies they will use. ★ Phase 3: Visit Go out and find your projects. Use social networks through the hashtags #DatosEnLaCalle and #RallyMexico, tag @Tpresupuestaria, report your route and share your findings (photos, videos, beneficiaries interviews, etc.) ★ Phase 4: Evaluation Points obtained during the Rally are summed up; judges evaluate the use of data and dissemination strategies and a winner is declared.

“Data on the Street” Rally International In 2018, alongside the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency, Mexico sponsored the first edition of the International Rally. Encouraging citizens to participate allows to: Get feedback on the way information is generated, displayed and used Improve tools and strategies by reviewing reports Establish a productive dialogue between government and citizenry to improve the influence of data.

Learning from experience: Policy Cycle

It’s an ever-ending process of feedback and improvement Promoting the use of data is not an isolated task It’s an ever-ending process of feedback and improvement We must think about the use since the publication process. Make the data actionable: compatible and comparable.

Gather valuable information It is an iterative process of feedback and improvement.

Which is the most consulted? Monitoring the spread strategies Which is the most consulted? Which one increased? What can we do with this?

Conclusions Open Data implies facilitating information to other data publishers and decision-makers. Key moments of the opening process: tech/structure issues – and feedback/impact assessment (usage) issues. Keep your goal clear: to have an actionable budget transparency policy.

Let’s build the bridge! Twitter: @Tpresupuestaria Facebook: Transparencia Presupuestaria www.transparenciapresupuestaria.gob.mx