Issue link: https://resources.esri.ca/i/732759
4 | SPRING 2015 ArcNorthNews Globally, the open data movement is gaining more momentum each year. Governments of all stripes are eschewing traditional, restrictive methods to disclosing public data in favour of policies granting freer access to non-personal information. Canadians need not look outside their own borders for examples of organizations that have implemented open data initiatives that improve public data accessibility, demonstrate greater transparency and engage citizens. The federal government has launched their "Open Government" open data program and several provinces, including BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland & Labrador, have introduced open data portals. Many Canadian cities across the country have embraced open data, too. The Halifax Regional Municipality (Halifax) recently joined this forward-thinking group of municipalities, launching an open data catalogue in the fall of 2014 using ArcGIS Open Data. Thanks to a groundswell of support that rallied people from across the municipality—from entrepreneurs, to activists, to municipal councillors—public data is now accessible through a searchable, easy-to-use online catalogue at no charge. Open Data Takes Flight Halifax's first official step in its open data journey began in September 2012 with a unanimous vote by Regional Council to undertake a proposed open data pilot project. The aim of the pilot project was to assess the internal costs and potential savings of running an open data platform, and to gauge citizen interest and appetite for open data. The fundamental principles of the open data program resonated positively with Regional Council. "The open data program we proposed would make public information more accessible and introduce a level of transparency into government decision-making that wasn't there before," said Mark Helm, Data Analyst, Halifax Regional Municipality, who spearheaded the open data project team. "Regional Council also identified an opportunity for economic development for local businesses. By releasing the data with no restrictions, no copyrights and no fee, we're giving businesses and entrepreneurs the opportunity to get into markets that consume data, such as building Web apps." Another key factor driving Halifax's adoption of the open data pilot project was efficiency. A significant amount of time and resources was occupied fielding data requests, preparing data and filling out paper work. The municipality estimated that streamlining the process and transitioning to a no-cost, self-serve catalogue would save money and get public data into the hands of citizens faster. As part of the launch, the municipality released 17 datasets through an open data catalogue that gave residents unfettered access to geo- referenced information such as civic addresses, crime data and public bus routes. Halifax then launched a promotional campaign to spread awareness and engage developers and citizens through an open data application contest called Apps4Halifax. The contest was divided into several categories and offered prizes to encourage the local community to develop apps that would improve Halifax residents' lives using the newly published data. The volume, quality and creativity of the submissions provided a glimpse into the potential that open data offered the municipality. In the end, 38 apps were developed—many of which leveraged ArcGIS Online technology—and over 1,500 public votes were cast. "Early on, we identified that connecting with the local community was very important to the success of this program," said Mr. Helm. "There is a lot of activism around open data and open government locally, so we participated in several different community-driven focus groups. Also, there are many start-ups and small business incubators to help get businesses going in Halifax, so we reached out to these groups and organizations. In the end, explaining what we were looking to accomplish created a lot of goodwill and collaboration." Grand Opening Once the pilot program ended, Regional Council gave the green light to officially adopt the open data initiative. Municipal legislation was passed in August 2014 that defined and outlined open data governance, while sanctioning the creation of an open catalogue. At this point, Halifax sought a third-party vendor to provide a platform for its open data catalogue. Feedback from the developer community confirmed the importance of an open data solution built on a GIS-centric platform. Halifax Improves Access to Public Data with ArcGIS Using Halifax Regional Municipality's open data catalogue, residents can search by topic or location, view data on an interactive map or in a table, and download datasets in multiple formats.