Description
The project addresses the shortcomings of the open government in Bulgaria due to the inconsistent data policy of the governmental institutions and the insufficient capacity of the NGOs to use open public data to influence policy making. The project aims to raise public awareness about open government and open source public data and boost the capacity of NGOs to work with data. First, a mixed working group will be set up to prepare the open data methodology. Next, the existing practices will be analyzed and mapped. Third, a large-scale information campaign on data availability will be carried out. Fourth, an open data manual will be developed. Next, 3 2-day seminars will be held to build the capacity of data users (NGOs, CSOs, the media). Finally, OpenDataExpo will be organized. The project will benefit the target groups of policy-makers, NGOs, the media, open data activists as well as the community in general.
Summary of project results
At the beginning of 2015 Bulgaria was ranked 51st by Global Open Data Index of Open Knowledge Foundation, in the early 2016 Bulgaria was ranked 16th (
http://index.okfn.org/place/) and it is among the top 10 countries in terms of open data, as seen from the latest survey of the EC on the situation with open data and access to public information in Europe (Open Data Maturity in Europe 2015). The open data concept changed the way in which public information is provided and is accessible. The project aimed at raising awareness and building the capacity of NGOs and the media to work with public data in the digital environment i.e. open data in order to improve public policies. The project was important and necessary because when it was launched the area of open data was full mainly with intentions and a draft version of the Open Data Portal. The project enabled the development of a standardized and integrated approach and policy of open data publication in which civil involvement plays an important role. Civil activists for open data took part in the practical implementation of the data opening and in raising awareness and boosting the capacity for work with such data by the administration and by external users such as citizens, NGOs and the media. The most important project outcome was that the process of data opening in Bulgaria had a dynamic launch; in the course of a year 124 of the largest databases were open including data related to the environment, education, healthcare, employment, public procurement, road accidents, statistics and budget payments. For more information, see:
http://www.opendata.ngolinks.eu/
Summary of bilateral results