The European Public Sector Information Platformperspective on
PSI portals
Chris CorbinAdvisor to the European PSI Platform
EC PSI Group – PSI Portals meeting, Luxembourg, 25th September 2009
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
Definition:
A public sector information portal is one that is:
• dedicated to; • or has parts of the portal dedicated to;
the re-use of public sector information
Notes:
1.The definition does not state who is responsible for the PSI portal, has editorial control or who should operate the PSI portal.2.The definition is narrow as the definition of public sector information is constrained to re-use.3.The definition provides a means of deciding whether an information portal fits this definition.
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
Objective of a PSI portal
To provide in one place all the relevant information about public sector information re-use – often referred to as:
a one-stop-shop (a window) for information on PSI re-use
Notes:
1.One purpose of the portal is to make information visible.2.As the subject is public sector information this requires:
• The PSI regulators and PSI policy makers and implementers• The supply side (the public sector information holders)
to be open and transparent. It would be very useful if the demand side (the re-users) were also open and transparent.
3. Transparency is a further measure that can be used to rate a PSI portal against the PSI portal definition.
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
The prime purpose of a Public Sector Information Portal (Categories)
1. The authentic source European Commission
Member State lead body and or regulator
• Static Ireland
• Dynamic Belgium, EC, UK
2. Awareness raising & motivation Spain (Project APORTA)
3. Membership & Influencing• PSI (Demand side) PSI Alliance, LOCUS, IWG-Netzwerk Association
• Thematic (Demand side) PRIMET
• Thematic (Supply side) ECOMET
4. Non aligned information service European PSI Platform (a region at global level)
5. Civil society filling a void Czech PSI Watch
Notes:
1. The purpose of the portal influences• the dynamics of the portal – rate of change – this influences visitor rates• the breadth and type of content on the portal
2. Some categories the purpose is the primary role (the service is the product) for others categories it is a secondary role (a by product)
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
The authentic source – Member State lead body PSI Portal
Attributes of the information
• PSI Re-use law or laws Static - Slow moving• PSI Guidance Static - Slow moving• Standard licenses Static - Slow moving• Directory to PSI holdings Dynamic• Complaints Dynamic• Statistics Dynamic• Annual reports Periodic• Accreditation Dynamic• Meetings Dynamic• Awareness raising Dynamic• Testing opinion Dynamic
The content management resource is minimal – input is minimal but impact can be significant – it is cost effective!
All but one EU Member State have a Freedom of Access Law – one of the fundamental principles when implementing the FOI law is to be pro-active in publishing materials and information. One view of a PSI Portal is that it also complies with best practice on FOI implementation.
Public Sector PSI Re-usersThe Actors
Their roleTo facilitate the opportunity To grasp the opportunity and to innovate
Supply sideSupply side Demand sideDemand side
A large number of public bodiesMany are large
A large number of employeesBut
They are quantifiableAnd many are similar
A very large number of PSI re-usersMany are micro or small
ButThey are not quantifiableAnd they are not similar
Fall into 4 groupsCommercial active
Commercial future activityNot commercial active
Not commercial future activityThe size of the future blocks not known.
What do we Know aboutEach side?
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
Who is the target audience for a PSI portal?
Answer: People on both sides of the Supply and Demand interface
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
The home page will change by the end of September 2009 or early October 2009
The E-PSI-P isSupported an RSSfeed and by a notification service the level of which can set by the viewer. (Need to register on the site to establish the notification service)
The language medium is predominantly English
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
The platform is a Commission support initiative – exploit it!Funded by the European Commission for 24 months 1st March 2009 to 28th February 2011
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
The depositoryContent Management System
(built on open source software)
The depositoryContent Management System
(built on open source software)
NewsNews GuestBlog
GuestBlog
TopicReports
TopicReports
ProductDirectoryProduct
Directory CasesCases GoodPractice
GoodPractice
Views of the depository
Harvesting the information(a manual process)
All views apart from News are slow moving (that is they do not change every day)
To assist the awareness and learning processes the E-PSI-P provides:
• Each month a PSI Guru will host the Guest blog• Topic reports
PSI Re-use framework: The role of PSI Re-users
www.epsiplatform.eu
The E-PSI-P News service has several objectives:
1.To gather information – first step for possible processing within other views on the E-PSI-P.
2.It is the key motivator to encourage visitors to the web site.
3.For the news to be timely and current.
4.To post at least one news item per calendar day on average.
5.To provide a balanced pan European news coverage interspersed with international PSI re-use news
PSI Re-use framework: The role of PSI Re-users
www.epsiplatform.eu
How does the E-PSI-P meet the news objectives:
1.It is a manual process undertaken centrally by the platform service provider with intermittent support of registered E-PSI-P news providers and tip off’s from PSI guru’s across Europe and the world.
1.News is assessed into categories – immediate (directly relevant to the EU Directive framework implementation and operation), hold (indirectly relevant to the EU Directive framework but relevant to the wider definition of public sector information).
2.During periods of intense PSI re-use community activity that results in numerous news items arriving concurrently – the items maybe held if it provides too much bias to one Member State. Such items are held and maybe posted as part of a later news topic when geographic balance can be achieved. News topics that are older than 3 months are rarely posted.
3.News items that are not fully transparent are not posted. For example an event may appear under Meetings but a news item may not be posted if the meeting organiser does not publish the materials.
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
E-PSI-P Value chain (down stream)
E-PSI-PE-PSI-P Viewer(Visitor)Viewer(Visitor)
Aggregator(all E-PSI-P
news)
Aggregator(all E-PSI-P
news)
MembershipService
(Selective)
MembershipService
(Selective)
IGN Blog DresdenKM Africa
PSI Alliance
Selective TranslatorSelective Translator
APORTA
Provides a measure of success of E-PSI-P news service
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
PSI Portals value chain (down stream)
E-PSI-PE-PSI-P Viewer(Visitor)Viewer(Visitor)
Aggregator(all E-PSI-P news)
Aggregator(all E-PSI-P news)
MembershipService
(Selective)
MembershipService
(Selective)
Selective TranslatorSelective Translator
Provides a measure of success of E-PSI-P news service
SlowMoving
PSI Portals
SlowMoving
PSI Portals
www.epsiplatform.eu
Visitors to the European PSI Platform
The platform is a Commission support initiative – exploit it!
The European Public Sector Information Platform
www.epsiplatform.eu
Visitors to The European PSI Platform 1st March to 31st August 2009
The platform is a Commission support initiative – exploit it!
The European Public Sector Information Platform
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
Challenges
• Locating content
• URL Persistence
• Language
• Cultural differences
• Information loss
• Growing and keeping an audience
www.epsiplatform.eu
Template for a Member State Public Sector Information Portal
All views are slow moving (that is they do not change every week)This means the human resource of maintaining content is low
Member State PSI portalContent Management System
(built on open source software)
Member State PSI portalContent Management System
(built on open source software)
LegalLegalTool kit
Standard Licences
Tool kitStandard Licences
Exclusive Arrangements
Exclusive Arrangements
DirectoryToPSI
DirectoryToPSI
CasesCasesGood
Practice & Guidance
GoodPractice & Guidance
Views of the depository
Reports and
Statistics
Reports and
Statistics
Meetings&
Events
Meetings&
Events
There is a need to agree a basic set of views
(Agree on 25th September 2009)
www.epsiplatform.eu
Benefits of a Member State Public Sector Information Portal
Member State PSI portalMember State PSI portal
PotentialRe-user
PotentialRe-user
Public Sector InformationHolder web
site
Public Sector InformationHolder web
site
The PSIH web site links to MS PSI Portal for the:
• The Law• Standard Licences• Complaints system
The PSIH web site would use standard text provided by the Member State PSI portal.
This helps the public sector employee in the PSIH and also provides a standard interface to the potential re-user.
Benefits
1. Low cost comprehensive implementation2. Sustainable over time3. Consistent interface to all parties.
(Harmonised)
Objective
To make it simple and easy to implement and maintain the PSI re-use framework and to maximise the re-use potential of the PSI held
Examples: Ireland, UK
The ideal European target model by 1st July 2012!
Supply sideSupply side Demand sideDemand side
Public Sector PSI Re-users
A European Network of31 Lead PSI bodies & portals
A European Network of31 Lead PSI bodies & portals
An active EuropeanPSI information Portal
An active EuropeanPSI information Portal
Family of Regulators
For example: The European Competition Network(The Regulators have powers of enforcement on both the supply and demand sides)
Pan EuropeanPSI Associations
& Thematic Associations
Pan EuropeanPSI Associations
& Thematic Associations
Demand side PSI
information portals
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
www.epsiplatform.eu
The European Public Sector Information Platform
Summary
• The benefits of a implementing and maintaining a PSI portal far out weigh the costs
• The technology is present and is not an issue
• Communication is a must and must be maintained – the people in the system are constantly changing
• The content is available at least for a basic PSI portal
• The knowledge and expertise is present and is not an issue
• It is possible to agree today:• a basic set of information to place on the portal• the steps one needs to take to implement the basic PSI Portal• a commitment from everyone present today that they will make it happen!
Interested in PSI? Then why not visit:
www.epsiplatform.eu
&http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/psi/index_en.htm
Thank you for your attention
www.epsiplatform.eu
Ask yourself:
When did I last visit the European PSI Platform?When did I last provide information to the European PSI Platform?When did I last participate in a European PSI Platform initiative?When did I last dissemination information from the European PSI Platform?
Remember this is a resource to support YOU!The larger the number of stakeholders actively participating the richer the resource will be!
So please exploit it!
