Open data is a good mechanism for socially responsible behavior and improving the transparency of public administration, according to representatives of the business and academic community, civil society and the media.
The announcement of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) states that the Government of Montenegro should therefore educate public administration employees to create and manage open data, given their importance for society and the economic sector.
As they said from UNDP, one of the key goals of the "Acceleration of Digital Management" project, which supports the Government of Montenegro in the process of digital transformation, is to support the Ministry of Public Administration in improving the open data management system.
"Also, for the first time in Montenegro, UNDP is considering open data of great importance in accordance with the European Union (EU) Directive, as a special subcategory of open data sets whose reuse is associated with significant benefits for society, the environment and the economy in general," he says. in the announcement.
UNDP said that the research carried out as part of the project, in which representatives of the business sector, the academic community, non-governmental organizations and the media participated, identified key shortcomings in the functioning of the open data portal.
They said that recommendations were given for that area, which in Montenegro is still in its initial phase, taking into account the difference between open data and data and information obtained in accordance with procedures on free access to information.
"The term open data refers to data in a machine-readable and open format, which are available to individuals and legal entities for "reuse" in order to create new value, i.e. sharing without restrictions," the statement added.
It is stated that citizens and the economy have an extremely positive attitude towards open data, which is confirmed by the fact that a significant number of respondents believe that open data is extremely important - 93,4 percent.
UNDP said that almost 90 percent of respondents believe that the portal is not sufficiently promoted by the media, although open data is considered a mechanism for improving transparency, digitization and public administration reform in general.
As they stated, representatives of the business and academic community, civil society and the media see open data and the portal as a good mechanism for socially responsible behavior.
"So the key motives for using open data are solving a specific problem - 66 percent of respondents, improving services for citizens and clients - 61,7 percent, as well as developing an innovative service/website - 57,4 percent," the announcement says.
UNDP said that the government is most interested in open data in the fields of education, statistics and finance.
As they stated, 95,7 percent of respondents are interested in open data in the education sector, 89,4 percent in the field of statistics, while 87,2 percent of respondents are interested in finances at the central and local level.
"They believe that open data increases work efficiency and increases productivity, but that there is a misunderstanding of the importance of open data in public administration and among decision-makers," the statement said.
UNDP said that one of the conclusions of the research is that it is necessary to strengthen capacities within public administration bodies and local self-governments at all levels, as well as awareness of the importance of open data, all with the aim of creating full openness of public administration.
The permanent representative of UNDP in Montenegro, Daniela Gašparikova, reminded that in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development, it is important for the state to use all available resources.
She said that the degree and speed of the country's progress towards EU membership and the realization of the 2030 Agenda largely depends on the efficiency and transparency of public administration.
That is why, as Gašparikova said, it is important to strengthen the proactive publication of data, while at the same time improving the quality of transparency, so that the data is easily accessible and searchable, machine readable and in accordance with the needs of society and the economic sector.
"For example, if we take into account the traffic sector, by analyzing open data on traffic accidents, vulnerable groups of road users can be identified based on demographic characteristics, as well as the causes, ways and locations where accidents most often occur," said Gašparikova.
She said that on the basis of these data sets, it is possible to create models for predicting traffic accidents, to influence the change of the traffic regime and to rehabilitate critical points at identified locations.
"Additionally, the combination of data sets from other areas is a good basis for creating digital tools that will automatically send signals to the competent services if the rules that potentially endanger traffic in those locations are violated," said Gašparikova.
She said that the reuse of open data and their combination and linking affects the increase in business efficiency, the creation of policies, but also new products and services that improve the quality of life and business.
Minister of Public Administration Maraš Dukaj pointed out that high-value open data sets represent a special category within open data sets.
These data, as he said, are not a fixed category, but new ones are recognized over time, based on factors such as the impact on sustainable development, economic effects, potential for innovation, data quality.
"Having that in mind, with the support of UNDP, for the first time, in accordance with the EU Directive to encourage the reuse of open data in the member states, an evaluation of the set of these data was done," said Dukaj.
As he said, open data sets of great importance, which include geospatial, earth observation and the environment, meteorological data, statistics, ownership in companies and mobility, are a key resource for digital governance, especially the creation of new digital solutions that reuse that data. gain in value.
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