Data opening program for Poland till 2027 — overview
Have you seen the newest Polish open data program for the next six years? Do you know that public open data will grow to a gigantic number of 55,000, and the resources available through API are to be 1,000? The original document has 157 pages, in today’s article, we will outline some of the most important findings.
The latest data opening program for Poland for 2021–2027 (the original document HERE) is a continuation of the previous plan that was published in 2016. The program was developed by the office of Polish minister responsible for computerization, i.e. de facto people who worked in the now defunct Ministry of Digitization (we wrote more about this change in a separate article End of the Ministry of Digital Affairs in Poland).
The new program is a response to the European Data Strategy published by the European Commission on February 19, 2020. The aim of the strategy is to create more space for the free flow of public data in the European Union between many sectors — not only enterprises and public administration, but also scientists.
The main goals of the Polish open data program for 2021–2027
The most important objective of the authority responsible for the implementation of the provisions of the Act on Open Public Data is to continuously increase the amount of data, including increasing the supply of valuable data. The more specific goals that will have a number of positive effects on the innovation of the economy and the quality of life of the society include:
- improvement of interoperability and data quality — open data will be available via API;
- increasing the use and exchange of open data between institutions;
- stimulating the market for the re-use of cultural and scientific data resources;
- cooperation with domestic and foreign data stakeholders;
- increasing the knowledge and skills of public administration employees (opening and managing data);
- increasing public awareness of what open data is and how we can use it commercially.
In summary, the government program assumes that by 2027 not only the amount of open data in Poland will increase, but also the entire level of knowledge of the public sector and citizens will be much higher. To make open data more accessible, it was decided that some of it will finally be also available via APIs.
The modernization, which will be carried out by 2027, will also result in an improvement in the quality of data, which will undoubtedly contribute to expanding the area of their secondary use. The benefits of the program should be felt primarily by entrepreneurs, because it aims to support companies that want to introduce innovative services and goods to the Polish market in accordance with modern technologies.
Open data in Poland in numbers (as of 2021 and a better future in 2027)
The number of open data resources (counted in pieces) in Poland is currently 19,000. The plan is to increase this number to 55,000 in the next 6 years. The number of entities that provide open data will increase from 137 to 500, and the number of data resources with an increased degree of openness is prognosed to increase from 6,000 to 22,000.
Open data in Poland in numbers (2016–2020)
Is 55,000 public open data or 500 data providers a lot? Let’s compare it to the effects worked out by the previous program. The number of open data resources of the Central Repository of Public Information (CRIP) on the Dane.gov.pl portal (the biggest governmental open data portal in Poland) was only 4 in 2016, and in 2020 it was increased to 305 — it was a huge jump from almost nothing to 3-digit number.
When it comes to the data providers on the Dane.gov.pl, it was 35 in 2016 and 137 in 2020. This is definietly a better result, but 500 providers promised by the new program until 2027 sounds much better.
Better quality and bigger amount of open data sets bring a lot of benefits
Will the predicted amount of public open data in 2027 really cover needs of Polish ecosystem? The numbers will be noticeably multiplied but most likely it will not satisfy absolutely all sectors. Polish business still hopes for positive changes on a much larger scale.
Open data is the foundation of digital transformation — you don’t know it yet but you can also use it
The public sector has a large amount of information resources that can be extremely valuable in many areas. Mobility data, meteorological information, economic and financial data, and much more — all of it can be used to create completely new products and innovative services with huge benefits for society and the economy. This topic was widely discussed, among others at The Future Is Data Conference 2020, in which we participated.
Open data stakeholders include:
- Individual user;
- Government administration;
- Local government;
- Non-governmental organizations;
- Scientific communities;
- Private sector.
Building open public data ecosystem undoubtedly contributes to increasing the economic capital of the largest enterprises in Poland, which, thanks to the availability of business information, can grow dynamically and offer new services and goods to the public.
However, it should not be forgotten that opening public data brings also some social benefits — open data supports making strategic decisions, which most often results in new jobs and cutting costs of public transportation, electricity etc. The year 2020 was not great for Polish economy so let’s hope that described changes are going to bring new value.
Poland is not a leader of open data but…
Poland is not yet a leader of open data, but we can see that it has ambitions for it. According to the Open Data Maturity 2020 ranking, Poland is a trendsetter in the field of data opening. It moved up to 6th place, jumping from 11th.
The activities of Polish government in this area require a decisive intensification and systematization. The authors of the public data opening strategy assume that the new program will enable the development of an ecosystem in which, thanks to access to good-quality open data, modern solutions will be implemented, and the transparency of the activities of public administrative bodies and the implementation of scientific research will be accelerated.
Can this assumption really be met? The answer is yes! Thanks to the new data opening program, we can count on the development of science in Poland and the acceleration of research that will contribute to improving the quality of life and health of Poles. Open data will reduce or eliminate the cost of duplicating research that translates into faster discoveries — simply put, it can accelerate scientific progress.
Open data in Poland and in the EU — a few words about the obligation to release public sector information
The Act of February 25, 2016 on the re-use of public sector information, which by its regulations implements the provisions of Directive 2003/98 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of November 17, 2003 on the re-use of public sector information, as amended by Directive 2013/37 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 currently sets the legal framework for the re-use of public sector information in Poland.
In 2018, the European Commission initiated legislative work following a review of the existing regulations governing the re-use of public sector information. The result of the audit was the adoption of the new Directive 2019/1024 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 20, 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information.
The members of the European Union are required to implement the provisions of the new directive by July 17, 2021.
