City of London Open Data Initiative - Board of Control Report

8/9/2019 City of London Open Data Initiative - Board of Control Report

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MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 21,20 10FROM: ELAINE GAMBLEDIRECTOR, CORPORATE COMM UNICATIONS

CHAIR AND MEMB ERSBOARD OF CONTROLI To: II SUBJECT 1 CITY OF LONDON OPEN DATA INITIATIVEII RECOMMENDATION I IThat, on the recomm endation of the D irector of Corporate Comm unications and the C hiefTechnology O fficer, with the concurrence of the City Clerk, the following ac tions BE,TAKEN,with respect to open data:

a) the establishmen t of the open data initiative BE APPROVED; inaccordance with theterms of reference as set out in the attached Appendix A.b) City of London agencies, boards and commissions BE ENCOURAGED to establish theirown open data initiatives.

llREVIOUS REPORTS PERTINENT TO THIS MATTERIINone

BACKGROUNDOpen data is a philosophy and practice requiring that certain data a re m ade available to thepublic, without restrictions from copyright, paten ts or othe r mechan isms of co ntrol, for free andin a machine readable format. The Open Data movem ent is gaining momentum worldwide withsignificant steps being taken by gov ernments at all levels in North America and Europe. Thegoal of open data is to make government open, accessible and transparent and encouragemore participation in government.In the public sphere, the goal of open data is to remove barriers to accessing informationcreated or managed by government institutions, while respecting privacy, legal and otherconcerns. Cities across the world have benefited from open data initiatives by being able toharness the creativity of citizens who will create free or low -cost, innovative ways of using or re-purposing government data in ways that government may not have the resources or thecapability of doing itself.By embracing the concept of open data, the City of Lond on is sending a signal to the com munityat large as well as individuals and compa nies in the digital media industry, that it is indeed openfor business and committed to transparency, accountability, accessibility of information,community engagement and innovation.International interest in the Open Data movement is il lustrated by www.data.aov (USA),http://data.australia.Qov.@uAustralia) and www.data.qou.uk (UK), websites created to releasegovernment data. At the municipal level, cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Edmo nton,Nanaimo and Ottawa in Canada and San Francisco, New York, Washington DC in the U.S.,have ado pted the open philosophy. These c ities are benefitting from improved transparency oflocal government and leveraging new technologies to provide improved public access tomunicipal data.


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RECOMM ENDED BY:

DISCUSSIONAdm inistration is recomm ending that the C ity of Lon don take concrete steps to join the ranks ofother Canadian m unicipalities which have ins tituted open data initiatives. If approved, CorporateCommunications, Technology Services Division and the Clerk's Division will partner to developthe necessary infrastructure, raise awareness and engage with other divisions within theCorporation and with the public in the develop ment of City of London's open data initiative.The first major open data m ilestone would be the creation of a 'beta' (or test) website that wouldmake available, in machine readable format, approxima tely 15-20 data sets. The initial release,to be launched in September 2010, would focus on Parks and Recreation-related informationthat is already available on www.london.ca. Presenting this information in ma chine readableformat will allow it to more easily be re-purposed for mapping or other applications. The site willserve as a tangible first step towards the release of further data to the public. The following datasets will b e made ava ilable on this beta website:

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ELAINE GAMBLEDIRECTOR, CORPORATECOMMUNICATIONSCONCURRED BY:

Community poolsWad ing poo ls/spray padsCommunity centresArenasBaseball diamondsSoccer fieldsTennis courtsGolf coursesMulti-use pathwaysFootba ll fieldsBasketball courtsSkateboard parksOutdoor ice rinksMulti-use padsPlay structuresSwing setsAccessible facilitiesWashroomsDog off-leash parksCommunity gardens

JOSEPH EDWARDCHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

The City of London's Legal department has reviewed and approved the Terms of Use (attachedas Appendix B) that govern how the data that is accessed via the website can be used. OtherCanadian cities that have adop ted open data initiatives have used the same Terms of Use.Civic Administration will set up an online forum to facilitate ongoing dialogue, informationsharing and feedback on the open data website, as well as to find ou t what other kinds of datathe community is looking for. Both Ottawa (http://www.dataott.org) and Toronto(http://www.datato.org) have benefited from this type of website, set up and maintained by thecomm unity itself, at minima l cost to the City.In addition to the ongoing co nsultation with the com munity described in the Terms of Reference,internal consultations are also p roposed, with a view to raising awareness and gaining input onfuture releases of open data sets.

CATHY SAUNDERSCITY CLERK


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Appendix AOpen Data Initiative - Terms of ReferencePurposeThe pu rpose of the Open Data initiative is to remove barriers to accessing information createdor managed by government institutions, while respecting privacy, legal and other concerns.ObjectiveThe objective of setting up an open data beta website is to take initial steps towards a formalopen data program, test its efficiency and e ffectiveness and get feedba ck and input from thepublic and internal stakeholders.Working GroupA working group sh all be established to mon itor the prog ress of the open data initiative,including the use of the d ata sets, as well as plan future releases . The follow ing responsibilitiesand principles will guide the working group:

Develop criteria to guide decision-making around what data sets m ay be released. Thecriteria will include a comm itment, where possible,to freely share with citizens,businesses and o ther jurisdictions the greatest amount of data possible, while respectingprivacy and security concerns an d the pub lic interest, and while ensuring compliancewith ap plicable legislation, including privacy legislation and third party contractualobligations.. The criteria will also includ e a commitmen t to remo ve barriers to accessingdata, including any cost assoc iated with obtaining data.Mon itor the use of the data, and develop and release new data sets accordance to theestablished criteria.Evaluate future co sts, staff resou rces and time necessary to de velop or convert andmaintain open data sets and the website.Continue to liaise with m embe rs of the community who are expe rienced with and haveexpressed an interest in open data initiatives. City staff will also set up an online forum tofacilitate on going dialogue, information sharing and feedback on the open data website,as well as to find out what other k inds of data the com munity is look ing for.

Working Group Mem bersMembers of the wo rking group will be drawn from the areas of:Corporate Com municationsTechnology ServicesClerk s OfficeCity Solicitors OfficeGeographic Information Systems

Staff from other departments ma y b e involved from time to time in order to cons ider potentialnew data sets for release.TimelineThe beta website will b e released in September 2010, with ongoing m onitoring by the workinggroupand reporting to CMT.


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Appendix BTerms of Use - City of London Open Data WebsiteIntroductionBy accessing the data sets, you agree to these Terms of Use, which are intendedto protect and promote the City's comm itments to open data and ensu re that therecipients of these data sets give back to the com mun ity the benefits they derivefrom these data sets.If you have any questions or com ments about these Terms of Use, please feelfree to contact us.Your open license to the data setsThe C ity of London (City) now grants you a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, m odify, and distribute the da ta sets in all current andfuture media and formats for any lawful purpose. You now acknowledge that thislicense does not give you a copyright or other proprietary interest in the datasets. If you distribute or provide access to these data sets to any other person,whether in original or mod ified form, you agree to include a copy o f, or thisUniform Resource Locator (URL) for, these Terms of Use and to ensure theyagree to and are bound by them but without introducing any further restrictions ofany kind.Giving City creditAlthough you a re no t required to credit the C ity for each use or reproduction ofthe data sets, you are entitled to do so and encouraged to conspicuouslyannounce that these data sets a re publicly available from the City under theseTerms of Use. Upon the request of the City, you m ay be required to remove acredit from future uses o r reproductions should the C ity decide that such credit isnot in the public interest.Future change s to data setslTerms of UseThe City may at any time and from time to time add, delete, or change the datasets or these Terms of Use. Notice of changes may b e posted on the hom e pagefor these data sets or this page . Any change is effective immediately uponposting, unless othetwise stated.

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Compliance with law - Y o u r responsibilityYou assume sole responsibility for your use and reproduction of the data setsand for complying with all applicable laws and industry standards.No warranty with data setsYou get NO WARRANTIES, none of any kind. By this, we mean, for example(but without limiting the total intended scope of the preceding sentence), (1) thatwhile reasonable efforts have been made in preparing these data sets for use byyou, the C ity canno t give any promises as to the comp leteness, currency, oraccuracy of the data sets nor that access will be continuous, (2 ) the City cannotmake any promise that the data sets are free and clear of any poss ible third partycopyright, moral rights, or other claim, (3) the data sets have been m odified fromtheir original source, as da ta initially generated by the C ity for its internal uses,and (4 ) all data visualizations on maps are approximate and include only recordsthat can be mapped.You accept these data sets on an "as-is, where is" basis and agree to use themat your own risk.Exclusion of liabilityYou agree that you will not and cannot sue the City for any thing, which the C itydoes or does not do (even if intentional or neg ligent) in connection with the datasets and your use or inability to use them. Without limiting the general scope ofthe preced ing sentence , this means that the C ity and its agents are no t liable onany legal theory or basis for any direct, incidental, indirect, special, punitive,exem plary, or consequential damages or losses, including without limitation, lossof revenue or an ticipated profits, loss of goodwill, loss of business, loss of data,computer failure or malfunction, or any other damages or losses.Liability for not complying with Terms of UseIf, as a result of your b reach of these Terms of Use, the City gets sued or isrequired to pay som eone money, you agree to protect the C ity and reimburse theCity for everything which you cause the C ity to suffer. This means that you agreeto defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the City and all of its agents from anyand all liabilities incurred in connection with any claim arising from any breach byyou of these Term s of Use , including reasonable legal fees and costs. You agreeto cooperate fully in the defense of any such claim. The City reserves the right toassume, at its own expense, the exclusive defense and control of any matterotherwise subject to indem nification by you. You agree not to settle any matterwithout the written consen t of the City.

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Cance llation for non-complianceThe C ity may, in its sole discretion, cancel or suspend your access to the datasets without notice and for any reason, including anything which the City, in itssole discretion, believes is a breach of these Terms of Use o r is otherwiseunlawful or harm ful to others . In the event of cancellation or suspension, you willno longer be authorized to use or reproduce these data sets, and the C ity mayuse any means possible to enforce its decision. Such cancellation or suspensionwill not affect any person who 'has received the data sets from you and who isotherwise in compliance with these Terms of Use.No endorsementYou may not pub licly represent or imply that the City is participating in, or hassponsored, approved, or endorsed the manner or purpose of, your use orreproduction of these da ta sets.No associationYou may no t use any trademark, official mark, official emb lem or logo, of the C ity,or any of its other references or m eans of promotion or publicity without the City'sprior written consent nor in any event to represent or imply an assoc iation oraffiliation with the City.Governing law and jurisdiction from which data sets arepublishedThese data sets are published from within the province of Ontario, Canada.These Terms of Use are governed by O ntario law and the City and you nowirrevocably subm it to the exclusive jurisdiction of Ontario courts with respect toany and all matters arising under these Terms of Use or these data se ts.

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City of London Open Data Initiative - Board of Control Report

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