88348
OPEN DATA READINESS
ASSESSMENT
Prepared for
Government of Antigua and Barbuda
June 2013
1
Executive Summary
Antigua and Barbuda is in a position to move forward quickly with an Open Data initiative. In
doing so, it would not only lead the Caribbean in the supply of Open Data but it could also use
its first-mover advantage to harness the skills and enthusiasm of people throughout the region to
generate data applications which would benefit Antigua and Barbuda.
In addition, existing modernization and digitization programs already underway for financial
and other process would make it possible for Antigua and Barbuda to be in the top class
globally in Open Data for government transparency- particularly if financial transaction data
were to be released. Since the data is already centralized and digitized there would be no
technical difficulty in doing so.
In addition to reputational and transparency benefits, an Open Data program could lead to
greater business efficiency and competitiveness in Antigua and Barbuda, both in absolute terms
and relative to other countries in the region, in key areas such as tourism and foreign inward
investment, and to community engagement in addressing public service improvement. Again,
Antigua and Barbuda could have a first-mover advantage.
This assessment has found that Antigua and Barbuda has strengths in its institutions
(particularly the Ministry of Telecommunications, Science and Technology (TST) and the
Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Public Administration (FEPA)), in relevant laws and in
its high-quality internet infrastructure which give a sound foundation on which to build.
However a successful Open Data initiative would require:
(1) Collective political commitment and sustained political leadership and
communication across government.
(2) Rapid policy development, within the framework of existing laws, and the
rationalization and partial removal of existing charging practices. Policy
development should involve collaboration with the new Information
Commissioner and re-invigoration of the Freedom of Information Act, 2004.
(3) Demand-side initiatives to stimulate the use of Antigua and Barbuda’s data and
the skills in using it, including promotion of application development in areas
which are of particular importance to Antigua and Barbuda including tourism,
disaster management and financial transparency.
The costs of an Open Data initiative would not be substantial: where data exists in digital form
it is easy to extract for publication in reusable form, and many Ministry programs already have
in principle commitments to do so; and where Antigua and Barbuda’s existing ICT
infrastructure cannot be used there are opportunities to share costs with others in the region.
(Where data is still held in paper form, publication as Open Data should be seen as part of any
justified digitization project.)
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 2
Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 4
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 5
1. LEADERSHIP ........................................................................................................................... 7
2. POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK .................................................................... 10
3. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND SKILLS WITHIN
GOVERNMENT.................................................................................................................. 16
4. DATA WITHIN GOVERNMENT .......................................................................................... 20
4A. KEY DATASET FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................. 24
5. DEMAND FOR OPEN DATA / CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT ................................................ 39
6. DATA USER COMMUNITIES .............................................................................................. 43
7. FINANCING............................................................................................................................. 46
8. NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND SKILLS INFRASTRUCTURE .................................... 48
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 50
OUTLINE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ..................................................................................... 52
3
Methodology
This "Open Data Readiness Assessment" was prepared for the Government of Antigua and
Barbuda. It is the product of a joint team of experts representing the Government of Antigua
and Barbuda, the World Bank and the Caribbean Open Institute.
The purpose of this assessment is to assist the government in diagnosing what actions the
government could consider in order to establish an Open Data initiative. This means more than
just launching an Open Data portal for publishing data in one place or issuing a policy. An
Open Data initiative involves addressing both the supply and the reuse of Open Data, as well as
other aspects such as skills development, financing for the government’s Open Data agenda and
targeted innovation financing linked to Open Data.
The World Bank Open Data Readiness Assessment Framework uses an “ecosystem” approach
to Open Data, meaning it is designed to look at the larger environment for Open Data –
“supply” side issues like the policy/legal framework, data existing within government and
infrastructure (including standards) as well as “demand” side issues like citizen engagement
mechanisms and existing demand for government data among user communities (such as
developers, the media and government agencies).
This Assessment evaluates readiness based on eight dimensions considered essential for an
Open Data initiative that builds a sustainable Open Data ecosystem. Its recommendations
assume that an Open Data initiative will address various aspects of an Open Data ecosystem.
The readiness assessment is intended to be action-oriented. For each dimension, it proposes a
set of actions that can form the basis of an Open Data Action Plan. The recommendations and
actions proposed are based on global best practices while also incorporating the needs and
experiences of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to date. Within each dimension, the
assessment considers a set of primary questions, and for each, notes evidence that favors or
disfavors readiness. The evaluation of each dimension and primary question is color-coded:
Green (G) means there is clear evidence of readiness
Yellow (Y) means that evidence of readiness is less clear
Red (R) means there is an absence of evidence for readiness
Grey (O) means insufficient information to assess readiness
When addressing a particular question, evidence of readiness has a “+” sign. Evidence against
readiness has a “-“ sign. Evidence that has mixed implications or neither favors nor weighs
against readiness has an “o” sign.
4
Not all evidence is weighed equally when determining the overall color indicator for a given
primary question. Certain factors may weigh more heavily when deciding readiness status.
Acknowledgements
This Open Data Readiness Assessment Report was prepared with support from the Government
of Antigua & Barbuda, the World Bank, the International Research Centre of Canada and the
Caribbean Open Institute. Its primary author is Andrew Stott, Senior e-Government Consultant
to the World Bank and the UK government’s former Director of Transparency and Digital
Engagement. The team was led by Anat Lewin, ICT Operations Officer, World Bank, and
included Axel Rifon-Perez, ICT Policy Analyst and Amparo Balivian, Lead Economist and lead
of the Open Government Data Working Group at the World Bank. The team collaborated
closely with the Caribbean Open Institute, led by Dr. Maurice McNaughton of the Centre of
Excellence for IT-enabled Innovation at the Mona School of Business and Management,
University of the West Indies and comprised Dr. Patrick Hosein, Senior Lecturer in Computer
Science at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, and Amparo Arango, e-
Health Consultant to the Ministry of Health, Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC)
and PAHO, Dominican Republic. The Caribbean Open Institute was supported by the
International Research Centre of Canada through Fernando Perini, Senior Program Officer,
Information and Networks. World Bank funding for this assessment was provided by the Open
Data Trust Fund under the Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building of the Development
Economics Data Group (DECDG), the Caribbean Country Management Unit, and the Latin
America and Caribbean ‘ICT Beam’.
The team would like to thank Dr. Edmond Mansoor, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime
Minister responsible for Telecommunications, Science and Technology and his Open Data
Readiness Assessment counterpart team led by Daryl Jackson, Telecommunications Consultant
and comprising Asha Christian-Philip, Isoke Perry, Nasheta Richards and Clement Samuel.
The review team also wishes to thank the following Antigua & Barbuda stakeholders, in
alphabetical order, for agreeing to be interviewed for the study, and whose input and feedback
contributed greatly to this report:
Antigua & Barbuda Chamber of Dr. Errol Samuel, Ms. Holly Peters, Mr. Shreedhar
Commerce Nene
Antigua & Barbuda Media Congress Mr. Colin James
Chief Health Inspector Mr. Lionel Michael
Development Control Authority Mr. Frederick Southwell
Government Registry Ms. Cecile Hill
5
Information Commissioner Mr. Alister Thomas
Intellectual Property Office Ms. Ricki Camacho
Meteorological Office Mr. Keithley Meade
Ministry of Agriculture Mr. Robelto Isaac
Ministry of Education Dr. Patricia George, Ms. Priscilla Nicholas
Ministry of Finance, Economy and Minister Harold Lovell, Dr. Gale Archibald, Mr.
Public Administration (FEPA) Daniel Knight, Mr. Ralph Warner
Ministry of Health – Health Informatics
Health Informatics Unit
Department
Ministry of Telecommunications,
Mr. Luxmore Edwards
Science and Technology (TST)
National Office of Disaster Services Mr. Philmore Mullin
Office of National Drug and Money
Col. Edward Croft
Laundering Policy (ONDCP)
Public Works Department Mr. Walter Christopher
Mr. Trent Davis, Mr. Sidlow Frank, Mr. Cleofoster
Software Developers
Spencer
Statistical Division Mr. Rohan Anthony
Survey Department Mr. Vernon Bird
UWI Open Campus Mr. Ian Benn, Ms. Alison Hull
A special thank you is also extended to those individuals who attended the Open Data Public
Forum. The comments and concerns expressed during this event provided a valuable insight
into the public demand for Government data in Antigua & Barbuda.
6
1. LEADERSHIP
1.1 Is there visible political leadership for Open Data/Open Government?
(Importance: Very High) Yellow
+ The Minister with responsibility for ICT is prepared to champion an Open Data
initiative, he was actively engaged in the Open Data Readiness Assessment process and
he ordered immediate action on some of the “quick wins”;
+ There is an excellent track record of political leadership on IT and communications
infrastructure delivery.
+ The Minister of FEPA is leading a program to modernize and increase the transparency
of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda’s central financial systems, and saw greater
financial transparency as essential to Antigua and Barbuda’s commitments.
- There was no evidence of a wider Government political commitment to Open Data and
Open Government; the lack of full implementation of the 2004 Freedom of Information
Act (including the appointment of information officers in each Ministry) may signify a
low priority.
+ From interviews inside and outside government there was no evidence that there was
political hostility towards Open Data; it is most likely that it simply has not been
prioritized in the political agenda.
+ the recent appointment by the Government of a new (and independent) Information
Commissioner with a clear agenda to take action to implement the Act may signify a
raising of priorities in this area.
1.2 Is there an established political structure for policy and implementation of cross-
government initiatives? (Importance: High) Yellow
+ There is a structure for the implementation of cross-government IT initiatives - with a
Government data center and a number of functions centralized in the Ministry of
Telecommunications, Science and Technology.
+ Similarly some of the financial functions, such as procurement and payments, are
centralized in the Ministry of FEPA, meaning that the implementation of Open Data in
these areas does not require as much cross-government co-ordination as in other
jurisdictions.
- However there is no formal structure, other than the Cabinet itself, for the
implementation of cross-government initiatives.
7
1.3 Are there existing political activities or plans relevant to Open Data? (Importance:
Medium) Green
+ Improvement in financial systems and greater financial transparency are urgently being
made in order to raise the assessment of Antigua and Barbuda by the EU due in
December.
+ Promotion of tourism is a major political priority, and there is the potential of Open Data
to provide better information services to potential tourists as well as to visitors once on-
island.
+ There is political importance to Disaster Risk Management, and the importance of data
both in planning and in response is increasingly recognized.
1.4 Does the wider political context help or hinder Open Data? (Importance: High)
Green
+ The wider political context is one of modernization and promotion of economic growth.
This has already been evidenced by the promotion of high-quality mobile and mobile
data services, and by the phased program of modernization of government services and
processes.
+ The wider political context of the Caribbean - both within the Organisation of East
Caribbean States and more widely - also creates an environment for innovation and
growth.
+ There is a friendly rivalry among Caribbean states so Antigua and Barbuda taking a
leading position on Open Data (as it has started to do by having the first Open Data
Readiness Assessment itself) is an opportunity for regionally- and globally-recognized
regional leadership.
Assessment of Leadership and Recommended Actions
Question Area Importance Assessment
Red/Yellow/ Commentary
Green rating
Political Leadership Very High Yellow High level political leadership on Open
Data does not fully exist yet, but political
leadership has been demonstrated in
closely related fields.
Political Structure High Yellow The cross-government structure for Open
Data implementation does not exist, but
8
the fact that Antigua and Barbuda is a
small country with several Open Data-
related functions centralized significantly
mitigates the risks of operating without it.
Existing Activities Medium Green Existing political priorities fit closely
with opportunities for early progress on
Open Data
Wider Context High Green The wider context provides drivers for
Open Data leadership, particularly as
Antigua and Barbuda has “first mover”
advantage.
OVERALL Very High Yellow The political potential is there, but it
would need to be crystallized into
political backing across government and
specific commitments by the Cabinet
collectively to the principles and the
delivery of an Open Data initiative.
Leadership Recommendations for Action Plan
Action Responsibility Timescale Comments
1.1 Develop a declaration Various models available for such
on “Open Data” for a declaration - cf for instance
agreement by the Cabinet Australia and New Zealand
and subsequent
Ministry of
publication. This should Months 1-2
TST
include specific key
datasets and a rolling
program of release from
each Ministry.
1.2 Secure Cabinet .
agreement to the Minister of
Month 2
declaration on Open Data TST
policy, and then publish
1.3 Appoint a clear Prime Minister Month 2 Clear, empowered and sustainable
political leader to be the political leadership will be
“public face” of the essential. Provide high-level
initiative and to work with backing for initiatives across
political colleagues to government.
ensure delivery
9
2. POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
Note: This section is policy analysis and advice based on information and opinions collected
during this study and common policy and legislative issues arising in other jurisdictions. It
does not constitute legal advice; nor does it attempt to cover the full extent of the laws which
might apply to Open Data in general or to the disclosure of information of specific types or by
specific bodies. Recommendation 2.6 suggests that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda
should commission a formal legal study and advice from its lawyers.
2.1 What policies exist related to public sector information that may impact Open
Data? Yellow
+ There is an established, modern, Copyright Act enacted in 2003.
+ Copyright in Ministries’ data vests in the Government collectively.
o There is currently no specific concept of “Government Copyright” or “Crown
Copyright”, although one is being considered for future enactment in revisions to the
Copyright Act. This could usefully ensure that any information produced with public
funds or for a public service belonged to the Government (and so could be released as
Open Data), even if it was produced by a contractor.
+ The Intellectual Property Office provides expert advice to Government on copyright and
licensing issues when needed. To date this has not been much needed, but the expertise
exists and there are established processes for seeking advice.
o There had been a case where unauthorized copying of official information had taken
place, and the Intellectual Property Office had assisted the information holder in
asserting the Government’s rights.
- The Intellectual Property Office however only provides advice. We were advised that
decisions on licensing of government information probably rest with the Prime
Minister’s office, but since this has not been an issue to date the decision-making
process is not formalized.
- Copyright in the data of statutory boards vests in each of the Boards themselves.
Licensing their information would require agreement with them individually or the
introduction of a form of Government Copyright which applied to them.
o Some public bodies charge some customers for access to information which they hold.
The rationale for doing so and the pricing policies were not clearly articulated across
government. In particular:
* any revenue from sales of information was returned directly to the Ministry of
FEPA. Public bodies operated on a gross funding basis agreed with the Ministry
10
of FEPA. While it is possible that from year to year annual budgets are adjusted
to enable the requested services to be provided at the level demanded, public
bodies were exposed to the risk of additional demand for services within each
financial year.
* provision of information to other Ministries was not charged.
* there was no clear rationale for the level of pricing set. In some cases it seemed
to reflect the cost of the work involved to respond to the request (especially
where the information was kept on paper files), but in other cases it seemed also
to reflect some of the costs of collecting and maintaining the information.
* some agencies had ambitions in principle to move to a self-funding basis.
However we did not see the management information systems which would be
necessary for them to do so safely.
o There was concern in the Statistics Division that release of statistical data in reusable
form would introduce the risk that official statistics would be surreptitiously modified
and presented as authoritative. Other National Statistics Offices have faced and tackled
this problem by publishing both a PDF version as the definitive version, and also a
reusable data file version of the same information without the formal status of official
statistics, or by requiring the attribution to point to the definitive version on the official
website.
2.2 What policies/laws exist on government secrecy and access to information? Yellow
+ Article 12 of the Constitution provides that:
“ [freedom of expression] includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference,
freedom to receive information and ideas without interference, freedom to disseminate
information and ideas without interference (whether the dissemination be to the public
generally or to any person or class of persons) and freedom from interference with his
correspondence or other means of communication.”
+ There is a Freedom of Information Act enacted in 2004, whose stated purpose is to “give
maximum effect to [the right in Article 12 of the Constitution] in respect of information
held by public authorities etc. (subject only to such exceptions as are reasonably
justifiable in a democratic society or specifically prescribed by law) and to enhance
good governance through knowledge, transparency and accountability.
+ The Freedom of Information Act specifically requires (Section 10) “Every public
authority shall, in the public interest, publish and disseminate in an accessible form,
updated annually, basic information, clearly dated including (a) an accurate and
sufficiently detailed description of its structure, functions, duties and finances; (b)
11
relevant details concerning services it provides directly to members of the public; … (d)
a simple guide containing adequate information about its record-keeping systems, the
types and forms of information it holds, the categories of information it publishes and
the procedure to be followed in making a request for information; …(g) the content of
all decisions and policies it has adopted which affect the public, along with the reasons
for them, any authoritative interpretations of them, and any important background
material”. This is a relatively strong policy commitment to proactive publication and,
importantly, requires Ministries to maintain and publish details of the datasets which
they hold (a feature only just introduced by President Obama in the United States).
+ In terms of policy, the Antigua and Barbuda Freedom of Information Act is rated best in
the Caribbean and 7th in the world by Access-Info and the Center for Law and
Democracy1. However the authors of these ratings did comment:
“This law scored quite well, but there are some uncertainties as to whether it belongs on
this ranking. … we have been unable to properly confirm whether this law has in any
way been implemented, ….. Although this methodology does not purport to measure
implementation, this may be an exceptional case in that some indications we have
received back from regional experts are that the law is purely theoretical.”2
- After 9 years, the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act is still lacking.
There is an absence of the guidance required by the Act for citizens and for officials, and
a network of Information Officers in each Ministry had not been created. No officials
interviewed for this Assessment could recall being asked for information under the
Freedom of Information Act, and there seemed to be only one celebrated case where
journalists had sought information under the Act.
+ A new Information Commissioner has been appointed. He told us that he is personally
determined to move quickly to implement the Act, including the appointment of an
Information Officer in each Ministry by August 2013. However he is concerned that his
office is still under-resourced for the scale of the task now to be done.
- The Freedom of Information Act appears to provide for access to information3, but it
does not appear clearly to give a right of re-use of that information. The Act (like some
similar Acts in other jurisdictions) appears silent on the requestor’s rights to use the
information.
1
http://www.rti-rating.org/
2
http://www.rti-rating.org/view_country.php?country_name=Antigua
3
Section 15
12
+ The Freedom of Information Act provides4 that an applicant can request the information
in a specific format, and that the public body should meet that preference where it could
reasonably be met. The Act specifically mentions that an applicant can request “a
transcript of the content of a record, in …electronic … where such transcript is capable
of being produced using equipment normally available to the authority”. This should
mean, for instance, that information maintained on spreadsheets but published as PDF
files should be obtainable as spreadsheet under the Freedom of Information Act
(although this provision would not help where the information is “a document that is
available for public inspection in a registry maintained by the Registrar or other public
authority”5);
+ The Statistics Act 1975 specifically requires the Statistics Division to “collect, compile,
analyze, abstract and publish statistics portraying various aspects of the social,
demographic and economic conditions of the people of Antigua and Barbuda”6;
o The Statistics Act provides that “Information collected through inquiries conducted
under this Act may not be published in a manner which enables the identification of the
cost of production, capital employed and profits arising in any particular undertaking or
business or which discloses the affairs of an individual household or person.7” This is a
fairly typical provision.
2.3 What policies/laws help or hinder the use of information by public and civil
society? Green
+ As already mentioned, the use of information by public and civil society is embedded in
Article 12 of the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda.
+ Many officials said that part of their normal duties was to supply information to the
public and to other stakeholders; this was a clear part of the government’s culture, and
was not linked to the specific requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.
Assessment of Policy/Legislative Framework and Recommended Actions
Question Area Importance Assessment
Red/Yellow/ Commentary
Green rating
4
Section 21
5
Section 16(1)(c)
6
Section 3(1)(a)
7
Section 12(1)
13
Policies on reuse of High Yellow The copyright position is satisfactory, but
information the policy on charging is unsystematic
and potentially inimical to Open Data.
Policies on Access High Yellow The Freedom of Information Act is well
to Information and regarded in theory, but it has not been put
Secrecy into practice.
Wider use of High Green Wider use of information is supported
information explicitly in the Constitution
OVERALL High Yellow There are no show-stoppers, but a
detailed policy for Open Data would need
to be developed and would need to be
accompanied by work on charging policy
and making the FOI Act provisions for
proactive disclosure “live”.
Policy/Legislative Framework Recommendations for Action Plan
Action Responsibility Timescale Comments
2.1 Develop overall Open Ministry of Months 2-4 Develop policy in conjunction
Data policy, including TST with Information Commissioner
“Open by Default”, as the FOI implementation and
standards, processes and the Open Data policy should,
other recommendations in although different in nature, be
this Assessment closely aligned where appropriate
2.2 Develop Open Data Intellectual Months 2-4 Rather than draft a specific
licensing policy Property Antigua and Barbuda license
Office emerging best practice is that the
globally recognized Open License
“Creative Commons Attribution”
be adopted.
14
2.3 Clarify data charging Ministry of Months 2-6 The US Federal policy is that the
policy, with a presumption FEPA information already belongs to the
that electronic copies of taxpayers who have paid for it,
information will be and so is available free. In the
available free of charge UK and some European countries
there is a legacy of charging for
certain data, which is now having
to be dismantled. Economic
analysis shows that the maximum
national value is obtained when
information is available at the
marginal cost of distribution,
which on the internet is free.
However this need not prevent
public bodies charging for
information where there are
specific costs, for instance for
paper copies, for manual searches
of registers, or for certification
that the copy is a true copy of an
official record.
2.4 Ensure that the Intellectual Timing Ad hoc action may be needed to
proposed “Government Property dependent ensure that Government retains
Copyright” provision Office on ownership of essential data in
makes clear that legislative contracts passed before
information produced by program Government Copyright is enacted
Statutory Boards and by
contractors belongs to the
Government and so that
the Government can
release it as Open Data
2.5 Develop policies that Statistics Months 1-2 Other National Statistics Offices
allow publication of Division have found ways of managing this
statistics in reusable form risk, as indicated in the text.
without the risk of Statistics are a “Quick Win”
surreptitious change to dataset
official statistics
2.6 Conduct a formal legal Attorney Months 1-2
study of the law of General
Antigua and Barbuda as it
relates to Open Data and
obtain advice from
lawyers of the
Government of Antigua
and Barbuda
15
3. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND SKILLS
WITHIN GOVERNMENT
3.1 Is there an agency or entity that has the mandate, project management experience
and technical skills to manage an Open Data portal? (Importance: Very High)
Green
+ The Ministry of TST operate the Government of Antigua and Barbuda website and the
Government Data Center including Government shared ICT infrastructure. It has the
related mandates, the project skills and most of the technical skills necessary to
implement an Open Data initiative.
- The Ministry of TST does not currently have the precise technical skills (e.g., in the
Python language) to install an Open Source portal package such as CKAN, although
some programmers are learning Python. However they could quickly develop these
skills, or the CKAN package could be acquired as a supported and hosted service -
perhaps in a way which provided a platform for the Caribbean more generally.
o The Ministry of TST does not have any experience of the use of public Cloud
Computing services. There is an understandable caution about security for sensitive
data.
3.2 Do any agencies have a CIO, CTO or permanent official positions dedicated to data
management? (Importance: Medium High) Yellow
+ Some Ministries have these positions, particularly where their data has been digitized.
Other Ministries are talking about setting up “Data Units” as they start to digitize their
data.
- For some IT systems the owning Ministry is reliant on off-island external vendors to
make changes to system, including the changes necessary to unlock the data held in
those systems. This could introduce extra cost and delay.
3.3 Are there any inter-agency mechanisms to coordinate on ICT issues (such as for
technical matters)? (Importance: Medium High) Green
+ The Ministry of TST provides strong leadership in this area, and provides a range of
centralized technical services to avoid duplication within the public sector.
16
3.4 Is there any process currently used to measure agency performance or quality of
service delivery? (Importance: Medium) Unable to assess
o There was no evidence of a systematic agency performance measurement framework,
but this does not materially affect the overall Assessment.
3.5 Is there an agency or ministry primarily responsible for data or statistics?
(Importance: Medium) Green
+ The Ministry of TST is responsible for IT policy and many IT services, and has a good
view of data more generally.
+ The Statistics Division is responsible for official statistics for the Government as a
whole, although some key macro-economic data are collected and published by the East
Caribbean Central Bank.
o The Archivist’s responsibilities under the Archives and Records Act are more for the
preservation of past records than for policies on current records.
+ The Intellectual Property Office is responsible for advice on copyright and licensing of
government information (see section 2).
Assessment of Institutional Preparedness and Recommended Actions
Question Area Importance Assessment
Red/Yellow/ Commentary
Green rating
Lead OGD Agency Very High Green The Ministry of TST is very well
placed to lead the initiative
CIOs/Inter-agency Medium High Yellow The strength of each Ministry depends
Mechanisms to a large degree on the extent to which
its information has been digitized.
Performance Medium Unable to No information available
management assess
Data/Stats Agency Medium Green There are clear single-point
responsibilities
OVERALL Medium High Green
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Institutional Recommendations for Action Plan
Action Responsibility Timescale Comments
3.1 The Ministry of TST Ministry of Month 1
should lead the TST
implementation of an
Open Data initiative; they
are best placed to do so.
3.2 The Ministry of TST Ministry of Months 1-2
should form a distinct core TST
team to lead the initiative;
with the wide
responsibilities of the
Ministry there is a risk of
focus being lost.
However the team should
be supported by a working
group of experts from
within the Ministry and
elsewhere in Government
(eg Intellectual Property
Office)
3.3 For the quick wins, Ministry of Months 3-6
data should be hosted on TST
the Government Website
3.4 At a later stage there Ministry of Month 7 UWI has already expressed an
should be a migration to a TST onwards interest in providing a shared
standard Open Data portal CKAN instance to provide an
software package. Open Data portal for Antigua and
Options and skills Barbuda and for other interested
requirements for doing so Caribbean nations.
should be investigated,
and the possibility of
sharing costs and skills
requirements with other
Caribbean countries
should be evaluated.
18
Action Responsibility Timescale Comments
3.5 The Ministry of TST Ministry of Months 3-4 By definition Open Data does not
should consider the TST raise the security issues which
hosting of large Open have been raised in relation to
Data datasets on public other uses of Cloud. Using it for
cloud storage large Open Data sets would be
more efficient than enhancing the
Government Data Center and
would help the Ministry of TST
develop Cloud skills and
experience more generally.
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4. DATA WITHIN GOVERNMENT
4.1 What are the policies/laws on the management of government information? Red
- There is no systematic policy or laws on the management of government information.
There are some obligations within the Freedom of Information Act and within the
Archives and Records Act, but these do not seem to be commonly applied.
4.2 Does the government have a coherent view of its data holdings? Yellow
- Although there is an obligation to do so under the Freedom of Information Act, there is
no evidence that there is a systematic or coherent view of data holdings across
government. In some Ministries there was a “Data Unit” or equivalent that had a view
of the Ministry’s own data, but in other Ministries data holdings were a matter for
individual units.
+ Ministries which have digitized their key records unsurprisingly tend to understand
better what data they hold than Ministries who still hold their records on paper.
+ The centralization and integration of certain functions, such as finance, budgeting,
procurement and payments means that there is a good understanding of those datasets.
+ The emergence of “Data Units” may signify that the Government is starting to see data
as a strategic resource as well as a transactional record.
+ The scale of Antigua and Barbuda would make it the task of bringing even manual
systems into Open Data doable
4.3 How and where is government data held? Yellow
+ There is a Government Data Center which holds a lot of the digitized data of the
Government of Antigua and Barbuda.
- Digitisation is patchy. There are some good systems, but also some ad hoc spreadsheets
held on local PCs and servers, and some data which is not digitised at all.
- However substantial amounts of information, including key datasets such as the
Company Register, are still held in the form of paper records.
20
4.4 What data is already published - either free or for a fee - and on what conditions?
Green
+ A substantial amount of data is already published, although it is not usually in a
machine-readable and re-usable form. A lot of information is published as PDFs, even
though it is clearly derived from structured databases.
+ There was some evidence that Ministries would release information in response to
requests, although not many such requests were made through the Freedom of
Information Act.
o Some of the data is charged for, but policies are inconsistent, and it is not possible to see
whether the charge is for the data or whether it is for the retrieval service.
- Little attention has been paid to terms of licensing and, in particular, licensing for re-use
as well as access.
4.5 Are there agencies with established capabilities in data management that could give
leadership to a wider initiative? Green
+ The Ministry of TST has a good capability and could give leadership to a wider
initiative. Other Ministries, such as the Ministry of FEPA and the Ministry of
Education, have data management capabilities in their specific fields.
- Elsewhere in Government there are several projects to digitise key datasets under way,
but opening the data is either considered out of scope or is undefined in detail.
Assessment of Data within Government and Recommended Actions
Question Area Importance Assessment
Red/Yellow/ Commentary
Green rating
Policies on Medium Red Although appropriate policies are not in
Information place, this not necessarily needed in order
Management to start an Open Data initiative. It is good
practice to implement these for
commonality in action by ministries.
21
View of Data High Yellow There is no comprehensive government
Holdings view. However Ministries which have
digitized their key records have a better
view than those who have not yet done
so, and since digitized records are clearly
more suitable for early release as Open
Data the absence of a comprehensive
view need not impede progress on an
Open Data initiative.
How is data held Very High Yellow Digitized data held as part of structured
systems is held in a form and in locations
which should be relatively easy to supply
data to an Open Data portal. Locally held
data and data held in non-digital records
is more problematical, but may not be a
short-term problem
Existing publication Medium Green There are good examples of digitized data
of data being published already, although
sometimes for a charge and usually not in
reusable form.
Agencies with High Green The Ministry of TST is able to lead, and a
existing capability number of other Ministries have
capabilities relating to their own data
Availability of key Very High Yellow The availability of key datasets depends
datasets on the extent to which they are digitized
and on overcoming, in some cases,
charging policies.
OVERALL High Yellow
Data within Government Recommendations for Action Plan
Action Responsibility Timescale Comments
4.1 Introduce a staged Ministry of Releases:
release of data, starting TST 1A: Month 2
with a number of quick 1B: Month 4
wins of easily releasable 2: Month 6
data which is already And then
digitized, then ensuring beyond
delivery of Open Data
parts of existing
publication plans, and
tackle more difficult
datasets
22
4.2 Specific programs of Ministry of Months 4-6
work should be put in TST
place to ensure that
digitized data which
cannot be immediately
released have a defined
pathway to release
4.3 All programs to Ministry of Months 4-6
digitize datasets TST
currently held in paper
form should be reviewed
to ensure that they have,
as an integral
component, the
necessary functionality
to release the data once it
is digitized
23
4A. KEY DATASET FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
This information The Met Office The Met Office is + businesses have already
Quick Win: release as
is already freely has the technical keen to release this asked for this data in API soon as practicable, and
available on the capability to data and have the format
Weather forecast place on Open Data page
Met Office implement an resources to + Better/faster
and observation of Government website
data website API - it is already implement and communication of weather without waiting for the
under test manage it. conditions including commissioning of an
threats of extreme
Open Data portal (1A)
conditions
This information The Ministry of + Education data is Quick Win: release as
is already freely Education is willing essential for parents to soon as practicable, and
available in PDF to have this data choose schools for their place on Open Data page
format, so there is released in reusable children and to press their of Government website
no policy issue in form teachers and headteachers without waiting for the
its release to improve performance at
Education data
commissioning of an
local level.
Open Data portal (1A)
+ Educational performance
data compared with
educational budget data is
a key accountability
- Potential pressure for
additional spending
24
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
This information The PDF is The Statistic + This is key data which Quick Win: release as
is already freely generated from Division is willing businesses in Antigua and soon as practicable, and
available in PDF Excel to consider Barbuda and potential place on Open Data page
format. The spreadsheets. releasing this data foreign inward investors of Government website
Statistics The spreadsheets in reusable form have been requesting. without waiting for the
Division is need to be subject to resources + Release in reusable form commissioning of an
concerned to checked for and necessary will make better use of the
Open Data portal (1A)
Official Statistical prevent the hidden metadata, safeguards professional work already
data surreptitious and then released undertaken by the
modification of Statistics Division
official statistics, - The definitive version of
and this can the official statistics needs
managed as to be highlighted on the
indicated in the government website to
text maintain the integrity of
the official statistics
25
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
Much of this There are existing The Ministry of + Budgetary information
Release by the end of
information is plans to enhance FEPA has the is key citizen September 2013, in line
already publicly the FreeBalance institutional engagement and
with existing plans. (1B)
available in the system to provide capacity to transparency information
400-page budget an online “results implement the + Transparency will help
Budget and book. The portal” by results portal and improve the rating of
spending data publication of September 2013. the simultaneous Antigua and Barbuda
further detail for The staging table release of its data in + The amount of data in
the purposes of required for this reusable form. the budget book is
financial could be simply considerable, but it is
transparency is an released as a impossible to process;
existing policy reusable data file making it available in
priority as well reusable form will set the
bar high for others in the
Caribbean.
26
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
The National The Office The NODS insisted + There is political
Release by the end of
Office of Disaster collected data on having a political importance to Disaster
September 2013, (1B)
Services (NODS) during 9 months leadership that Risk Management, and the
possesses a for the future accounts for the importance of data both in There is no established
comprehensive Geonode legal responsibility planning and in response is system to collect post-
spatial data platform. and consequences increasingly recognized. disaster personal
inventory. There GeoNode is a of releasing data + Subject to resources and information uploaded by
is no problem in web-based (e.g. map on necessary safeguards, citizenship: this could be
releasing non- application and tsunami, which are NODS would not impede a potential app to be
sensitive data platform for potential spots but the release of disaster developed.
(Geospatial developing GIS not certain in case management data which
Information and for deploying of disaster). would become a quick win
System GIS) such spatial data Ensure“Government (main datasets
Disaster as data on critical infrastructures Copyright” computerized and
Management Data facilities, shelters, (SDI). provision (include machinery readable).
schools, and It is developed as information +Geonode platform is
release map an intra-agency produced by developer friendly and
information on platform but it is Statutory Boards open source. The platform
hurricanes areas, developer and National is nourished with complete
evacuation and friendly so it Offices belongs to datasets.
emergency routes could become a the Government that -Lack of effective data
and flood zones. quick win in can release it as management and time
All data could be terms of open Open Data and consuming.
in an open source source and reuse avoid charge for
platform for of data. data)
sharing geospatial CARICOM has a
data and maps. regional policy and
(see Technical: agreement on
GeoNode). information sharing
27
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
This information The underlying The Inland Revenue + Key “core reference Release by the end of
giving the data is held on a Department is data” for the operation of September 2013, or as
business computer willing to release the business-to-business soon thereafter as the
identifiers, name database, so it the data (indeed it sector, including credit Inland Revenue
and addresses of should be considers that it has rating. Department can achieve
businesses relatively simple an unfulfilled + Places Antigua and it (1B)
(registered to write and run a obligation to do so) Barbuda in the upper part
companies, query and it has the of the league of
Business Identifiers partnership and periodically to technical capacity to transparency of company
sole traders) extract the data. do so. registers.
should already be The data can then - While business-related
published; the be published in data about sole traders is
Inland Revenue raw form not normally regarded as
Department has sensitive personal data,
not been able to there will need to be
resource doing so communication and
explanation in order to
avoid privacy concerns
28
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
The Registers of The registers are The Registrar did + Better policy outcome: Release within 6 months,
Professionals maintained not consider that these registers are after appropriate
maintained by the manually but it there would be a maintained in order that consultation (2)
Registrar would not be a problem in the public can locate
(lawyers, doctors, major job to put publishing these qualified professionals,
vets, marriage them into registers and greater availability of
officers) and by reusable form information would assist
Registers of
others (eg private periodically. this.
Professionals
surveyors by the - Personal data within the
Surveyor) are registers would have to be
intended to be considered, in consultation
published, so with the professional
there would not bodies for these
be policy issue in professions. However
making these prima facie these are
available as Open public registers anyway.
Data.
This information This information The Registrar was + Greater transparency in Release within 3 months,
could be released is held on prepared to consider the property market, aiding and periodically
free of charge computer since release of this data both buyers and sellers (monthly) thereafter. If
Property price-paid without affecting 2005. A + Proven area where possible release data
information the revenue relatively small value-added services can back to 2005 to enable
stream from software change be built on the data (cf Zillow/Zoopla-style
providing full would be needed Zillow in the US, Zoopla pricing algorithms to
copies of the to extract the data in the UK) operate better. (1B)
Land Register from the database
entry
29
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
This information Anonymised Promotion of + Better data for tourist- Release within 3 months,
could be released landing card data tourism is a major related businesses in and monthly thereafter
using the data is already political priority. Antigua to plan and price (1B)
compiled in the uploaded to the There is the their services
register of Caribbean potential of Open - Risk of competitor
immigration8 Tourism Board Data to provide nations using the data to
(e.g.entry points: for analysis better information compete better - however
airport, harbor). services to potential this data is already pooled
The civil society tourists as well as to on a Caribbean basis so
and private sector visitors once on- limited additional risk
(e.g. Chamber of island.
Tourism data
Commerce, Dr. Mansoor
Antigua Hotels committed on
and Tourist enhancing the
Association9, release of quick
community of wins datasets (e.g.
developers) could Tourism data)
reuse the
information to
develop apps,
increase
efficiency and
attract more
foreign investors.
8
http://www.immigration.gov.ag/
9
http://www.antiguahotels.org/v2/index.php. The Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association is a non-government organization and the
representative voice of the local tourism private sector with a membership which comprises hotels, airlines and nearly 50 other tourism-
related entities.
30
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
Existing policy Information is Statistics Division + Core data for a wide
Release within 3
that Census held on computer, acknowledge that range of business and months, in line with
information but it is not clear census data should government needs; easy current publication plans
should be how the existing be published availability on the internet
(1B)
released in publication plans would greatly increase
conformance with would operate accessibility and reuse
PARIS21. Data + Existing plans to publish
Population Census
is scheduled to be the data so costs already in
results
published in June Statistics Division budget
2013 - already - Any Census information
delayed has privacy issues, but
these would already have
been considered in
existing publication plans -
the channel or form of
publication does not affect
these.
31
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
Cadastral maps There is an The Surveyor is + Better access to
Release within 6
are available to existing plan to keen to put this information by those
months, using planned
the public at the put cadastral information online, working with property
online facility but
public counter in maps online but currently + Lower costs to business without charging. Most
the Surveyor’s intends to charge + Better service to of the current charges are
office. There is a potential foreign investors for the costs of the
search fee of + Avoids need for service of manually
EC$35 and then payment administration in searching records and
EC$5 for each online system manually printing paper
parcel map hard + Would still charge on a copies. There would be
copy. cost-related basis for
Cadastral maps no significant transaction
searches and paper copies costs in making the
at the counter online system free.
- Potential loss of future
While it would
revenue cannibalize some of the
existing counter traffic,
this would already be
expected due to the
planned online, paid,
system anyway (2)
32
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
Topographic There is a The Surveyor has + Mapping data is the
Release within 6
maps are digitized vector been concerned that basis of many Open Data
months (2)
available, and topographic map maps are already applications for the
paper copies can at 1:50,000. being copied and visualization of other
be purchased There are sold, and that it is information.
scanned versions difficult and time- + Allows more
of the 52 sheets consuming to competition in the
of 1:5000 maps enforce copyright in business of making maps,
these maps with the possibility of
Topographic maps greater innovation and
diversity.
+ Saves current costs of
copyright enforcement
- Possible effect on
existing revenue for paper
maps, but evidence
elsewhere shows that this
is not material - digital
maps are used in other
ways.
33
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
The Land The Land The Registrar would + Easier access to
Consider publication as
Registration Register is be prepared to make information by businesses Open Data. Review
system is 100% computerized. A the information and individuals should consider the
complete. Copies software available online, but + Greater transparency of issues of the actual cost
of Land Register enhancement only for a fee. the market for land and of online access and
entries can be would be housing whether charging a fee
purchased for required to make + Easier to identify owners reflective of this amount
Land Register EC$35 this information of disused land and bring would be worthwhile.
entries (uncertified) and available online back into use, aiding The Review should also
EC$50 (certified) development and renewal consider whether the
- Potential loss of revenue, costs should be included
but could be covered (see in Registration fees as an
recommendation). easier and more
dependable way of
covering the costs (3)
34
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
There is already a 95% of The Ministry of + Publication would make
Consider publication as
commitment to government FEPA would be Antigua and Barbuda
Open Data , aiming
budget and payments are able to do this, but “world class” in this key
provisionally to do so
outturn made by the it would require the test of Transparency
within 6 months (2)
transparency (see FreeBalance approval of the + Range of commercial
above). The system, and it is Accountant General (eg Spikes Cavell) and
policy of planned to reach and the Minister of community (eg Open
Financial publishing 100%. Extracting Finance. Spending) applications
transactions/ individual data periodically which could use the data
payments has not is feasible + Useful business
Payments been considered intelligence
yet in Antigua + More competitive supply
and Barbuda to government
+ Behavioral effects on
public servants leading to
more economical spending
- Sensitive spending items:
a redaction policy aligned
with the FOI could be
adopted
Existing plans to Procurement Ministry of FEPA + Greater transparency
Consider publication as
introduce the module of prepared to consider + Greater confidence in Open Data as the
Procurement FreeBalance procurement system by existing plans to
Procurement data module of would need to be potential government implement the
FreeBalance, in implemented, as suppliers, leading to Procurement Module are
order to make in current plans greater competition
progressed. (3)
procurement
more transparent
35
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
Information on Data on all Chief Health + Publication of
Publication as Open
individual inspections is Inspector at Central inspections of food service
Data would need to
inspections is currently held Board of Health establishments well proven
await digitization of
currently held only in paper oversees all these elsewhere as improving
Chief Inspector’s office.
manually and not form. inspections public safety In the meantime the
Inspections: released, but it + Publication of data about policy issues should be
would be released mosquito areas has
Hotels, restaurants,
considered, and the
in response to an allowed significant
street food, caterers; different types of
FOI Act request, reduction in dengue fever inspections prioritized
and has done so cases in Lahore, Pakistan
Drinking and for release. Where there
recreational water in response to + Recreational water is a competition element,
quality court orders. quality information should Antigua and Barbuda
Some concerns improve competitive should proactively push
Occupational Health about public position of Antigua and
for publication of
response Barbuda in tourism,
Mosquito, rats and comparative data across
because water quality is
other vectors the Caribbean. (4)
better than some
competitors
- Adverse inspection data
could weaken competitive
position if other nations do
not publish it.
36
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
Information Extensive data Ministry of + Enhance the productivity Ministry of Agriculture
already made collections, down Agriculture is & effectiveness of should develop a Data
available to to farm level, and considering setting extension officers using Plan for its Data Unit, the
interested parties about imports, up a “Data Unit” to tablet-based Apps built digitization of remaining
such as students but much held make better use of around the Open Data, for data flows, and for Open
and prospective only in paper its data more efficient data Data (4)
students form collection and informed
advice to farmers Design data collection
+ Leverage current Open processes around an open
Agricultural data
Data initiatives in Jamaica data platform which can
- Registered
through collaboration with take advantage of mobile
Farmers
COI and Rural Agriculture Apps to enhance data
- Farm Properties
Development Authority processing efficiency,
- Agriculture
+ Provide a platform for validation and currency
Production
improved linkages
- Retail/Farmgate
between Agriculture Encourage Developer
Crop prices
stakeholders and other communities to examine
sectors i.e. Agro- Agriculture Apps being
Processors, Tourism, developed in
Education, etc. Jamaica/COI for
+ Open Data enables new adaptation/re-use in
approaches in tackling Antigua
issues such as praedial
larceny, production
planning & forecasting
37
Dataset Feasibility Key Benefits and Risks Recommendation*
Policy Technical Institutional
The Companies The Companies The manual nature + Key data for business-to-
The IFC-assisted
Register is Register is kept of searches puts a business services,
project for digitization
manually manually. There lot of pressure on including credit checking
of the business registers
searchable, with a are around 13,000 the staff of the + Increasingly a global
should be scoped to
EC$20 search fee companies on the Intellectual Property expectation that companies
including the release of
and a EC$1 per register, with Office registration data will be
company and other
page copying fee 300-500 added freely available in order to
relevant information as
Companies Register to the private each year. track transnational
Open Data (4)
sector. There are businesses
about 40 such
searches a day.
The Inland
Revenue and
other statutory
bodies do not pay
for searches.
38
5. DEMAND FOR OPEN DATA / CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
5.1 What is the level and nature of demand for data from Civil Society and the
media? Yellow
- There was limited evidence of explicit demand for data from the public and from
civil society. The Freedom of Information Act is not being widely used to obtain
data.
- Although the media have made some limited use of the Freedom of Information Act,
data journalism skills are not well developed. In addition, the team was told that the
competitive media environment meant that editors were reluctant to allocate the time
needed for investigative or deeply researched stories.
+ The high level of mobile phone penetration and smartphone ownership suggests that
there could be a market for apps using Open Government Data.
+ There was a strong demand for data from the academic community. Population
census and demographic data, economic, tourism, crime, health and education data
was considered particularly important.
+ Developer communities were interested in government Open Data, particularly in the
fields of agriculture, census and demographics, public services and government
spending.
- Civil Society and the public are not aware of what data is held by the government.
This limited their ability to ask for it.
5.2 What is the level and nature of demand for data from business/private sector?
Green
+ There was evidence of business demand for data: Weather, Trade, Census and
Tourism. The re-usable format of the twice-daily weather forecast was being
developed as a result of requests from business.
+ In the absence of local data, one business application developer had been trying to re-
engineer data about Antigua and Barbuda from more readily available US data.
+ There was evidence that potential inward investors sought data in order to evaluate
investment in Antigua and Barbuda against investment in other countries, but that
data was not easy, or in some cases possible, to obtain. We were told that this could
place Antigua and Barbuda at a disadvantage when being considered as an
investment destination relative to competitors.
39
- Business was not aware of what data was held by the government. This limited their
ability to ask for it.
5.3 To what extent can people engage with government through social media and
other digital channels? Green
+ The Government has an extensive social media operation, with extensive use of
Facebook and the facilities to produce engaging online video content. The social
media team is pro-active in generating content.
- While the viewing figures for the social media content was impressive, it was not
clear that this was leading to a lot of active engagement back to the government.
+ The wide availability of very good mobile data services (including 4G) means that
most engagement is through mobile channels.
5.4 What is the extent of intra- and inter-government demand for data? Green
+ There is evidence of bi-lateral arrangements to share data between public bodies.
This particularly applies to “reference data”. Costs of sharing data are borne where
they fall - the team found no instances of inter-agency charging, even in cases where
the public or private sector were being charged for the same data.
5.5 How do public agencies listen to demands for data and respond? Yellow
+ Some public agencies were willingly supplying data to the private sector or the
public in response to ad hoc demands. This may explain the limited use which is
being made of the formal Freedom of Information Act procedures.
- There seemed to be no established mechanism to request more data. Requests were
not being made under the Freedom of Information Act so there was no surrogate set
of requests for public agencies to consider.
- Some public bodies were starting to take a more pro-active stance in terms of the
management of their data and extracting more value from it, but others were not
considering how their data could be used more widely and were not engaging with
prospective data users.
40
Assessment of Demand for Open Data and Recommended Actions
Question Area Importance Assessment
Red/Yellow/ Commentary
Green rating
Demand from civil Very High Yellow This is an under-developed area,
society and media although evidence from elsewhere in
the Caribbean is that there is likely to
be a significant appetite for data which,
because it is not being met, is not
visible yet.
Demand from High Green There is some active demand for data
business from business, but because there is
insufficient information about the data
available this demand is being
suppressed from its true level.
Digital Engagement High Green There is extensive digital engagement,
particularly through mobile devices.
Intra-government High Green There are extensive transfers of
demand for data reference and other data within
government. Costs are borne by the
data provider.
Response to Medium Yellow Requests for data are very much ad hoc
demands for data and there is no recognized system for
such requests. The Freedom of
Information Act is not being used for
this purpose
OVERALL High Yellow Under-developed demand for data,
although indicators that there is
considerable latent demand yet to be
met.
Demand for Data Recommendations for Action Plan
Action Responsibility Timescale Comments
5.1 Engage potential data Ministry of Months 3-4 As an early part of the Open
users in dialogue on what TST Data initiative there should be
data they want engagement with potential data
users. The Government’s social
media expertise could be used
in this.
5.2 Establish data request Ministry of Months 3-4 A data request process is part of
system as part of TST the best practice in Open Data
Government website, portals, and because current
and then transfer to Open potential data users do not know
Data portal when ready who to ask it should be
established on the G overnment
41
website without waiting for the
Open Data portal
5.3 Establish a process Ministry of Months 3-4 It will be important for the lead
for handling data TST Minister to have the chance to
requests, including review any proposed refusals to
informed scrutiny of supply data, and to purse this
reasons why data should politically if needed.
not be released
42
6. DATA USER COMMUNITIES
6.1 Are there infomediaries (such as data journalists) who are able to help translate
Open Data into meaningful information for the public? (Importance: High)
Yellow
- Data journalism is still comparatively under-developed in Antigua and Barbuda, and
journalists lack both “data skills” and the time for investigative work.
+ The work of the Caribbean Open Institute has shown significant capability and
enthusiasm for using data in innovative and engaging ways, and to address regional
and sectorial problems, across the Caribbean, especially among young people.
+ The Caribbean Open Data Conferences and Code Sprints have already engaged
people in Jamaica, Barbados, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago and the Dominican
Republic. Although there has not been direct Antiguan and Barbudan participation
so far it is believed that similar enthusiasm exists in Antigua and Barbuda.
+ There is considerable regional mobility - both physically and virtually - and if
Antigua and Barbuda is a first mover in Open Data then it is likely that developers
throughout the region will seize upon Antigua and Barbuda’s data as the first
systematic data release and produce innovative applications.
6.2 Has government engaged in activities to promote reuse of government-held data
(e.g., in developing apps or organizing co-creation events)? (Importance: High)
Red
- There has been no direct Government activity in this area yet.
+ The Government does however plan to commence a GATE Cadet program to
develop skills in computer hardware and these could be extended to cover
data/software skills
6.3 Is there an Apps Economy that already exists in your country/locality?
(Importance: Medium High) Yellow
+ A mobile application development training program, involving 30 young people has
been establish by the Precision Center in Antigua, including Android, Java and XML
skills.
+ Infodev hosted a mobile innovation feasibility workshop in Antigua in 2012, and
plans to launch a Mobile Innovations Program in the Caribbean over the next 12-18
months.
43
6.4 Is there an academic or research community that both trains people with
technical skills and has people skilled at data analysis? (Importance: Medium)
Green
+ Relevant courses are run by the Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of
Information Technology (although not to bachelor level) and by the University of the
West Indies (although not in-person in Antigua).
Assessment of Data User Communities and Recommended Actions
Question Area Importance Assessment
Red/Yellow/ Commentary
Green rating
Infomediaries / Data High Yellow
Journalism
Promoting Reuse High Red
Apps Economy Medium High Yellow
Academic / Medium Green
Research
Community
OVERALL Medium Yellow
High
Data User Communities Recommendations for Action Plan
Action Responsibility Timescale Comments
6.1 “Hackathons” and Ministry of Month 2 Because Antigua and Barbuda
competitions should be TST Month 4 has first-mover advantage they
used to test demand for Month 6 could draw in enthusiasts not
Open Data and to And just from Antigua and Barbuda
demonstrate innovative onwards but also from other Caribbean
uses both to stakeholders nations.
in Government and to
potential data users.
6.2 A program of Ministry of Month 2 Hackathons and competitions
Hackathons and TST Month 4 could be around key themes
competitions should be Month 6 such as Tourism, Disaster
linked to key stages of And Management and Financial
releasing government onwards Transparency. These could use
data and to key themes Antigua and Barbuda data and
of importance to the because the themes are relevant
Government throughout the region they could
attract wider participation
44
6.3 Government should Ministry of Months 5-6 This would build on the
consider extending the TST establish structures and success
GATE-Cadet program to of the GATE program
cover relevant software
and data skills
6.4 Government should Ministry of Month 9 This would also provide an
work with the Caribbean TST event for which Antigua could
Open Institute to bring aim to have implemented the
the 2014 Caribbean first phase of its Open Data
Open Data Conference initiative, including the Open
to Antigua Data portal, all the policy
development, and the release of
key datasets including all the
“Green” datasets in Section 4
above.
6.5 Government should Ministry of Month 4 This would provide an event
stimulate the demand TST hosted by Antigua and be run as
side of the media a wider OECS/Caribbean event.
through a Data The World Bank Institute has an
Journalism Bootcamp. established Data Journalism
Bootcamp program that could
be used.
45
7. FINANCING
7.1 Have sufficient resources been identified to fund an initial phase of an Open
Data initiative, including apps development? (Importance: Very High) Yellow
+ Most of the identified early key datasets are either produced as part of existing,
funded, projects with a commitment to transparency or can be produced by simple
extraction from current data systems
+ Where there are existing or planned projects for the digitization of records or
business processes currently kept manually then it should be possible to include the
small increment in functionality to support Open Data within the budgets already
allocated or planned
+ Existing policy offices (such as the Intellectual Property Office) should be able to
help formulate policy as part of their normal responsibilities.
- The Ministry of TST has no budget for a small central unit to manage an Open Data
initiative.
o Hackathons and competitions would need some funding, although there is the
opportunity to partner with others to deliver them and to leverage existing programs
in the region
+ The existing Government social media operation could provide resources to
communicate Open Data effectively to the online community.
7.2 Is the necessary ICT infrastructure present for Open Data and do enough staff
have the skills needed to manage an Open Data initiative? Importance:
Medium High) Green
+ The Government Data Center and the government website could provide an initial
presence for an Open Data website
+ There are a variety of options for hosting a full Open Data portal, including a facility
which could be shared with others in the Caribbean
+ The Ministry of TST does have staff with the skills and project management
experience to manage an Open Data initiative, if funding could be found.
+ Technical skills are largely available or being acquired, and there is the opportunity
to leverage skills through the involvement of others in the region.
46
7.3 Does government have innovation funding mechanisms? (Importance: Medium
High) Unable to assess
o There was no relevant evidence on this.
Assessment of Open Data Financing and Recommended Actions
Question Area Importance Assessment
Red/Yellow/ Commentary
Green rating
Funding Open Data Very High Yellow Key need is funding for small central
Initiatives unit, and perhaps a smaller amount of
funding for hackathons
Financing Training Medium High Green Existing skills and infrastructure could
& Infrastructure be used at the start of the initiative,
and then there are opportunity to share
costs with others
Financing Medium High Unable to No evidence
Innovation Assess
OVERALL High Green If a small central unit could be funded
then there would not be significant
other financial barriers to making
early rapid progress
Open Data Financing Recommendations for Action Plan
Action Responsibility Timescale Comments
7.1 Fund small central Ministry of Months 1-2 Important first step
unit to lead FEPA
7.2 Identify modest Ministry of Months 3-4
funding and partnership TST
mechanisms for
hackathons and
competitions
7.3 Develop regional Ministry of Months 3-6
cost-sharing approach TST
with potential partners
such as Caribbean Open
Institute or GeoNode,
and present to potential
sponsors/donors
47
8. NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND SKILLS INFRASTRUCTURE
8.1 Is Internet access at sufficient levels and at low enough cost to support a robust
Open Data ecosystem in your country/locality? (Importance: High) Green
+ There are 182 Mobile Cellular Subscriptions (MCS) per 100 people
+ 82% of the population use the internet
+ There is good broadband availability, although demand is suppressed by the general
availability of exceptionally good mobile data.
+ There is good availability of mobile and mobile data, with one 4G service already
operational and a second likely to be operational by the end of 2013
+ Antigua has good-quality internet links with the rest of the world through submarine
optical cable.
8.2 Does government use shared infrastructure or services? (Importance: Medium
High) Green
+ Most Government IT is centralized in a Government Data Center and a central
project planning, web development and technical support function.
8.3 How strong is the government’s overall ICT skill base among senior
government leaders and civil servants? (Importance: High) Yellow
+ The Ministry of TST has strong ICT skills both at strategic and at engineer levels.
- There was some evidence of concern within Government of the lack of skills to
strategically leverage data. This was one of the drivers for the establishment of
“Data Units” in some Ministries.
8.4 How strong are the IT industry, developer community and overall digital
literacy? (Importance: High) Green
+ There is a small but active developer community appropriate to the size of the
Antigua and Barbuda market. Business reported that IT skills were available in the
labor market when needed.
8.5 How active is the government’s presence on the Web? (Importance: Medium)
Green
+ The Government has a strong web presence actively maintained; most of the content
is on a single Government website, although some Ministries and individuals also
maintain other websites.
Assessment of Technology/Skills Infrastructure and Recommended Actions
48
Question Area Importance Assessment
Red/Yellow/ Commentary
Green rating*
Internet/Mobile High Green Very strong infrastructure base,
infrastructure especially in mobile
Shared Medium High Green This is the established operating
Infrastructure & model for ICT services
Services
ICT Skills Base in High Yellow Good technical and project
Government management skills; some concerns
about skills to use data strategically
in all Ministries
ICT Skills Base High Green Appropriate for size and demand in
Outside Antigua and Barbuda
Government
Government Online Medium Green Good and actively maintained web
Presence presence
OVERALL High Green
Technology/Skills Infrastructure Recommendations for Action Plan
Action Responsibility Timescale Comments
8.1 The Open Data Ministry of Months 5-12 This should be an ongoing
initiative TST theme
communications should
positive encourage the re-
use of Open Data within
Government itself
8.2 Consideration should Training Months 7-12 This could be prioritized around
be given to a program to Division skills in using financial and
develop Data Skills in performance data.
senior officials
49
CONCLUSION
This Open Data Readiness Assessment is designed to produce a rapid evaluation of a
government’s readiness to sustain an Open Data initiative. In doing this, the Assessment
looks at key dimensions. While each dimension is important, the Assessment methodology
gives each a weighted rating of relative importance.
DIMENSION IMPORTANCE RATING
Leadership VERY HIGH Yellow
Policy/Legal Framework HIGH Yellow
Institutional
MEDIUM HIGH Green
Preparedness
Data within Government HIGH Yellow
Demand for Data HIGH Yellow
Open Data Ecosystem MEDIUM HIGH Yellow
Financing HIGH Green
Technology & Skills
HIGH Green
Infrastructure
Analysis &
Key Datasets HIGH Recommendations
Provided
It is important to note that all governments have their own combination of challenges and
comparative advantages as they implement Open Data initiatives. Open Data offers
opportunities for every government to drive innovation, improve public services and engage
citizens in new ways.
Figure 1 below provides a visual representation of the current readiness of Antigua and
Barbuda as it prepares to execute its Open Data agenda. It attempts to capture in simple
terms the strengths and challenges among the dimensions of Open Data readiness evaluated
during this assessment.
50
Figure 1
Open Data Readiness - Antigua
LEADERSHIP YELLOW
4
INFRASTRUCTURE 3 POLICY/LEGAL
& SKILLS
GREEN YELLOW
2
1
FINANCING 0 INSTITUTIONAL
GREEN
GREEN
OPEN DATA DATA WITHIN
ECOSYSTEM GOVERNMENT
YELLOW
YELLOW
DEMAND FOR
OPEN DATA
YELLOW
51
OUTLINE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
1 2 3 4 5 6 7-9 12 Y2 Y3
A. Policy Development
1.1 Develop a declaration and release plan for
agreement by the Cabinet.
1.2 Secure and Cabinet agreement to the declaration on
Open Data policy
1.3 Appoint a clear political leader
2.1 Develop overall Open Data policy, including “Open
by Default”, standards, processes and other
recommendations in this Assessment
2.2 Develop Open Data licensing policy
2.3 Clarify data charging policy
2.4 Proposed “Government Copyright”
2.5 Develop policies that allow publication of statistics
in reusable form without the risk of surreptitious change
to official statistics
2.6 Formal legal study and advice
B. Implementation Project
3.1 The Ministry of TST should lead the implementation
of an Open Data initiative; they are best placed to do so.
3.2 The Ministry of TST should form a distinct core
team to lead the initiative
3.3 For the quick wins, data should be hosted on the
Government Website
3.4 At a later stage there should be a migration to a
standard Open Data portal software package.
3.5 The Ministry of TST should consider the hosting of
large Open Data datasets on public cloud storage
7.1 Fund small central unit to lead
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7-9 12 Y2 Y3
7.2 Identify modest funding and partnership
mechanisms for hackathons and competitions
7.3 Develop cost-sharing approach with potential
partners such as Caribbean Open Institute or GeoNode
C. Release of Data
4.1 Introduce a staged release of data, starting with a 1A 1B 2 3 4 5
number of quick wins of easily releasable
4.2 ensure that digitized data which cannot be
immediately released have a defined pathway to release
4.3 All programs to digitize datasets currently held in
paper form should be reviewed
D. Use of and Demand for Data
5.1 Engage potential data users in dialogue on what data
they want
5.2 Establish data request system as part of Government
website; transfer to Open Data portal when ready
5.3 Establish a process for handling data requests,
including scrutiny of reasons for refusals
6.1 “Hackathons” and competitions should be used to
demonstrate innovative uses
6.2 A program of Hackathons and competitions should
be linked to key stages of releasing government
6.3 Government should consider extending the GATE-
Cadet program to cover relevant software and data skills
6.4 Bring the 2014 Caribbean Open Data Conference to
Antigua
8.1 Encourage the re-use of Open Data within
Government itself
8.2 Consideration should be given to a program to
develop Data Skills in senior officials
53