Proposal Detail

Submitted Proposals

Organization: OECD
Title :	68. OECD Best practice Forum on the "Enhanced Internet-enabled access and use of public sector information"
Provide a concise formulation for the proposed workshop theme including its importance and relevance to the IGF.
The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) proposes to hold an IGF Best Practise Forum on increasing Internet-enabled access to digital public sector information and content. Public organisations produce and hold a large amount of public sector information and content (PSI). An increasing amount of PSI is digitised or produced in digital form and is increasingly accessible and available as information products and services for potential users to find, access, re-use, and further develop for both individual and commercial purposes. Examples of the large potential of PSI when put to wider use could include the variety of new private sector services based on meteorological and cartographic data, access to video archives of national public broadcasters, and virtual guided tours through art galleries or museums. The growing interest of governments in facilitating access to and promoting further use of PSI is based on the expectation that enhanced flows and re-use of information, and the increased economic and social activity associated with its use, contribute to improving government efficiency, economic growth, access to knowledge, education, understanding of cultural heritage and citizen welfare. Greater access also supports fundamental principles including openness, democracy, human rights and freedom of information. But wider use of digital PSI may require changes in policy approaches and reorganisation of public information as a number of obstacles impede efficient access to PSI and its effective use. Difficulties faced include restrictive or unclear rules governing access and conditions of re-use; complex licensing procedures; inefficient distribution to final users. There are also challenges with new technologies and ensuring long-term preservation, the development of born-digital content, the implementation of cultural digitisation projects where market mechanisms do not foster effective digitisation, and barriers to development of international markets. This Forum will explore best practices to overcome these challenges. It will build on the OECD Recommendation for Enhanced Access and more Effective Use of Public Sector Information. Participants will discuss good practises, ‘lessons learnt’, and problems to be avoided from various perspectives (i.e. institutions, users, etc.).
Provide the names and affiliations of the panellists you are planning to invite. Describe the main actors in the field and whether you have you approached them about their willingness to participate in proposed workshop.
The panel will include: Anne Fitzgerald, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Rajeev Chawla, Survey Settlement and Land Decords Department, Government of Karnataka, India Malcolm Harbour, MEP, Europe Chris Corbin, ePSIplus, UK Ilkka Lakaniemi, Nokia Graham Vickery, OECD
Provide the name of the organizer(s) of the workshop and their affiliation to various stakeholder groups. Describe how you will take steps to adhere to the multi-stakeholder principle, including geographical diversity.
The OECD brings together 30 governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world. The OECD also shares expertise and exchanges views with more than 100 other countries. In May 2007, OECD countries agreed to invite Chile, Estonia, Israel, Russia and Slovenia to open discussions for membership of the Organisation and offered enhanced engagement, with a view to possible membership, to Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa.
Does the proposed workshop provide different perspectives on the issues under discussion?
The OECD has worked with a wide variety of stakeholder communities on the subject of PSI. The mix of panellists and the different experiences will provide a wide range of perspectives on the issues. The aim is to compose a group of PSI experts (mainly from public institutions and governments) and PSI users which respects the principles of multi-stakeholdership and geographic diversity.
Please explain how the workshop will address issues relating to Internet governance and describe how the workshop conforms with the Tunis Agenda in terms of substance and the mandate of the IGF.
The best practise forum on PSI conforms with the following IGF themes: Access, Diversity (especially a multilingual Internet) and Openness and more broadly with the idea of fostering a democratic Information society and facilitating access to knowledge. It also conforms with the following goals of the IGF mandate: fostering the development of the Internet, facilitating the discourse between bodies dealing with different cross-cutting international public policies regarding the Internet (including from OECD and developing countries), facilitating the exchange of information and best practices, making recommendations and contributing to capacity building in the area of PSI. Its relevance to the Tunis agenda is with respect to meeting challenges for expanding the scope of useful accessible information content in the developing world, increasing use of ICT by governments to serve citizens, e-government applications and openness of governments.
List similar events you and/or any other IGF workshops you have organized in the past.
OECD Ministerial meeting on The Future of the Internet Economy, Seoul, June 2008 The OECD organised a workshop on its anti-spam tookit at the IGF in Athens, 2006. The OECD organised an Open Forum on malware at the Rio de Janeiro IGF, 2007. OECD workshop on ‘Increasing the access to public sector information’, 31 May 2006, Paris, www.oecd.org/sti/digitalcontent OECD workshop on the ‘The Socioeconomic Effects of Public Sector Information on Digital Networks: Toward a Better Understanding of Different Access and Reuse Policies’, 4-5 February 2008, co-organised with the U.S National Committee for CODATA Board on International Scientific Organizations, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, www.oecd.org/sti/digitalcontent OECD workshop on Digital Content, June 2005, Paris
Were you part of organizing a workshop last year? Which one? Did you submit a workshop report?
The OECD organised a workshop on its anti-spam tookit at the IGF in Athens, 2006. The OECD organised an Open Forum on malware at the Rio de Janeiro IGF, 2007. A report was submitted on the Malware Forum and is available online on the IGF Website.