Press release
Launch of Open Data Engagement Fund 2018/2019
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
Applications open for initiatives that will improve the availability and usage of data on the National Open Data Portal.
Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan TD with special responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government, and eGovernment today (20 September 2018) announced details of the 2018/2019 Open Data Engagement Fund , a competitive fund (up to €30,000) designed to provide support towards promoting the use of open data on the National Open Data Portal data.gov.ie.
The portal currently links to over 8,700 public service datasets in open format.
Applications can be made for funding to support a variety of Open Data related activities.
These include the organisation of outreach and engagement activities, for example seminars, competitions and hackathons, the building of applications and development of visualisations to demonstrate the use that can be made of open data, specific research on open government datasets with a view to arriving at outcomes that help create efficiencies in the public service or assist in government decision-making.
Funding will also be considered for the development of use cases to show the impact or potential impact of the use of open data.
Minister O’Donovan, in welcoming the announcement, said:
"I am delighted to announce that the Open Data Engagement Fund will run again this year. Opening up government data provides new opportunities for research, innovation, engagement and greater efficiency for all sectors of the economy.
"This is the third year that this funding has been made available and it provides an ideal opportunity for students, citizens, researchers, business and others to engage in the Open Data initiative and to show the benefits that can arise from the availability of government data in open format."
ENDS
Note for editors
The Open Data Engagement Fund has been developed in conjunction with the Open Data Governance Board (ODGB) which was established in 2015 to provide leadership in implementing Ireland’s Open Data Initiative.
The challenge of building more open, transparent and accountable public governance in Ireland is a key objective in the Irish public service and progress is being achieved through a range of reform initiatives.
The Open Data initiative is a key part of these reform activities. The concept of open data is about making data held by public bodies available and easily accessible online for reuse and redistribution.
This initiative is closely aligned with the Public Service Reform Programme, eGovernment Strategy 2017 – 2020 the Civil Service Renewal Plan and the proposed National Data Infrastructure.
Internationally, it is a core element of the EU-wide approach to the 'Reuse of Public Sector Information' which has been transposed by Ireland. It is also central to Ireland’s participation in the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
Since the onset of the Open Data initiative in 2014 significant progress has been made. A national portal data.gov.ie is in place and currently links to over 8,700 government datasets in open format from some 100 publishers.
Now that there are a significant number of datasets available for reuse and as set out in the National Open Data Strategy 2017-2022 , the Open Data Governance Board is concentrating on promoting the usage of the data and the competitive Open Data Engagement Fund is an innovative way to achieve this.
This is the third year that the fund has run and it is designed to provide support towards improving the availability and usage of data on the national open data portal.
The total amount of funding available is €30,000 and the maximum available for any one project is €5,000.
Applications can be made by any organisation or individual. This includes, inter alia, public bodies, businesses, research bodies, educational bodies and/or civil society groups.
Successful applicants must report on their activity, for example, via a blog post and, where applicable, will be required to have their project developed into a use case for promotion of the open data initiative or other promotional activity as determined by the Open Data Governance Board.