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How France and Switzerland are driving forward open data

The 16th Open Data Network Meeting was dedicated to a special question: How is open data being driven forward outside of Germany? Experts from France and Switzerland provided insights into legal frameworks, challenges and innovative applications.

Contact

Foto Mario Wiedemann
Mario Wiedemann
Senior Project Manager
Foto Petra Beckhoff
Petra Beckhoff
Project Assistant

France: Open Data France

Gabriela Martin from OpenDataFrance reported on her country’s experiences. Her organization, which sees itself as an exchange and monitoring network, supports local authorities in opening up data. Open Data France uses a non-profit model that does not rely on public or private funding. It finances itself instead through membership fees paid by public bodies.

France has achieved some impressive results:

  • Some 16,500 open datasets have been made available by local authorities
  • By 2022, 898 municipalities had published open data – a figure that continues to grow. The current number of communities making data openly available will be released shortly. According to the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Sample Data Catalogue, only around 500 German municipalities publish open data.
  • France requires all municipalities with at least 3,500 inhabitants and more than 50 local government employees to provide “open data by default.”

When it comes to open data, several communities in France are leading the way, such as Toulouse, Nantes and Rennes, Martin says. Applications that control food waste in schools – for example in Toulouse and Nantes – are an example of how open data can be used to solve practical problems. Open data from the sectors mobility, tourism and culture are used particularly often.

Presentation by Gabriela Martin

Switzerland: Mobility data and the path to “open by default”

Florin Hasler, director of Opendata.ch, presented the Swiss perspective. Since 2012, the non-profit has been committed to making data useable for the common good. Its members include both public institutions and private enterprises.

A national open data portal has existed in Switzerland since 2013 and the federal government’s first open government strategy was approved in 2014. In addition, the county now has a master plan for open government data.

The next major step is “open by default,” a legally mandated paradigm shift that will come into force for institutions at the national level in 2027. This will make open data the norm in Switzerland. As Hasler noted, however, “the law alone will not be enough.”

Local data stewards at the federal and cantonal level are working on organizing and publishing the data. Regions such as St. Gallen and Zurich are leading the field, while other cantons still have some catching up to do. There are three metadata platforms at the federal level: opendata.swissI14Y und LINDAS  and visualize.admin.ch. The plan is to merge them in the future.

Presentation by Florin Hasler

Conclusion: Ideas for Germany

In the subsequent discussion, one of the participants, Oliver Rack from Politics for Tomorrow, emphasized that Germany has to look beyond its own borders more. “It’s worth considering what’s happening outside the country,” he said. “Maybe we haven’t done enough of that so far.”

The plan is to invite speakers to future Open Data Network Meetings who can inform participants about what is going on in other European countries.

About the Municipal Open Data Network Meeting

The Municipal Open Data Network Meeting is a joint initiative of the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the German Institute of Urban Affairs. This digital venue is primarily aimed at stakeholders in local government. At the beginning of the event, participants get to know each other during a speed-networking session. The speakers then each spend approximately 15 minutes sharing new ideas based on their own experience. There is plenty of time afterwards for questions and discussion.

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Wenn Sie Interesse an einer Teilnahme an unserem Austauschformat zu Open Data in Kommunen haben, melden Sie sich bitte hier an! Sie können sich auch anmelden, wenn Sie am kommenden Termin nicht teilnehmen können. In diesem Falle nehmen wir Sie in den Verteiler für künftige Veranstaltungen auf.

Das nächste 17. Open-Data-Netzwerktreffen (per Zoom) findet am 11.02.2025 statt.

Das Thema unseres 17. Open-Data-Netzwerktreffens geben wir hier im Januar bekannt.