Access and Feeds

Open Data: G8 Nations Agree to a Charter of Sharing

By Dick Weisinger

An Open Data Charter was agreed to at the latest G8 Summit in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It established five strategic Open Data principles that all G8 members would abide by.  Members of the G8 include UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and Canada.

The five principles of open data described in the Charter made by the G8 participants:
  • Open Data by Default
  • Quality and Quantity
  • Usable by All
  • Releasing Data for Improved Governance
  • Releasing Data for Innovation

To see how the G8 countries currently rank in their openness of sharing government-collected data, the Open Data Census, Open Knowledge Foundation, ran a census that examined how well countries are making their data available.  Open Data sets that are available were categorized and ranked in ten areas, like transparency and accountability.

Prime Minister David Cameron, said that “Some people may say, what on earth has open data got to do with business? …  What I hadn’t fully understood, but what I now do understand, is the data government owns is one of the most precious things it has in terms of helping your economy to grow.”

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