Laura Simes

I’m strongly supportive of providing free and open access to Public Sector Information. Technologically, it’s easier than ever use and re-use materials and data in innovative new ways, however this potential is often hampered by restrictive copyright. Providing open access to PSI, for example under a CC-BY license, would open this data up to all kinds of innovative use and reuse, and could do much to increase access to knowledge. I would go further and say that it's not just information and data that should be available on open access, but all government materials (reviews, reports, Hansard etc) should be available for use and re-use by the public. Government websites contain a wealth of information and materials on diverse subject areas, however it is often the case that this information is not readily accessible to the public. This can be so for a number of reasons. E.g: - The PSI is “hidden” in the website. Government websites hold large amounts of useful PSI, but this is sometimes only apparent to a more accomplished researcher. An average member of the public is probably quite unaware of the wealth of information available, for example, on sites like the Bureau of Meteorology and Australian Bureau of Statistics. – PSI may not be presented in a way that is useful for the public. The example provided by Carolyn Dalton (Google) of data on public toilets is illustrative. It may also be presented in a format that is more difficult to understand, such as statistics and raw data on the ABS site. As other comments have noted, providing free open access to PSI will lead to innovative uses that can’t be anticipated. There are many ways that data can be used and reused that will make it more understandable, informative, useful and even entertaining for members of the public. This might involve uses that draw together data from a number of different government websites, or that provide greater functionally. As others have mentioned, theyworkforyou.com is just one example of how PSI has been used to great effect. Laura Simes |Australian Digital Alliance