The practice of Open Data promotes better organizational processes while creating opportunities for spreading important town data and adding value to the community.
Open Data Catalog
Town Data... free to download, use, and republish as needed, without restrictions.
*Please share with us how you are utilizing our Open Data, and we'll showcase your efforts here!
What is Open Data?
While most users may never use Open Data directly, it is good for everyone to have a basic understanding of what it is and why it is important.
Traditional Public Information
Traditionally, Town staff utilize all of the data it has available to provide important information with council and the public. From the many pieces of data that exist, the trends, aggregations, and summaries are shared with the public to improve understanding.
Modern Data Sharing
Open Data is the practice of sharing Town data into the public domain without any filter, other than exclusion of private or sensitive data. This allows users to download copies of raw data, or even better, connect to live streams of data that are continuously updated by the Town.
More Productive Data
The Town staff can only produce a certain amount of information output using Town data. Opening data into the public domain allows others to conduct separate analyses that can produce new insights for the Town. Also, live data feeds support third party solutions to the benfit of Town. For example, live Transit times and locations in Google Maps are supported by open data from the Town.
Why Open Data?
Open Data improves access to information and creates many new opportunities for the Town.
Here are the most common uses of open data.
True Transparency
open to the media
Media outlets have an interest in fact checking the information the Town shares. Also, it can explore the raw datta to come to further conclusions that the Town hasn't already presented.
Spread the Data
helping them to help us
Open Data allows third parties and developers to enhance their products, benefiting the Town's residents and visitors. Also other government agencies can easily access our data to include us in their studies.
Further Analysis and Insights
real world applications
Open Data can be foundational for student projects in any educational institution from grade school to college and university. Studies may be conducted in subject areas not previously explored by the Town.
Open Government Licence – Orangeville
In short, use data without restriction,
use data "as is" (some datasets are better than others),
and attribute when using open data.
The long version...
This licence is based on version 1.0 of the Open Government Licence – Ontario
Using Information under this licence
- Use of any Information indicates your acceptance of the terms below.
- The Information Provider grants you a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use the Information, including for commercial purposes, subject to the terms below.
You are free to:
- Copy, modify, publish, translate, adapt, distribute or otherwise use the Information in any medium, mode or format for any lawful purpose.
You must, where you do any of the above:
- Acknowledge the source of the Information by including any attribution statement specified by the Information Provider(s) and, where possible, provide a link to this licence.
If the Information Provider does not provide a specific attribution statement, or if you are using Information from several Information Providers and multiple attributions are not practical for your product or application, you must use the following attribution statement:
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Orangeville.
- The terms of this licence are important, and if you fail to comply with any of them, the rights granted to you under this licence, or any similar licence granted by the Information Provider, will end automatically.
Exemptions
- This licence does not grant you any right to use:
- Personal Information;
- Information or Records not accessible under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Ontario);
- third party rights the Information Provider is not authorized to license;
- the names, crests, logos, or other official symbols of the Information Provider; and
- Information subject to other intellectual property rights, including patents, trade-marks and official marks.
Non-endorsement
- This licence does not grant you any right to use the Information in a way that suggests any official status or that the Information Provider endorses you or your use of the Information.
No warranty
- The Information is licensed "as is", and the Information Provider excludes all representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities, whether express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
- The Information Provider is not liable for any errors or omissions in the Information, and will not under any circumstances be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or other loss, injury or damage caused by its use or otherwise arising in connection with this licence or the Information, even if specifically advised of the possibility of such loss, injury or damage.
Governing Law
- This licence is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the applicable laws of Canada.
- Legal proceedings related to this licence may only be brought in the courts of Ontario.
Definitions
- In this licence, the terms below have the following meanings:
- "Information"
- means information resources or Records protected by copyright or other information or Records that are offered for use under the terms of this licence.
- "Information Provider"
- means Her Majesty the Queen in right of Ontario.
- "Personal Information"
- has the meaning set out in section 2(1) of Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Ontario).
- "Records"
- has the meaning of "record" as set out in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Ontario).
- "You"
- means the natural or legal person, or body of persons corporate or incorporate, acquiring rights under this licence.
Versioning
- This is version 1.0 of the Open Government Licence – Orangeville. The Information Provider may make changes to the terms of this licence from time to time and issue a new version of the licence. Your use of the Information will be governed by the terms of the licence in force as of the date you accessed the information.
Open Data Policy – Orangeville
In short, use data without restriction,
use data "as is" (some datasets are better than others),
and attribute when using open data.
The long version...
Introduction
The Open Data Policy outlines the principles, roles, and responsibilities related to the Town of Orangeville's efforts to make data available in machine readable format for any public use. The Open Data Policy supports the Town of Orangeville’s commitment to Open Government.
Open Government and the Open Data Program are changing the landscape of information management accountability and information accessibility. Open Government is about citizen engagement, customer service, transparency, accountability and the sharing of knowledge and information leading to greater collaboration and innovation. Open Data is one driving force of Open Government and its singular focus is making data publicly available in recognized and usable formats for anyone to re-use, re-purpose, and develop into digital applications for the benefit of the public. Data can be accessed and utilized and one person's use does not preclude someone else from also accessing it, utilizing it and potentially offering new or enriched data for the benefit of everyone. This new environment of open, accessible and reusable data establishes a foundation where stakeholders use such data to foster healthy debate and discussion on municipal issues.
The Town of Orangeville makes data available via opendata.orangeville.ca. The Town must comply with provincial and federal legislation when making data available to the public.
The Open Data Policy supports the principle that information is open and accessible
Alignment with Access by Design
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has developed a set of seven access principles that encourage public institutions to take a proactive approach to releasing information and making the disclosure of government-held information an automatic process wherever possible:
https://www.ipc.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/accessbydesign_7fundamentalprinciples.pdfAccess by Design advances the view that government-held information should be made available to the public, and that any exceptions should be limited and specific. This concept aligns and supports the principles for open data set forth in this policy.
Further validation comes in the form of a collective statement made by the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada and the Provinces and Territories on September 1, 2010, which spoke to the need for Open Government. This included defining one of the tenets of open government as:
"Open, accessible and reusable information" http://www.priv.gc.ca/media/nrc/2010/res_100901_e.cfm
Alignment with Privacy by Design
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has developed a working concept called Privacy by Design (PbD) that addresses the ever-growing and systemic privacy concerns of managing information within information technology, social media and communication technologies. PbD is a set of seven high-level principles for organizations to follow to establish and build privacy controls within their business processes. The principles are found here:
http://www.ipc.on.ca/images/Resources/7foundationalprinciples.pdfThe Open Data Policy recognizes these principles and requires that the release of Orangeville datasets will not contain personal and/or private information.
Purpose
The purpose of the Open Data Policy is to initiate and promote the practice of open data and to set the rules by which Orangeville data is made available to the public as valuable, machine readable datasets.
Policy Statement
The Town of Orangeville will:
- share with everyone its open and accessible datasets while adhering to rights of privacy, security and confidentiality as identified in the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and other legislation.
- publish datasets via data.orangeville.ca allowing everyone to develop digital applications that may improve government transparency and public participation, enhance access to municipal services, and ultimately strengthen democracy and contribute to a more liveable Town.
- post on the Open Data website, an Open Data Licence, procedures, supported file formats, glossary, and other dataset context information to promote responsible use of Orangeville information.
- identify existing and potential datasets for release as part of the open data initiative 5. plan and develop new datasets, review existing ones, and archive or supersede datasets if required;
- ensure information at the Town of Orangeville is managed in ways that assist in creating a culture of Open Government and information sharing by way of providing open data governance and oversight;
- promote information transparency and accountability to build trust and confidence in government; and,
- foster Open Government leadership in recognition of the evolving democratic process.
Definitions
- "Dataset"
- means a collection of raw, non-manipulated data usually presented in tabular form with associated metadata, and which is machine readable.
What is a raw dataset: a structured file format (including geospatial formats) that can be read by a machine, such as spreadsheets, comma delimited, Extensible Markup Language (XML), or JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)
What is not a raw dataset: a report, a flyer, some web applications, a PDF document, anything that cannot be exported or used by a machine. - "Machine Readable Data"
- means data that, in order to be understood, must be translated by a computer or other type of equipment. Portable document format (PDF) is not machine readable.
- "Open Data"
- is data that can be freely used, reused and redistributed by anyone - subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and share alike.
- "Open Government"
- is a means to promote transparency, accountability and accessibility of good governance and fosters a culture of collaboration and improved service to the public.
- "Primary Source Data"
- original information created or collected by the Town, details on how the data was created or collected and the original source documents recording the creation or collection of the data.
Roles and Responsibilities
Management
- Management is accountable for ensuring compliance with this policy.
- Management is responsible for Open Data awareness, training and issue resolution.
- Management will determine the frequency at which published datasets are reviewed and updated, and communicate these schedules to the Open Data curators.
- The Information Technology personnel are responsible for maintaining the Open Data Licence.
Authorities
Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Applicable Policies and Resources
- Open Government Licence – Orangeville
- Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario - Access by Design
- Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario - Privacy by Design
Policy Approval and Review
This policy will be reviewed when the Open Data initiative significantly develops in its quality and quantity, and/or as necessary.