Publication No. 2010-14E Government 2.0 and Access to Information: 1. Recent Developments in Proactive Disclosure and Open Data in Canada (15 April 2010)

Publication No. 2010-14E

Government 2.0 and Access to Information: 1. Recent Developments in Proactive Disclosure and Open Data in Canada

Alysia Davies
Dara Lithwick
Legal and Legislative Affairs Division
Parliamentary Information and Research Service
Library of Parliament

15 April 2010

PDF (247 Kb, 12 pages)

---

Contents

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Municipal Governments
• 3 Provincial Governments
• 4 Federal Government
• Notes

---

1 Introduction

With the advent of new technologies that make document distribution on the Internet cheaper and easier than ever before, many governments are shifting to an “e-democracy” model of access to information. In addition to operating the traditional request-based system where a member of the public asks for a government document and receives a hard copy (or an electronic one), increasingly, governments are moving many of their documents and data online, where members of the public can search for material themselves.
This process is often referred to as “proactive disclosure.” It is one component of a larger initiative sometimes called “e-government,” “e-governance,” “e-participation,” or “open government,” whereby citizens are able not only to obtain electronic access to government documents and services, but also to interact with them and give feedback on matters ranging from individual service problems to statistics and policy.
Another term frequently used in this context is “Government 2.0,” which refers to the integration of new-generation digital media technologies into government structure and operations.1
Many municipal and local governments, including some in Canada, have started rolling out “open data” web portals that provide raw government data to the public. The governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia all made major announcements regarding the launch of open data and other proactive disclosure initiatives in December 2009.2 Some countries, such as Mexico, India, Finland and New Zealand have had proactive disclosure systems in place for some time.3
This paper will provide examples of the proactive disclosure systems that are developing or already in place in Canada. A second paper in this series will look at the development of proactive disclosure systems in the United States and selected other countries.4

FULL PAPER: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/2010-14-e.htm

Related articles by Zemanta

• Helping people understand government 2.0 at the local level, not easy (customerthink.com)
• Government Stakeholders - the Open Data Benchmark Study Needs Your Participation (socrata.com)
• Availability of Government Data (kauffman.org)
• We're in open government's beta period (radar.oreilly.com)