The Power of Information Taskforce has now produced a beta version of their report back to Government.
This will be open for comments for 2 weeks and the Taskforce will then make any final edits based on the feedback before presenting this to its sponsoring Minister, Tom Watson MP.
The report is published using using blogging software (more WordPress) tailored to allow commenting.
The Power of Information Report has 25 Recommendations. Of particular interest to APPSI and the PSI re-use agenda are the following recommendations:
Recommendation 9
The Ordnance Survey is fundamental to delivering the power of information for the economy and society. The Taskforce has contributed to the Government’s Trading Funds Assessment. This Assessment should be radical and fundamental. In particular:
§ Basic geographic data such as electoral and administrative boundaries, the location of public buildings, etc should be available free of charge to all.
§ There should be simple, free access to general mapping and address data for volumes of data up to moderately substantial levels.
§ Voluntary and community organisations pursuing public policy objects should benefit from straightforward standard provisions for ensuring access to geospatial data without constraints.
§ Licensing conditions should be simplified and standardised across the board and, for all but the heaviest levels of use, should be on standard terms and conditions and should not depend on the intended use or the intended business model of the user.
§ The Ordnance Survey’s substantial market power and strong government backing should be balanced by transparent public consultation on key business decisions
§ The OpenSpace API, similar to but currently a constrained version of Google Maps should become the primary delivery point for the Ordnance Survey’s services.
HMT and the Shareholder Executive in BERR should consider and address these issues in its Trading Funds Assessment due in Budget 2009.
Recommendation 10
(a) Government should ensure that there is a uniform system of release and licensing applied across all public bodies; individual public bodies should not develop or vary the standard terms for their sector.
(b) The system should be a creative commons style approach, using a highly permissive licensing scheme that is transparent, easy to understand and easy to use, modelled on the ‘Click Use’ licence, subject to the caveats below
(c) The Government should report on the options for these two recommendations by end 2009 and if required, statutory measures should be brought forward not later than the 2009/2010 session.
Recommendation 11
Public information should be available at marginal cost, which in practice means for free. Exceptions to this rule should pass stringent tests to ensure that the national benefit is actually served by charging for information and thus limiting its reuse by exploiting the monopoly rights conferred by intellectual property regimes. OPSI (part of The National Archives) should define and consult publicly upon such tests which they then enforce.
Recommendation 12
The Taskforce judges that Click-Use licensing of Crown Copyright information measures up well against the goals of permissive use and simplicity where applied in government, but more work to be done on communicating it to potential reusers. We believe that Crown Copyright needs to be as well communicated and understood as Creative Commons. OPSI, part of The National Archives should look at ways to improve the presentation of Crown Copyright and begin a communications campaign to that end by end June 2009.
Recommendation 18
At a time of national economy, the public sector will need to resource and use world class centres of excellence such as OPSI, part of The National Archives carefully to avoid both wasteful duplication and missed opportunities to tap their expertise. Focusing resources and authority on OPSI will not only be more economical but will lead to greater consistency across the public sector - which is essential for those seeking to use public information. The Taskforce repeats Steinberg and Mayo’s recommendation on resourcing OPSI.