June 13, 2023
Open data portals are used by local authorities to publish data – thus fulfilling legal obligations on the one hand and making the data available for various uses in local contexts on the other. Over the past few months, byte – Bayrische Agentur für Digitales has developed a portal for open data for the Free State of Bavaria in collaboration with the Bavarian State Ministry for Digital Affairs, Fraunhofer FOKUS and DKSR, which is now available to all cities and municipalities in Bavaria to make their data available. How do local authorities benefit from using the state portal? How did the development process work? And how exactly can the data ultimately be used in real urban and municipal planning? Dr. Christian Bemmerl, Digital Transformation Officer at byte, spoke to DKSR Communications Manager Anne-Marie Pellegrin about this.
Hi Christian, nice to have you here! Why don’t you briefly introduce yourself? What do you do at byte – and how did you get involved?
In terms of my education, I am rather exotic. I originally studied theology and also did my doctorate there. But I’ve always been an IT nerd: before byte, I worked for an IT service provider for the German Chambers of Crafts. I became aware of byte itself through the activities of the Bavarian Digital Minister Judith Gerlach on Instagram. I am now the project manager for open data here and was able to help build up the team as part of this. I’m very happy to be able to work with such great people on the topic of open data – it’s really fun.
With the portal for Bavaria, you are definitely giving the topic of open data a boost. And rightly so – after all, open data can be used for a variety of purposes and applications. Can you tell us what these are?
A single answer to this question is difficult, as many different use cases can be developed from many different types of data. Publication via the open data platform is primarily intended for use by specialist audiences such as academia, the media or companies. There are some examples of applications that work well for use by local authorities themselves: existing apps such as tourism apps that can be used to query cycle routes, for example, using open data. If the tourism offer is improved in this way, hotels or restaurants can benefit economically. Another example is digital applications that use data from tree registers to show citizens where trees need to be watered and thus actively involve citizens in urban maintenance. Satellite data on drought, for example, can also help local authorities to understand issues and make better decisions or take measures to protect the environment.
Which data could be used to generate the greatest added value via the data portal?
We are happy about every data set that we can connect! The economic added value or impact of certain data is usually not exactly predictable. However, the reusability of data, i.e. the use of the same data sets for different applications, plays a major role. This is the case with geodata, for example, which can be used for navigation systems or city maps. It is particularly important to us to be able to offer data of a high quality. This includes compliance with metadata standards: This means that uploaded datasets are well described with information, the metadata, so that they can be found and assigned quickly. We want to concentrate on getting this right first – so that the data is reliable and easy to use.
How did the development of the portal proceed? Were there any stumbling blocks that you came across yourself?
A Bavarian data portal must be there for different users. This ranges from local authorities, ministries and downstream authorities to research and business. We therefore first analyzed the situation in Bavaria: What already exists? In which directions can we go and pick up as many people as possible in order to make the whole thing fit for the future? To this end, we also set up a team from the outset that can advise on how to deal with the topic of open data in the long term. Other topics were long-term expandability and scalability. We were very pleased to see that the whole thing worked out so quickly – even if we sometimes had to adjust the direction a little in between.
Was there anything about the collaboration with Fraunhofer FOKUS and DKSR that you particularly liked?
That we all pulled together. We decided together that we would work in a very user-centered way in order to ensure the usability of the solution in the end and to bring all ideas together well. It was an agile team of client and service provider that focused on turning the plans into reality.
Where do you see the biggest challenges in using the portal as a municipality?
One challenge so far has been having to set up your own portal as a local authority: We are now counteracting this with the Bavarian data portal. Apart from that, it is always associated with hurdles to get involved in a topic that you have had little to do with so far. After all, there are no positions in local authorities for open data like there are for data protection, for example. Another challenge for data publication in this context is to establish communication between local authorities and service providers – on the one hand in terms of technology, and on the other hand in terms of a common basic understanding of open data. There are often also reservations, for example with regard to data protection – but this is generally not a problem at all, as open data does not involve personal or business-related data. Various departments with different levels of knowledge need to be involved and brought on board for publication: This requires communication and organization.
What happens now?
For byte and the Bavarian Digital Ministry as project partners, the focus is on user-friendliness and human-centeredness. That is why we will continue to develop the front end so that the portal is simple, trustworthy and networked. The interface should ensure that every user who is interested in open data feels comfortable there and can quickly find the data they need on a specific topic – and perhaps even more than they were looking for. The aim is also to bring the portal to a wider audience.
In order to create a central point of contact for open data in Bavaria, the digital plan provides for the establishment of an open data platform as well as an open data office. Within this framework, we will also be there as a partner for local authorities when it comes to getting involved in the topic and seeking help.
Is there any advice you can give local authorities on publishing data and using the Bavarian Open Data Portal?
You don’t need to have a master plan to get started: It’s enough to get access to the portal first. You can start with a single data set, learn a lot from it and work together with experts such as the geodata team. The technology is usually not the problem. To get started in the world of open data, it helps to exchange ideas with others and approach the topic. There are many groups and events in the field of open data that can provide support. The first step should be to work out what the exact actual need is, then a solution can be developed step by step. It is definitely worth taking the courageous path towards open data and thus creating added value for everyone.
Thank you very much for the lovely conversation!
In cooperation with DKSR, federal states, cities and municipalities can use the piveau data management system to set up their own data portals and publish data in accordance with legal obligations – find out more on our website. The use of open data creates numerous opportunities to make cities and municipalities more citizen-oriented and sustainable.
Learn more about the potential added value of data in your municipality in a joint workshop with us – or contact us directly for a no-obligation discussion to find out how we can help you use data!