Open data stimulates progress in various fields helps to gain trust

Muscat: Open data represents the backbone of the digital revolution. It is the fuel that feeds artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to achieve their goals, and represents a powerful tool that enables institutions and individuals to innovate new solutions, make informed decisions, and find promising investment opportunities.

Open data also contributes to strengthening the relationship between the government and citizens, establishes the principles of transparency and trust, and stimulates progress in various fields.

Hassan bin Fida Hussein Al Lawati, Head of the National Program for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies, explained to the Oman News Agency that in light of the rapid digital transformation, open data has become one of the vital factors for enhancing transparency, stimulating innovation, and improving public services, in addition to its role in raising the Sultanate of Oman’s ranking in the indicators of digital transformation and government readiness for artificial intelligence.

He said: The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology seeks, within the National Open Data Initiative, to motivate government agencies to start publishing their data and enhancing its availability in various sectors and fields.

He added that in order to achieve this; The Open Data Policy was issued in June 2020, which defines the basic standards for open data and unifies the approach to making available and publishing open data produced and collected in the units of the state’s administrative apparatus, as they are all obligated to make their data available for public use for research and commercial purposes.

He pointed out that the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology is currently working on a project to establish a unified platform for open data, and it is expected to be launched experimentally at the end of this year, as it will provide a huge amount of open data in various fields and sectors.

Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Alawi, Director of the Department of Development of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies Programme, said, “Forming open data teams in government institutions is a fundamental pillar for achieving the goals of the initiative; as 18 open data teams have been formed in government institutions, and they are making integrated efforts to ensure harmony with the National Digital Transformation Initiative and the Open Data Policy.”

He added that the Ministry holds ongoing workshops between these teams; with the aim of introducing the principles of the open data publishing policy, defining the criteria for evaluating government agencies in the field of publishing open data, and the correct practices for classifying and publishing data.

The Director of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies Development Programme confirmed that the Ministry is evaluating the response of government institutions on this issue.

It recently issued a report covering 56 government institutions, showing that 35 of them took the initiative to publish their data in accordance with the approved standards and policies.

He pointed out that the Ministry had addressed 28 government entities until the second quarter of this year to urge them to adhere to and implement the open data policy, and 11 of them responded.