Sustainability of (Open) Data Portals Infrastructures reports pt. 1
Publication Date/Time
2020-07-08T07:11:52+00:00
Country
Europe
This is the first piece in a series about the “Sustainability of
(Open) Data Portal Infrastructures” reports. In this highlight, the
focus is on “Measuring Use and Impacts of Portals”
SUSTAINABILITY OF (OPEN) DATA PORTALS INFRASTRUCTURES REPORTS

On 6 July 2020, the European Data Portal (EDP) published a series of
six reports (plus an executive summary and overview) around the
sustainability of (open) data portal infrastructures
[/en/impact-studies/studies?keywords=&section=7&source=EDP&country=All&year=&items_per_page=10&page=1].
The reports tackle several dimensions of the topic, and are:

 	* 0: Summary Overview and Key Recommendations
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_0_summary.pdf]
 	* 1: Measuring Use and Impacts of Portals
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_1_measuring-use-impact.pdf]
 	* 2: Developing Microeconomics Indicators through Open Data Re-use
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_2_developing-indicators.pdf]
 	* 3: Data Re-use: A Method for Transforming Principles into Practice
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_3_dataset-reuse.pdf]
 	* 4: Funding Portals: A Business Case Approach to Funding Model
Longevity
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_4_funding-portals.pdf]
 	* 5: Open Data Portal Assessment using User-oriented Metrics
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_5_open-data-portal-assessment.pdf]
 	* 6: A Distributed Version Control Approach to Creating Portals for
Re-use
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_6_distributed-version-control.pdf]

These reports build off of the research conducted for two previous
reports by the EDP Consortium: Recommendations for Open Data Portal:
from setup to sustainability
[/sites/default/files/edp_s3wp4_sustainability_recommendations.pdf]
(2017) and Ensuring the Economic Sustainability of Open Data Portal:
Understanding Impact and Financing
[/sites/default/files/s3wp4_sustainability_recommendations_ii.pdf]
(2018).

Over the coming months we will use featured highlights such as this to
summarise the findings around each of the dimensions of the report,
inviting you to read the full study. This is the first piece, focusing
on the first report “Measuring Use and Impacts of Portals
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_1_measuring-use-impact.pdf]”.
More specifically, the report discusses:

 	* Measuring use and impacts of portals,
 	* Selecting attributes to measure;
 	* Developing macro- and microeconomic indicators through re-use;
 	* Assessing who should use this methodology and how; and
 	* Lessons and best practices.

This article will focus on the importance of measuring open data;
issues to take into consideration when selecting a metric; examples of
metrics to measure the use and impact of portals; and examples of
lessons and best practices.

MEASURING USE AND IMPACT OF PORTALS

Measuring the use and impact of (open) data is crucial. It is needed
to:

 	* maintain the quality of data and support;
 	* justify further investment;
 	* focus resources;
 	* compare progress between countries and institutions, for example;
and
 	* to set benchmarks for countries, institutions and portals.

Before selecting a metric to measure data, there are several issues
that need to be defined. An example is evaluating the quality of the
data and defining what a good quality dataset is. Is a good quality
dataset when all the data fields are complete, or where there are
fewer fields that are more accurately filled? Or, is it data that has
been cleaned and refined, or that contains raw data, including
outliers? Another issue when selecting a metric to measure use and
impact is aligning on who ‘the users’ of the data are. For
example, is it the primary users – those who use data directly;
secondary users – those who use it through an intermediary; or
tertiary users – those that use the product of the data? Several
other issues are explored in the report, including what re-use
activity is being measured and how to track usage on a portal.

After selecting and defining the focus, a metric will be selected to
measure the data. Several metrics are discussed in this report with
examples that showcase their merits. Following the introduction of
several metrics, the report continues to investigate developing
microeconomic indicators through re-use and who should use these
metrics and indicators and how. To conclude the report, several
lessons and best practices are shared.

As stated, this article focused on a few key findings of the report.
For more information on developing macro- and microeconomic indictors
through re-use and assessing different methods and metrics, for
example, explore the report “Measuring Use and Impacts of Portals
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_1_measuring-use-impact.pdf]”
on the EDP. Moreover, keep an eye out for our next the EDP team’s
second featured highlight on 5 AUGUST 2020 that will focus on
“Developing Microeconomic Indicators through Open Data Re-use
[/sites/default/files/sustainability-data-portal-infrastructure_2_developing-indicators.pdf]”.

For more information or examples on open data, explore the European
Data Portal’s (EDP) news archive [/en/news-events/news] and featured
highlight section
[/en/news-events/news?keywords=&type=highlights&country=All&items_per_page=10].
Aware of open data examples or stories?  Share them with us via mail
[/en/feedback/form?type=4], and follow up on Twitter
[https://twitter.com/EU_DataPortal], Facebook
[http://www.facebook.com/EuropeanDataPortal] or LinkedIn
[https://www.linkedin.com/company/10478056/] to stay up to date!
