Why Open Data?
Transparency and openness
Open data enhances government transparency. All stakeholders can monitor government operations, such as public service delivery, public spending, and resource distribution, thus holding the government accountable. Open data also allows for wider public participation in policy-making. Armed with a clearer knowledge of government activities, all stakeholders can more effectively participate in consultation and policy formulation. Consensus and collaboration between all stakeholders can be more easily achieved to drive progressive social change.
Digital Transformation Into A Truly Smart City
Open data enables “smart governance” and “smart operation”, achieving which would make Hong Kong a truly smart city. Seamless integration of data across different sectors can facilitate more effective solutions responding to social issues. Furthermore, interdepartmental and inter-sector resources could be better coordinated and distributed to streamline the city's daily operation.
Empower innovation to unleash social and economic value
“Data is the new oil.” When data is truly accessible and usable by all stakeholders, it can unleash the next wave of immense potential. Users can find insights from the open data, thus stimulating innovation in products and/or services for the community. Advancing what new technology does—open data helps trigger more business opportunities, enhances productivity, improves the quality of life and more.
Hong Kong Open Data Index
There have been years of effort by business sectors and civil society to enhance open data in Hong Kong. Different civil groups have been formed to promote open data. Government has also announced its first Open Data policy in 2018. It is time to ride on these collaborative efforts to bring open data progress in Hong Kong to the next stage -- by an evaluation of the openness of data in Hong Kong according to international standards and practices, to better inform the stakeholders, draw a clearer development road map, and help everyone collaborate to facilitate the progress.
Therefore, the Internet Society Hong Kong has taken the initiative to develop an assessment tool to assist this change: the Hong Kong Open Data Index.
The Index was established through a review of and reference to 19 international and regional assessment tools and standards, as well as consultation with local stakeholders. We have identified 16 critical categories of data set in Hong Kong, which are to be measured by 12 indicators to reflect the openness of the data in each data set category. With the use of the Index, we:
Therefore, the Internet Society Hong Kong has taken the initiative to develop an assessment tool to assist this change: the Hong Kong Open Data Index.
The Index was established through a review of and reference to 19 international and regional assessment tools and standards, as well as consultation with local stakeholders. We have identified 16 critical categories of data set in Hong Kong, which are to be measured by 12 indicators to reflect the openness of the data in each data set category. With the use of the Index, we:
01.
Introduce international open data standards and best practice into the Hong Kong context
02.
Measure data openness of the city and identify challenges in bringing out the value of open data
03.
Conduct research and facilitate dialogue between stakeholders to push for an enhanced open data policy and measures
04.
Monitor the progress of policy implementation to ensure constant improvements
What We Do
Evaluation And Benchmarking
We set benchmarks which are drawn from international standards to regularly evaluate and monitor openness of data and its development in Hong Kong, identify issues and challenges, as well as introduce international best practice, so as to provide a clearer picture of open data development in Hong Kong.
Community engagement for policy change
We engage with civil society groups, information technology experts, policy researchers, data users, and other stakeholders of the open data community through workshops and community meetings to understand their needs and problems in using public data, provide a platform for different stakeholders and communities to exchange insights and facilitate discussion, and reflect their consensus and concerns in our recommendations.
Public education on open data
We organise public events and social media campaigns to promote the value of open data and educate the wider public about the uses and benefits of open data, as well as raise awareness of open data policy in Hong Kong.
Who We Are
The Organisation
The Internet Society Hong Kong is the Hong Kong chapter of the Internet Society. Established in 2005, ISOC HK envisions an open and accessible network, in both technology and policy, and contributes to and provides a platform for sustainable development of the information society, which enriches the human experience. ISOC HK is dedicated to the open, unencumbered, beneficial use of the Internet; the upholding of the freedom of expression and opinion, privacy of personal information, and elimination of social discrimination; through responsible self-regulation and harmonised governance.
The Advisory Committee
Ben Cheng
鄭斌彬
Ben is the co-founder of Oursky, a software company, and serves on the executive committee of the Internet Society Hong Kong. He has been an active supporter of democracy, freedom of speech, and copyright reform.
鄭斌彬是一名軟件公司創辦人，現擔任互聯網協會香港分會董事，關注民主、言論自由、版權改革等議題。
Edmon Chung
鍾宏安
Edmon is the CEO of DotAsia Organisation and serves on the executive committee of the Internet Society Hong Kong. He has been actively involved in the development of IDN technical standards and policy, as well as Internet development in Asia.
鍾宏安是DotAsia的創辦人和行政總裁，現擔任互聯網協會香港分會董事，積極參與國際化功能變數名稱 (Internationalized Domain Name) 的技術和政策發展，同時關注亞洲的網絡發展。
Ho Wa Wong
黃浩華
Ho Wa is a software engineer, blogger at Standnews and g0vhk.io founder. He has also been proactively advocating civic hacking and open government data.
黃浩華是一名軟件工程師，同時是立場博客、香港零時政府g0vhk發起人，致力推動公民黑客和開放數據。
Himphen Hui
許孝謙
Himphen is a software engineer and the co-founder of Collaction, an innovation and crowdsourcing platform. He has been actively participating in the open data community.
許孝謙是一名軟件工程師，亦是Collaction，一個社會創新x群眾外包平台的創辦人，同時積極推動開放數據發展。
Contact Us
View Open Data Index