What data does the Swiss economy need from the administration?
30 October 2018, 17:30–19:00 @ Impact Hub Zürich, Loft Corner (4. Stock), Sihlquai 133, 8005 Zürich
Organised by Opendata.ch, Swiss Data Alliance
Following its general assembly, the Swiss Data Alliance held its autumn event on government data on 30 October 2018 in the Loft Corner of Impact Hub Zurich. The starting point: the administration collects extensive, high-quality data that could also inform business decisions – yet nobody had ever systematically asked which data businesses actually need, or whether opendata.swiss meets those needs. The room was full.
Michel Huissoud, Director of the Swiss Federal Audit Office, used registers such as the commercial register to show how hard a unified view of data is in a federal state, and warned that private providers who present open data better are de facto privatising it. Andreas Kellerhals, OGD delegate of the Federal Department of Home Affairs, presented the Confederation's OGD strategy 2019–2023: «open by default» had not been enforced, data protection and federalism had become knock-down arguments, and businesses used opendata.swiss only modestly – his appeal: «Support the public administrations in publishing useful data.»
In the panel chaired by Christian Laux, vice-president of the Swiss Data Alliance, Giulia Fitzpatrick, Carmelo Iantosca (AXA), Jean-Marc Hensch (Swico) and Erich Herzog (economiesuisse) showed that business data needs can no more be planned than innovation – which is exactly why «open data by default» is fundamental. They called for data ethics, a lab mindset, data literacy and interfaces in both directions; the Swiss Data Alliance argued for a lean federal act on a «Swiss Data Space». The conclusion: dialogue between administration and business has to be fostered, and the Swiss Data Alliance offered itself as the forum for it.
Documentation and recordings
Programme
- 17:30
Keynote: “Government Data: the state’s pseudo-open registers”
Using registers such as the commercial register as examples: how hard a unified view of data is in a federal state – and how private providers who present open data better de facto privatise it (Moneyhouse, for instance).
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Keynote: “The Confederation’s OGD strategy 2019–2023”
The strategy's goals – «open by default», coordination, an open data culture – and the obstacles: no common notion of data, data protection and federalism as knock-down arguments, 47th place internationally. Appeal to business: «Support the public administrations in publishing useful data.»
- –19:00
Panel: What data does the Swiss economy need from the administration?
Can business say what it needs? Does it need more data from the state at all? And would a lean framework act on a «Swiss Data Space» help? Data needs arise ad hoc, like innovation – which is why «open data by default» is fundamental. Conclusion: dialogue between administration and business has to be fostered.
