December 4, 2019
The City of Edmonton continues its run as Canada’s Most Open City, according to the Open Cities Index Report 2019 released by Public Sector Digest this morning. The index report details Edmonton’s performance compared to 55 other Canadian municipalities.
Edmonton’s overall score was 98.82 per cent, ahead of second-place Winnipeg’s score of 74.94 per cent. The average score for municipalities in the index was 29.4 per cent.
Public Sector Digest stated in their news release, “the City of Edmonton has demonstrated that their open data program continues to grow in maturity and is an example of how adequate resources can foster open data work.” Those resources include an open data committee that meets monthly, a formal city-wide open data policy, a strategic plan for open data with a guide for its implementation and an online portal for the public to access over 1,130 open data sets.
“This honour reinforces our efforts to connect with our citizens and gives them a window into what our municipal government does,” said Mayor Don Iveson. “Transparency and openness are key values for us at the City of Edmonton and we’re really pleased that we continue to lead the way nationwide as an Open City. ”
Edmonton was also ranked first in the Open Cities Index in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Public Sector Digest did not compile the index in 2018.
Open data is raw data, readable by software and computers, that is made available free of charge to individuals, businesses or anyone interested in research and analysis. Research software and app developers can use programs to access this data automatically and apply it to their own purposes. City of Edmonton data has been used to create applications, inform business ventures, study social issues and connect residents to City projects and services. In 2017, Edmonton became the first organization in Canada and the United States to adopt the International Open Data Charter—a commitment to rigorous and formal evaluation of open data performance.
