a The Government cannot maximise the net benefits of transparency without an evaluative framework for measuring the success and value for money of its transparency initiatives. It should build on its plans to identify economic and public service benefits and develop:
• a better understanding of the drivers and scale of additional costs of implementing different types of public sector information release;
• clearer means of determining demand to support objectives of greater accountability, service improvement and economic growth, to prioritise the programme of data release; and
• a structured, objective evaluation of the emerging effects of transparent public data, so that efforts are focused on high-value activities, with unintended consequences mitigated.
b The Government will not maximise the benefits of transparency if it does not further embed good practice principles. While the draft public data principles set a useful direction for public bodies, the Government should now define its operational requirements more clearly. Areas such as developing data inventories require clear direction so that they lead to benefits for developers and the public.
c Many data releases have no accompanying statement as to their quality or reliability - running the risk of misleading potential users. The Government should develop a simple protocol for describing data sources, control procedures and known limitations.
d Public service users cannot exercise their choice and hold service providers to account if the Government fails to align transparency with choice and accountability. It should:
• review whether current data for choice and accountability purposes are adequate, identifying gaps and ensuring that there is a clear strategy to make necessary information available.
• in developing and operating markets for public services, build requirements for greater transparency of financial and performance information in future contractual arrangements.
e The Government cannot extract best value from public sector information, if it does not improve on current estimates of the information's value. These estimates vary widely, hindering precise assessment of the various financial and economic factors associated with further data releases, especially where the Government currently charges for information. The Government should pursue its plans for the development of a research base on the economic and public service benefits of public data, and use that to target the nature and form of data releases.
f The Government has identified that protecting personal data is a key risk for transparency, commissioning a review to consider the issue. In responding to the review's recommendations, it should set out governance structures and processes required to manage this risk effectively.