On Tue, Jul 11, 2006 at 05:16:35PM +0100, Kirsty Gray wrote:
> I think whether & how much information should be pulished pro-actively
> depends on (a) the type of public authority (b) the type of information
> held (c) the relevance of that information to the public at large (as
> opposed to individual members of the public or small single-interest
> groups).
Obviously it's going to take time to achieve all of this, but I still
maintain that if the information is relevant to anyone (and if it's not,
then there's an interesting question as to why it exists!), then it
should be published.
> But we definately wouldn't have time to do the day job if we pro-actively
> published ALL of the information that we hold. We've found the numbers and
> the complexity of requests much greater than anticipated - I am sure that
> others can say the same.
To bring this slightly more back on track for this list, isn't there a
parallel here with DPA? Without good systems in place for dealing with
SARs, organisations can spend a lot of time, energy, and money dealing
with each request. A well co-ordinated series of SARs could act as a DoS
attack to many companies.
The best way to handle this of course is to have wonderful integrated
systems where each SaR requires just a single mouse click for the
information to be collated, printed, and sent automatically to the
requestor!
Of course, such a system is the stuff of fantasy to most organisations,
and many would argue that they don't receive enough SARs to justify the
costs of this sort of investment.
However, this downplays the returns that most organisations could
receive from such a well-integrated system, that have nothing to do with
Data Protection.
I see the same with FoI in the public sector. The free and open release
of all information, not just that which someone already knows enough
about to request, will bring a wide range of benefits all around.
> You may not personally mind wadding through piles of dross to get to
> nuggets of information - I've wasted many a happy hour 'googling' but I
> wouldn't rely on it as my only method of seeking information.
I prefer the information to be well presented, but in the absence of
that, I certainly prefer it to be available for digging, than not
available at all, or only by request. And, even where it's well
presented, I still like the ability to examine the raw information.
Government has this curious tendency to spin data in rather strange
ways these days :)
> Its a fairly new Act, its a new expereince for publci authoroties and for
> the public, lets give it time, as we'll all adapt in the light of
> experience!
Of course. I'll reiterate that what I'm talking about here is a long
term view. I certainly don't expect everyone to start publishing
everything tomorrow!
Tony
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