Governmental Linked Open Data: A Data Management Perspective

(or: what is in a link?)

Profa. Maria Luiza Machado Campos

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

mluiza@ufrj.br

Maria Luiza (UFRJ) e Giancarlo (UFES)

Yes, we have data!

Maria Luiza (UFRJ) e Giancarlo (UFES)

Is it open?

Maria Luiza (UFRJ) e Giancarlo (UFES)

Open Governmental Data

• In some sense – There is a lot already available

– But…

• Is it easy to find, access and use together?

Open Governmental Data

• Interoperability and Integration requires a lot of work – Even inside a single organization!

(We’ve had DBMS for more than half a century, but have we achieved the integration we aimed at? What was missing?)

– And now, on the Web:

• Distributed, heterogeneous, in large scale, highly visible, large number of different users, …

Linked Open Data (LOD)

–What is it all about?

• Using standards

• A very “fine-grain” representation (RDF triples)

– Enables LINKING with flexibility!

– Simple?

–Powerful!

• It has interoperability in its essence

–RDF: Resource DESCRIPTION Framework

» Created to interoperate METADATA!

–Common understanding

Linked Open Data (LOD)

–An exciting “new” way of publishing and consuming data!

• The power of linking

• The power of collaboration – Consumers are publishers too!

• More and more data being generated and linked – Sensors

– Web of things

• Data and Metadata being explored together – Are some links more important than others?

– Links between types; Data hubs

• Querying AND Navegating AND Searching

Linked Open Governmental Data

– It is not just about converting to a new flexible representation

– It is important to be “linkable”

– Descriptions are important

• To know what it really means

• To know where it comes from

• To know what we have available

• ….

–Some data are more difficult to describe than others

Linked Open Governmental Data

– Open is good!

– Flexible is good!

– Semantically interoperable is even better! • Having a “ data management approach” to Gov. LOD

– The role of vocabularies, glossaries

– The role of database schemas

– Creating/using existing complementary metadata

» e.g. Provenance metadata, voID

– Creating/Exploring ontologies as reference models of a domain

» Using Foundational Ontologies as a common ground

A data quality – oriented Governmental LOD

But how long will it take? Will it ever happen?

– Lessons learned from the past

• Incremental, evolutionary

• Agile, but planned

– Estimulate initiatives

• Learn by practicing! – Pilot projects

• Evaluate feedback and impact

– Observe standards and best practices from existing initiatives

Linked Open Governmental Data

– Plan and act for the next steps • Capacitate

– Not only on available technologies, but on reflecting about their use

– There is a lot to be learned from different knowledge areas

» Semantic web + databases and data management + AI +

• What has worked, and also what has not worked

• Define standards and strategies – In Brazil:

» E-Ping, INDE, INDA

Linked Open Governmental Data

But can we what have we learned from data management in the past?

• To define priorities – There are very different kinds of data

– Master and reference data need special attention

– Statistical data is not trivial

» Faceted or multidimensional, sampled, spatio-temporal heterogeous

• To define strategies for building good reference models/ontologies – They are fundamental for interoperability

– Conceptual modelling is important!

• To support maintenance, lineage, evolution – LOD in the data management process of govern. institutions

Where universities can help

• Forming

• Developing, prototyping and experimenting new technologies, approaches, innovative applications

• Partnerships (with government and private initiative)

– Applying new approaches and technologies

– Insights from different knowledge areas

– Discussing perspectives and practices

• Defining new and rescuing old trends!

Thank you !

mluiza@ufrj.br