At the request of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the KNAW wrote the advisory report Hergebruik van publieke data. Meer wetenschap en beter overheidsbeleid (Reuse of public data. More science and better government policy). Yesterday, Pearl Dysktra, head of the committee and scientific director of ODISSEI, handed the report to the Ministry.

In this advisory report the KNAW advocates the appointment of a Chief Public Data Officer. At a national level this person will direct the accessibility and reusability of data from government administrations. Furthermore, researchers should be less reserved in approaching governmental organisations with requests for data. Obtained results should be shared with the organisation afterwards.

ODISSEI is strongly in favor of opening up data for science, respecting all privacy rules. Data from governmental organisations, e.g. provinces, municipalities and water boards, provide a wealth of data for the sciences and for governmental policy. ODISSEI facilitates the sharing of data, so that new insights can be obtained that can provide a scientific base for governmental policy.

The full advisory report Hergebruik van publieke data. Meer wetenschap en beter overheidsbeleid can be downloaded or ordered here. An English summary can also be found here.