Identifying and Overcoming the Barriers Towards Open Data of Public Undertakings

The creation of open data has seen a series of waves in which every growing resources of data are becoming accessible to a growing number of users from a diversifying number of public entities. The European Commission anticipates this movement by setting a new scope to the re-use of Public Sector Information Directive. Instead of exclusively focussing on Public Sector Information), the new scope of its successor, the Open Data Directive, includes data from public undertakings as well. In order for public undertakings to comply with this future legislation, research into the current openness of public undertakings and the barriers to open data is key. This research presents three different levels of openness of data: (1) data is only open for the own organisation, (2) data is open for the internal organisation and trusted parties can use the data, and (3) open data for all. In this case the public undertakings are Port of Rotterdam and Schiphol Airport. The results showed that the data policy of Port of Rotterdam matches openness level 1. The data policy of Schiphol Airport matches level two. The open data policy of Dutch grid operator, Liander, corresponds with the third level as this organisation provides open data since 2014 for everyone. It can be stated that neither Port of Rotterdam nor Schiphol Airport is ready to comply with the future rules when the Open Data Directive requirements become mandatory. Barriers that are associated with achieving a higher level of open data are related to institutional, financial, legal, and quality and technical aspects. Overcoming these barriers requires, among other things, highly motivated staff to provide open data.