Open Government Data - Are all exceptions to the principle of cost-free access and reuse legitimate?
and the corresponding generics.<br/> Such possibilities are not beyond reach for France, which is not only deemed to be among the pioneers but also one of the countries making the most rapid progress in this domain ... The United Kingdom, a country seen, like the United States, as a pioneer in open public data, has estimated at £6.8bn (€7,9bn) the revenue in 2010 and 2011 generated for British society by open ... public data, of which £5bn (€5.8bn) is profit. As an example, a start-up has highlighted the existence of areas in which massive savings can be made by analysing prescriptions of patented drugs ... ... Open data strategy should decide the costs problem ... is made easy. France is among the pioneers and countries making the most rapid progress in this domain. Charges for the reuse of the public information has been identified as the main problem. ... French Cour des comptes presents analysis on implementation of the open data practice across the administration. Massive savings are expected, when public access to large amounts of highquality data
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Use of European Union funds in promoting information society
The National Audit Office audited the use of the aid allocated from the structural funds of the European Union (hereinafter EU aid) in the information technology (IT) area of the state. The National ... Audit Office checked whether the distribution of funds for the development of the information society has been balanced and transparent, and whether the distribution of aid is adequately supervised ... . Balanced distribution of aid means that development of the information society entails paying attention (and ideally providing proportional funding) to information systems aimed at the public sector, private ... Riigikontroll auditeeris Euroopa Liidu struktuurifondidest ehk tõukefondidest eraldatud toetuste (edaspidi ELi toetusraha) kasutamist riigi infotehnoloogia (IT) valdkonnas. Uuriti, kas raha jagamine ... infoühiskonna arendamise eesmärgil on olnud tasakaalustatud ja läbipaistev ning kas toetuste jagamise üle tehakse piisavat järelevalvet. Riigikontrolli hinnangul on riik infoühiskonna arengukava rakendamiseks ... toetuste jagamisel keskendunud liiga riigile suunatud IT-arenduste rahastamisele ning jätnud tagaplaanile ettevõtete konkurentsivõime parandamisele ja kolmandale sektorile suunatud IT arendusprojektide ... Balance needed for success of Information Society Development Plan ... , true suppervision and measurement of progress are listed by the Estonian SAI as next key elements necessary to keep balanced development of strategy for Information Society. ... 50% of aid has been granted primarily for the development of information systems of state agencies, i.e. as much as the other two target groups - business and citizens - put together. Information
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Audit on the broadband internet infrastructure access
Poland has been granted over PLN 4 billion from the European Regional Development Fund to build the broadband internet access infrastructure. As part of three operational programmes 90 percent ... of assumed financing was contracted, namely PLN 3.9 billion. By the end of 2015, Poland should complete the investment and account for the expenses. According to NIK there is a risk that the infrastructure ... construction will not be completed by the deadline and the EU funds may not be used to the full. ... ... Simpler regulations and better supervision needed ... Polish SAI audited a project, which aim had been to develop broadband internet network across the country. They revealed that legal obstacles, idleness and lack of supervision were the main causes ... of delays. Some of the projects are in danger of not being completed on time and some of the EU funds may not be fully used.
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Digitisation of municipal services
The purpose of digitisation is to increase the quality and efficiency of public services. It is a goal to make online services the norm for public administration's communication with citizens ... and the private sector. The municipal sector is a significant provider of public services, and digitisation of municipal services is therefore essential for achieving this goal.<br/>The audit surveyed the status ... , assessed the significance of and possible obstacles to digitisation of municipal services. The audit examined how the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation's use of policy instruments contributes ... ... Municipalities have not digitised their services to any extent ... Digitisation increases the quality and efficiency of public services and municipal sector is a significant provider of public services. Report of Riksrevisjonen of Norway shows however ... , that municipalities need a substantial support to execute this demanding task. To provide them with help, the central government has to coordinate own efforts first.
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Is the project 'E-health in Latvia' a step towards the right direction?
Objective of the audit was to verify efficiency and productivity of the actions by the institutions in charge for implementation of the e-health, as well as to audit economy and productivity of use ... of funds invested in the project for achievement of set objectives and gaining the planned benefits. Audit covered such main questions: 1) Will the e-health policy be able to solve problems and achieve ... the objective? 2) Are the actual activities performed by the National Health Service justified for achievement of the set objectives? 3) Will necessary information security and personal data protection be ensured ... E-health is a step forward in right direction, but not all objectives will be reached! ... Project “E-health in Latvia” supports healthy lifestyle, it will provide valuable and accessible information and will promote more efficient provision of services to patients. It is undoubtedly ... a step towards the right direction then. However, as found the Latvian SAI, the e-health policy will not be implemented within the initially planned scope and deadline and within set data security levels ... , thus the objective of this policy – to promote more effective provision of healthcare services will be attained only partially.
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