Scottish Cities Alliance

A new era of transparency and openness started for stirling council yesterday (tuesday, 3 september) with the official launch of its open data platform.

Key information related to the Council’s day-to-day business, finances and performance have been made available in one place for the first time and can now be accessed at the click of a button as data.stirling.gov.uk goes live.

The development of this new platform was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Scottish Cities Alliance ‘8^th City Programme’*.

This initiative, spanning seven cities across Scotland and backed by £60million of ERDF funding, aims to promote the use of technology and applications of Open Data to transform local services.

INSPIRING INNOVATION

Stirling’s platform will establish an increased level of openness with citizens, encourage improvement in Council services, and cement the building blocks for innovation across all services as the Council strives to make life better for all. Convenor for Finance and Economy, Cllr Margaret Brisley, said:

Stirling Council aspires to be as open as possible with its citizens.

This fundamental objective goes beyond legal responsibilities and it takes the Council towards a culture where it shares data in a way that allows its citizens to discover, compare and interact with it.

Our Open Data platform is free to access, easy to use, and gives the public an insight into the day to day work and performance of the Council.

Stirling Council’s Open Data Policy was agreed and adopted by the Finance and Economy Committee on behalf of the entire local authority in November 2015.

The Open Data platform, and the Council’s Open Data policy, follows the principles laid out in the Open Data Charter, a document signed by the leaders of the former G8 in June 2013.

The Charter states that all government data should be published openly by default in an effort to increase accountability.

Stirling Council’s Open Data Policy is governed by five principles:

• Open Data by default
• Quality and quantity
• Usable by all
• Releasing data for improved governance
• Releasing data for innovation

IMPROVING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN PUBLIC SERVICES

Vice convenor for Finance and Economy, Cllr Alison Laurie, added:

Open Data is at the heart of our goal to be a transparent Council that cares for its citizens.

“People expect to be able to access information and services electronically when and how they want. This is true of local government data as well and we are opening our doors to establish Stirling Council as a more accountable, efficient, responsive and effective local government.

“Ultimately, we hope this will improve public confidence, increase engagement and eventually inspire economic growth through transparency and innovation.

Stirling Council’s Open Data platform has published information on: Waste management, Fixed Penalty Notices, Parking Control Notices, Dog Fouling Complaints, Cemeteries, Finance Creditors’ Extract, Traffic Flow, Asset Register and Housing Property.

All data is published in line with Data Protection laws and legislation and will be updated at regular intervals.