Surrey’s open data program ranked among best in Canada

The city of Surrey is earning kudos for its open data initiatives.

Surrey’s open data program, which launched in 2014 as part of the city’s “commitment to an open, transparent and accessible government,” has been ranked third best among 34 of the largest municipalities in Canada in the 2015 Open Cities Index.

The Open Cities Index, compiled by the Public Sector Digest and Canada’s Open Data Exchange, 107 variables of open-data programs and measures the readiness, implementation, and impact of the participating cities’ open-data initiatives.

Surrey’s open data project provides free public access to more than 300 diverse datasets from Fraser Valley Health restaurant inspection reports to bike route data to historical climate data.

Edmonton, which received an overall score of 78 per cent for its open data program, ranked No. 1 followed by Toronto (76 per cent) and Surrey (68 per cent).

“These cities have placed open data at the centre of their strategies to open up government, while providing the private sector with valuable data for analysis and reuse,” the Public Sector Digest said in its report.

Vancouver, at No. 6 with a 57 per cent overall score, also cracked the Open Cities Index’s top 10 list.
While the report lauds the efforts of Canada’s top 10 open data cities, it concludes that most Canadian cities have significant work to do to advance their open data programs. The overall average score for the 34 participating municipalities was 25 per cent.

“When governments proactively post meaningful data online three things happen. First, efficiencies externally, internally, and interdepartmentally arise. As open data begins to break down the silos that exist within government, this improves the effectiveness of city programs, departments, and applications,” the report said.