Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP)
Prepared by the Information Solutions Branch (ISB), Department of Justice, Canada.
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Department of Justice, 2015.
This document is issued under the Open Government Licence - Canada
This document is available in alternate formats on request.
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
Canada has a longstanding commitment to openness and accountability as a cornerstone of a strong, modern democracy. From the passing of access to information legislation over 30 years ago to current open government and proactive disclosure activities, the Government of Canada has worked to ensure transparency on federal operations to enable Canadians to hold their government accountable. The commitments included in Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2014-16 will further the progress on the delivery of transparent and accountable programs and services focused on the needs of Canadians.
The proactive release of information and data is the starting point for all other open government activity. Accordingly, the Government of Canada has firmly established an “open by default” position in its mandatory policy framework by issuing the Directive on Open Government. The objective of the directive is to “maximize the release of government information and data of business value to support transparency, accountability, citizen engagement, and socio-economic benefits through reuse, subject to applicable restrictions associated with privacy, confidentiality, and security.” (Directive on Open Government, Section 5.1)
The Department produces a combination of unstructured information (i.e. free-form content using common desktop applications such as e-mail, word-processing, or presentation applications) and structured information (content that is organized, residing in fixed fields and is machine-readable). Although the information that the Department of Justice produces is for the most part unstructured, Justice is committed to unlocking the potential of open information and data through a series of initiatives and activities to drive government-wide progress on high-value open information and data. Justice has already produced two data sets for the Open Data Portal that contain the federal statutes and regulations in a non-proprietary format that can be accessed and reused by all Canadians.
The Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) outlines an approach that uses existing initiatives and activities that include the Information @ Justice strategy, IM/IT, Communication and Security strategies, the Digital Workspace, and records management (recordkeeping) to lay the foundation for an enterprise-wide approach to open information and data. The OGIP also includes an engaging communication approach to raise awareness and to help foster cultural change needed for the success of the plan.
Looking forward, the department will integrate its Open Government (OG) obligations into business transformation programs, projects and technology modernization initiatives planned and underway. The Department of Justice will maintain Open Government Directive compliance while continuing to deliver on Open Government obligations integrated into service improvement, service modernization and enabling technologies.
This plan will be updated annually to include changes to existing or new initiatives and to ensure that it complies with the Directive’s requirements and aligns with the commitments of the Department of Justice.
2. Approvals
Marj Akerley
Information Management Senior Official
Management Sector / Information Solutions Branch
Department of Justice
Date
Marie-Josée Thivierge
Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer
Management Sector
Department of Justice
Date
William F. Pentney
Deputy Minister
Department of Justice
Date
3. Purpose
This document describes the Department ofJustice’s plan to complete activities and deliverables under the Directive on Open Government and to be compliant by .
The objective of the Directive is to maximize the release of government information and data of business value to support transparency, accountability, citizen engagement, and socio-economic benefits through reuse, subject to applicable restrictions associated with privacy, confidentiality, and security. (Directive on Open Government, Section 5.1)
The expected results of the Directive on Open Government are that Canadians are able to find and use Government of Canada information and data:
- to support accountability;
- to facilitate value-added analysis;
- to drive socio-economic benefits through reuse; and,
- to support meaningful engagement with their government. (Section 5.2)
4. Context
The Department of Justice is mandated to support the government in the development of legal policy and the drafting and reform of Canada’s laws. At the same time, it acts as the government’s legal adviser, providing legal counsel and representing the Government of Canada in court.
Justice is a medium-sized department with approximately 5,000 employees. Roughly one half of departmental employees are lawyers; the other half a broad range of professionals, including paralegals, program managers, and other knowledge workers. The Department delivers services through specialized branches that deal with particular areas of legal practice and through legal services units that are physically located within the buildings of the departments they work for. The Department of Justice has a large workforce in the National Capital Region as well as six regional offices located across the country.
Challenges
- Information silos
- Information is stored and managed in multiple, unconnected tools and repositories. This works against efforts to make departmental information findable and accessible.
- Privileged and Confidential information
- Due to the nature of legal work, much of Justice Canada’s information is protected by solicitor-client privilege or litigation privilege. Privileged information and data cannot be shared under Open Government obligations, as well as with some categories of protected and confidential information that the Department possesses.
- Legacy information
- Legal processes are information-intensive activities that have led to the creation of large amounts of documents that would need to be considered for release.
Opportunities
Information @ Justice
Justice Canada has positioned itself for Open Government with its information strategy entitled Information @ Justice. This strategy lays out core principles in support of Open Government including:
- Information is shareable
- Information is secure
- Information is stored once
These principles, approved by the Deputy Minister, are integrated into departmental IM/IT planning and the implementation of key IM/IT initiatives, chiefly, the Digital Workspace.
Digital Workspace
Launched in 2014, the Digital Workspace project is a department-wide project that includes the capability for employees to identify documents that should be made available to the public.
Open Government Action Plan
In 2015, Justice released two datasets through the Open Government Portal:
- The Consolidated Acts and Regulations is a list of federal Acts and Regulations with information on the consolidation date for each legislative instrument and a link to its full text in XML and HTML formats available for general use. Bi-weekly updates are performed to ensure timeliness and accuracy if the data.
- At the public’s request, Justice added a second dataset containing the entire Consolidated Acts and Regulations in a single bulk file.
Justice Open Information enables easy access to Government-wide reporting (through PWGSC Portal) and over 1000 information resources (through the Collections Canada Portal) providing Canadians with greater transparency of government programs, activities, publications and spending.
5. Outcomes
The core outcomes in the Open Government Implementation Plan have been aligned to meet the three main areas of the Open Government Action Plan as follows:
Open Data
Justice identifies potential open data sets through an ongoing scan, assessment and release process that makes our small number of data sets available in compliant open data formats.
Open Information
Justice discloses information proactively through existing government processes and supports and promotes the appropriate release of our information.
Open Dialogue
Justice reviews public comments on the Open Government Portal and engages with the public by responding to their comments directly in the portal and by making adjustments to the data sets we provide. For example, Justice added a new dataset containing the Consolidated Acts and Regulations in a single file in , in response to a public request.
6. Governance Structures and Decision Processes
6.1 Roles and Responsibilities – Deputy Head and Information Management Senior Official
The governance of the Justice Canada’sOpen Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) is informed by the responsibilities identified for the Information Management Senior Official (IMSO) and Deputy Head (DH) in sections 6 (Requirements), 7 (Monitoring and Reporting Requirements), and 8 (Consequences) of the Directive on Open Government.
Deputy Minister
The Deputy Minister is responsible for:
- Approval of the Open Government Implementation Plan,
- Engagement and commitment to Open Government obligations,
- Compliance with the directive and corrective measures for non-compliance.
CIO/IMSO
The Chief Information Officer (CIO), who has delegated authority as the Information Management Senior Official (IMSO) and functional authority for Information Technology and Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP), is responsible for:
- Overseeing the implementation and monitoring of this open government implementation plan in the department;
- Working with key stakeholders, including the head of communications, the departmental security officer (DSO), data owners and functional specialists to ensure the implementation of this directive;
- Bringing to the deputy head’s attention any significant difficulties, gaps in performance or compliance issues, and developing proposals to address them;
- Ensuring that corrective actions are taken to address instances of non-compliance. Corrective actions can include additional training, changes to procedures and systems, and other measures as appropriate;
- Reporting any performance or compliance issues to the Chief Information Officer Branch of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat; and,
- Participating in TBS and interdepartmental committees addressing a broad range of IM issues and initiatives including open government.
Governance structure
Justice Canada is developing an Open Government Implementation Plan governance structure in compliance with the TBS Directive on Open Government that is fully integrated within the current Justice Governance Framework as described below:
- The Executive Committee chaired by the Deputy Minister, is the most senior level decision-making structure that sets strategic direction, determines Justice priorities, and is responsible for the strategic management of the Department’s legal, policy and program responsibilities including information management and open government.
- The Management Committee, which makes decisions regarding resource allocations, program and legal services delivery practices, horizontal management issues and external accountability reporting, and which also includes oversight of IM/IT matters.
- The Assistant Deputy Minister for the Management and CFO Sector is a member of the Management and Executive Committees and advises them on IM/IT matters.
- The CIO and IMSO, is a member of the Management and CFO Sector management team, has functional authority for IM/IT, and advises the Assistant Deputy Minister for the Management and CFO Sector through the support of the following IM/IT governance bodies.
- Business Transformation Committee (BTC): a horizontal departmental forum for digital business and employee engagement and provides advice to the CIO regarding business transformation activities and provides recommendations to Management Committee, as required.
6.2 Roles and Responsibilities – Key Stakeholders
Managing information and data governance
As Departmental Coordinator, the Director, Information Services, in the Information Solutions Branch:
- Acts as a central point of contact (internal & external) for Open Government;
- Mobilizes the Department to meet Open Government objectives and deliverables activity planning, coordination and scheduling, stakeholder relationships, and establishment of and participation in working groups as required;
- Tracks and reports on the progress of Open Government deliverables, key performance indicators, etc.;
- Works with data owners to disclose their data holdings;
- Coordinates the maintenance of the data and information inventory including yearly prioritization of release;
- Manages the Department’s inventories of data and information;
- Directs data releases;
- Directs activities related to Data and Information Guidelines & Standards;
- Works with the CIO to ensure IT activities in this Plan are completed on time;
- Works with the Director General, Communications to ensure communications activities in this Plan are included in the departmental communication plan.
Other key stakeholders identified are:
- Director General, Communications who will review the communications to promote Open Government to the employees of the department and all information related to Justice’s Open Government activities that are published externally or through the Open Government Portal.
- Departmental Security Officer who will establish the process for ensuring that information released to the public is not sensitive in nature.
- Business Owners of the datasets and information in the department will ultimately be responsible for the identification and communication of datasets and information released to the IMSO for publishing. Business Owners are responsible for content, its maintenance and support once published. The Business Owner has the responsibility of providing the funding necessary to make datasets and information available to the public or of identifying the reasons why that information cannot be released.
6.3 Communication, Awareness, and Engagement
Communication, awareness, and engagement activities with respect to Justice Canada’s contributions to Open Government will be integrated into communications services used to promote and inform employees and citizens on the Department of Justice activities.
The Justice Digital Workspace, the Justice Website, social networks, and the Open Government websites will be used to distribute information on access and reuse of the Justice Open Data and Information to employees, Canadians and the international public with a focus on people who are not familiar with the Open Government Initiative.
Once the content is made available through the Open Government Portal, search results and metrics within the Justice Digital Workspace, the Justice Website, as well as social networks and the Open Dialogue may be used to assess the information needs and interests of Justice employees and Canadians with respect to the information provided.
7. Planning Table
Key Planning Assumptions
- Under the umbrella of the Open Government License, which offers unrestricted re-use of government data and information, the Department of Justice should ensure that the Digital Workspace supports the Directive on Open Government by facilitating the identification of information that can be released to the public.
- The Department of Justice assumes that the milestones depicted in this Plan will comply with any required Open Government dependencies to achieve the expected outcomes.
- It is anticipated that meeting the requirements of the Directive on Open Government can largely be achieved using existing resources and by integrating it with existing efforts.
- To complete the activities and deliverables in a timely manner, and achieve full compliance by the implementation deadline, a pre-requisite to implementing the plan is to conduct an analysis of existing resource allocation, projects and activities which could be reused or integrate the Open Government Implementation Plan activities. The analysis will provide ways to uncover efficiencies and estimate resource needs (human and financial).
Planning Table A: Directive on Open Government Requirements
| Reference | Compliance Requirement | Deliverables / Milestones | Lead | Activities | Start Date | End Date | Resources (Human and Financial) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOG 6.1 | Maximizing the release of Government of Canada data and information under an open and unrestrictive licence designated by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat | Department of Justice Data Release Plan | Information Solutions Branch | Prepare and publish Justice Data Release Plan (pre-requisite: Justice Data Inventory) | TBD | In progress See Outcomes | ||
| Department of Justice Information Release Plan | Information Solutions Branch | Prepare and publish Justice Information Release Plan (pre-requisite: Justice Information Inventory) | TBD | In progress; See Outcomes | ||||
| DOG 6.2 | Ensuring that open data and open information is released in accessible and reusable formats via Government of Canada websites and services designated by the TBS | Listing of accessible and reusable formats (for data and information) to be used at The Department of Justice | Information Solutions Branch | Evaluate existing listings, update and keep current with the TBS Open Data and Information Guidelines and Standards | TBD |
In progress Annually |
||
| Conversion process for data identified for release whose native format is not accessible and reusable | CIO | Create process or reuse existing process, implement, publish and keep current. (Aligned with the Open Data and Information Guidelines & Standards) | TBD |
In progress Annually |
||||
| Conversion process for information identified for release whose native format is not accessible and reusable | CIO | Create process or reuse existing process, implement, publish and keep current. (Aligned with the Open Data and Information Guidelines & Standards) | TBD | In progress | ||||
| Release process to support the publication of the Department of Justice data | Information Solutions Branch with Business Owners | Develop data release process for newly identified datasets and integrate the process with the departmental information and IT Service Management processes. | TBD |
In progress As required |
||||
| Release process to support the publication of the Department of Justice information | Information Solutions Branch with Business Owners | Develop information release process for newly identified information and integrate the process with the (Information departmental information and IT Service Management processes. | TBD |
In progress As required |
||||
| DOG 6.3 | Establishing and maintaining comprehensive inventories of data and information resources of business value held by the department to determine their eligibility and priority, and to plan for their effective release (6.3) | Methodology for establishing a data inventory | Information Solutions Branch with Business Owners | Develop a data inventory template using the Data Inventory Template developed by TBS. Perform an analysis on the Repository Inventory and IRBV Inventory developed for the Directive on Recordkeeping to determine what existing information can be leveraged. Create a draft methodology and validate with functional specialists. Obtain approval of the methodology from the CIO. | TBD | Not started | ||
| Methodology for establishing an information inventory | Director, Information Services, with Business Owners | Develop an information inventory template using the Information Inventory Template developed by TBS. Perform an analysis on the Repository Inventory and IRBV Inventory developed for the Directive on Recordkeeping to determine what existing information can be leveraged. Create a draft methodology and validate with functional specialists. Obtain approval of the methodology from the CIO. | TBD | Not started | ||||
| Data inventory (detailed, itemized list(s)) that describe the volume, scope and complexity of the data held by the Department of Justice | Director, Information Services with the Director General, Communications | Review and publish the Data Inventory | TBD | Not started | ||||
| Information inventory (detailed, itemized list(s)) that describe the volume, scope and complexity of the information held by the Department of Justice | Director, Information Services with Director General, Communications | Review and publish the Information Inventory | TBD | Not started | ||||
| Renewal process to maintain the currency of the Department of Justice data inventory | Information Solutions Branch with Director General, Communications | Develop process to review, update, validate and publish the Data Inventory | TBD | Not started | ||||
| Renewal processes to maintain the currency of the Department of Justice information inventory | Information Solutions Branch with Director General, Communications | Develop a process to review, update, validate and publish the Information Inventory | TBD | Not started | ||||
| Assets included in the data inventory are evaluated to determine their eligibility and priority for release | Director, Information Services | Develop and implement a process to validate the eligibility and priority for releasing a new dataset with business owners, DSO and IM specialists. Obtain CIO approval. | TBD |
In progress; When required – with each new dataset release |
||||
| Assets included in the information inventory are evaluated to determine their eligibility and priority for release | Director, Information Services | Develop and implement a process to validate the eligibility and priority for releasing a new information type with business owners, DSO and IM specialists. Obtain CIO approval. | TBD | Not started | ||||
| DOG 6.4 | Developing, posting to the designated website, implementing, and annually updating a departmental Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) | Governance structures are in place to oversee the implementation of the Department of Justice OGIP | Director, Information Services | Consult, develop, validate and integrate Open Government governance structure (including incident management, change management, etc.) with the existing governance structures. Obtain approval from the CIO. Implement Open Government Governance. | TBD | Not started | ||
| The Department of Justice OGIP Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) | Director, Information Services | Engage stakeholders, consult, develop, validate, and submit to the Open Government Portal. | TBD | In progress | ||||
| Signatures in section 2 (Approvals) of the Department of Justice OGIP | Director, Information Services | Engage stakeholders, consult, develop, validate, and submit to the Open Government Portal. | TBD | In progress | ||||
| The Department of Justice OGIP is staffed and funded | Director, Information Services | Assess resource needs based on the approved plan and the current processes, projects, and plans for the open digital workspace in the department. | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | ||
| Monitoring and reporting processes for assessing progress and maintaining the currency of the Department of Justice OGIP | Director, Information Services |
Develop monitoring and reporting process for the department’s participation and contribution to Open Government. Assess progress and currency to take action if required. |
TBD | Ongoing | ||||
| The Department of Justice OGIP annual update to the OGIP | Director, Information Services | Update annually the Open Government Portal. | TBD | Annually | ||||
| Open Government and the Department of Justice website interlinked promoting free GC content | Director General, Communications | Identify and leverage existing linkages and promote the joint effort. | TBD | TBD | As needed | |||
| Relationships with international partners representing ministries of Justice to leverage experience and lessons from sharing data with a worldwide interested public established. | Director General, Communications | Identify partners, establish common interest points, maintain communication | TBD | TBD | TBD | |||
| Analysis of users and Usage of Open Data | Director General, Communications | Collects data, synthesizes and informs Director, Information Services on performance. | TBD | TBD | TBD | |||
| DOG 6.5 | Maximizing the removal of access restrictions on departmental information resources of enduring value prior to transfer to Library and Archives Canada. | Methodology for the removal of access restrictions from data and information resources of enduring value prior to their transfer to the LAC | Director, Information Services, and Departmental Security Officer | Review the existing methodology for the removal of access restrictions and ensure compliance the Open Government licence. If it is the case, create a plan to integrate the changes, validate the plan and obtain approval from the business owners and the CIO. | TBD | Not started | ||
| Methodology for the removal of access restrictions from data and information resources of enduring value prior to their transfer to the LAC is integrated into the Department of Justice disposition plans and procedures. | Director, Information Services, and Departmental Security Officer | Integrate and implement the changes. Disseminate the new methodology. | TBD | Not started | ||||
| DOG 6.6 | Ensuring that open government requirements in sections 6.1 to 6.5 of this directive are integrated in any new plans for procuring, developing, or modernizing departmental information applications, systems, or solutions in support of the delivery of programs and services | Governance structures are in place to ensure that the requirements of the Directive on Open Government are integrated into any new plans for procuring, developing, or modernizing departmental information applications, systems, or solutions. | CIO | Integrate Requirements into Justice Canada new plans for procuring, developing, or modernizing departmental information applications, systems, or solutions | TBD | Not started | ||
| Directive on Open Government requirements are integrated into the Department of Justice procurement process for information applications, systems, and solutions | CIO | Assess and if it the case Integrate Open Government Requirements into Justice Canada procurement process for information applications, systems, and solutions or solutions | TBD | Not started | ||||
| Directive on Open Government requirements are integrated into the Department of Justice development process for information applications, systems, and solutions | CIO | Assess and if it the case integrate Open Government Requirements into Justice Canada development process for information applications, systems, and solutions or solutions | TBD | Not started | ||||
| Directive on Open Government requirements are integrated into the Department of Justice modernizing process for information applications, systems, and solutions | CIO and Director, Information Services | Assess and if it the case integrate Open Government Requirements into Justice Canada development process for modernizing information applications, systems, and solutions. | TBD | Not started | ||||
| DOG 7.1 | Departmental information management senior officials, as designated by the deputy heads, are responsible for overseeing the implementation and monitoring of this directive in their department. | Performance framework for the monitoring of the Department of progress against the activities and deliverables / milestones in the OGIP | Director, Information Services | Consult, validate and establish performance framework to monitor progress against the activities and deliverables / milestones in the OGIP. | TBD | Not started | ||
| Progress against the activities and deliverables / milestones in the OGIP is regularly reported to the governance structures in place to oversee the implementation | Director, Information Services | Implement OGIP performance reporting. | TBD | Not started | ||||
| Performance framework for the monitoring of the Department of Justice ongoing compliance to the requirements of the Directive | Director, Information Services | Analyze existing compliance management frameworks and if it is the case update the existing or develop and integrate the Open Government specific compliance framework. | TBD | Not started | ||||
| Process to ensure significant difficulties, gaps in performance, or compliance issues are reported to the CIO. | Director, Information Services | Analyze existing processes and if it is the case update the existing or develop and integrate the Open Government specific processes to ensure significant difficulties, gaps in performance, or compliance issues are reported to the CIO. | TBD | Not started |