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 progress on the delivery of transparent and accountable programs and services focused on the needs of Canadians.
The proactive release of data and information 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.
This document describes Transport Canada’s plan to complete activities and deliverables aligned to the requirements of the Directive on Open Government, supporting the move to “open by default.” Transport Canada has been a leader in this move to Open Government, through its participation in the pilot phase of the Open Data Stream beginning in 2010 and its proactive release of data to the Open Data Portal.
Transport Canada’s plan to implement Open Government is outcomes-based and focuses on greater transparency, increased engagement with Canadians, opportunities for innovation, data quality and efficiencies, and improved access to information. The department recognizes challenges associated with achieving these outcomes, including a significant culture shift to transition to “open by default” and the potential for significant time and effort to be spent identifying and assessing the data and information for release. Opportunities exist along with these challenges, to streamline business processes and standardize data.
Critical to the success of Open Government implementation at Transport Canada, is a strong governance structure and engagement at all levels of the department. The governance structure for Open Government is aligned to Transport Canada’s Integrated Decision Making Framework for governance under the Program Alignment Architecture. The structure has received formal endorsement from the departmental Executive Management Committee (TMX) and is part of its renewed IM/IT governance model. Transport Canada has established both an Open Government Steering Committee, with representation from business and IM/IT as its governing body with the necessary influence and authority to ensure that the department can successfully meet Open Government commitments, and an Open Data Working Group to support the Open Government Steering Committee and develop the deliverables associated with the Open Data requirements. Future working groups will be established to support Open Information and Open Dialogue.
Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) has identified 34 distinct deliverables/milestones that each department is required to implement to achieve the objectives of the Directive on Open Government. TBS has allowed a 5 year implementation period, with the focus in the initial years on Open Data and Open Information. In Year 1 (ending ) Transport Canada has committed to developing this plan (OGIP) and the Methodology for establishing a data inventory. The focus for Year 2 will be on creating Transport Canada’s data inventory and identifying associated descriptive elements, including release criteria. Year 3 will focus on formalizing the release process to support the publication of data and start the work for the information inventory. Along with these key deliverables, Transport Canada will develop the supporting infrastructure to ensure Open Government is implemented according to TBS requirements and to achieve the stated outcomes.
Open Government is a significant initiative for Transport Canada and the department is committed to achieving the outcomes through the initiatives and activities identified in this plan. Open Government will assist Transport Canada to meet its responsibilities for Canada’s transportation policies and programs through increased transparency and recognizing potential for innovative use of data for program and service delivery.
2. Approvals
(Original signed by DM)
Jean-François Tremblay
Deputy Minister
Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
Signed on .
Date
(Original signed by DG)
Richard Thivierge
Director General – Technology and Information Management Services Directorate and Chief Information Officer
Corporate Services Group Transport Canada
Transport Canada
Government of Canada
Information Management Senior Official
Signed on .
Date
3. Purpose
This document describes Transport Canada’s (TC) plan to complete activities and deliverables aligned to the requirements of the Directive on Open Government, in order to achieve full compliance by the implementation deadline.
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 (Section 5.2) 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.
4. Context
The context for Open Government at TC includes the mandate and vision, population and regional distribution, technological environment, and TC’s role in facilitating Open Government to date. These factors and others will present both challenges and opportunities for TC during the implementation of the Directive on Open Government.
Mandate and Vision
TC’s organizational context, as outlined in the 2015-16 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) Footnote 1 is as follows (verbatim from the RPP):
Raison d’être
The movement of people and goods lies at the cornerstone of our modern and interconnected world. Canadians expect to be able to travel and expedite goods locally, across the country or around the world in an efficient, clean, safe and secure manner. Canada’s transportation system meets the challenges posed by topography and geography, linking communities and reducing the effects of the distance that separates people. These vital roles reflect transportation’s interdependent relationship with all sectors of the economy and society.
Our vision
A transportation system in Canada that is recognized worldwide as safe and secure, efficient and environmentally responsible.
Transport Canada’s vision of a sustainable transportation system integrates social, economic and environmental objectives. Our vision’s three guiding principles are to work towards:
- The highest possible safety and security of life and property, supported by performance-based standards and regulations;
- The efficient movement of people and goods to support economic prosperity and a sustainable quality of life, based on competitive markets and targeted use of regulation and government funding; and
- Respect of the environmental legacy of future generations of Canadians, guided by environmental assessment and planning processes in transportation decisions and selective use of regulation and government funding.
Responsibilities
Transport Canada is responsible for the Government of Canada’s transportation policies and programs. The Department develops legislative and regulatory frameworks, and conducts transportation oversight through legislative, regulatory, surveillance and enforcement activities. While not directly responsible for all aspects or modes of transportation, the Department plays a leadership role to ensure that all parts of the transportation system across Canada work together effectively.
TC has sole responsibility for matters such as aviation safety and security; for other matters, it shares responsibility with other government departments, and provincial, territorial and municipal governments. TC works with trading partners and international organizations to understand and harmonize policy and administrative frameworks, so as to protect Canadian users of the global transportation system while encouraging efficiency.
In areas for which TC does not have direct responsibility—for example, for building and maintaining road networks—the department uses strategic funding and partnerships to promote the safe, efficient and environmentally responsible movement of people and goods into and across the country. In this way, TC plays a leadership role to ensure that all parts of the transportation system across Canada and worldwide work together effectively and efficiently.
Population and Regional Distribution
TC’s population and regional distribution, as of March 2015, as per the Population of the Federal Public Service by Department and Region Footnote 2 is as follows:
- Total employee population: 5205
- Regional distribution: Newfoundland – 93; Prince Edward Island – 7, Nova Scotia -125, New Brunswick 202, Quebec – 555, Ontario – 477, National Capital Region – 2753, Manitoba – 262, Saskatchewan – 18, Alberta – 186, British Columbia – 520, Yukon – 3, Northwest Territories – 2, and 2 Abroad.
Technological Environment
TC’s technological environment enables its diverse set of clients and stakeholders to conduct business transactions with TC in a timely, efficient and, where needed, secure and private manner with the goal of facilitating the access, sharing and exchange of information Footnote 3.
TC currently utilizes approximately 130 national applications to deliver its programs and meet its administrative requirements (these are included in the almost 400 applications recorded in TC’s departmental application inventory). These applications run in a mixed environment of LAN based (client-server being TC’s legacy environment) and intranet/Internet Web (predominant platform for all new application development) environments. Thin-client technology (Citrix XEN Server) has been rolled out to facilitate access to Enterprise applications. There are approximately 5,500 personal computers (PCs) installed and the corporate back-end infrastructure has been managed by SSC since 2011 Footnote 4.
TC’s role in facilitating Open Government
As an early adopter and participant in the Government of Canada’s Open Data activities, TC has played a significant role in facilitating Open Government. This has included engagement as part of the pilot phase of the Open Data stream beginning in 2010.
As a result of its work to date, TC has released 8 departmental datasets which are now available to all Canadians on the Open Government Portal. In 2014, the Director General, Technology and Information Management Services and Chief Information Officer and Director General, Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation, were invited to provide remarks regarding departmental Open Data activities to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates in 2014. These comments were considered as part of the resulting Committee report titled “Open Data: The Way of the Future” Footnote 5.
Challenges and Opportunities
Transport Canada’s business environment and organizational context present both specific challenges and distinct opportunities in terms of Open Government. Mitigating these challenges will be fundamental to meeting federal government requirements and leveraging the potential benefits which can be achieved.
| Challenges | Opportunities | |
|---|---|---|
| Culture shift | A significant culture shift will be required to transition departmental business areas to operating as “open by default” and will therefore require the identification and implementation of standard processes to ensure success. | Opportunities will exist for TC to proactively improve institutional transparency and accountability. This Open Government objective represents an enhancement to traditional federal government mechanisms which support the public release of information / data (e.g. Proactive disclosure and Access to Information). |
| Regional distribution | The department’s national structure across multiple regions will increase the level of complexity when horizontally implementing standard Open Government processes. Strong governance will be essential to meeting objectives. | Opportunities may exist to streamline national business processes. |
| Data identification | Developing a complete departmental dataset inventory will require significant time and resources. Challenges include the overall volume of departmental data and the diverse sources of the data. | As result of broad engagement of internal business areas and stakeholders required to identify data, opportunities will exist for TC to maximize the release of departmental information and data, and to optimize its overall value and reusability. |
| Release processes | Standardization and prioritization will be required to ensure that datasets and information are fully and consistently reviewed prior to public release. When releasing data and information, TC must ensure to mitigate all challenges related to the release process, such as protecting the privacy of Canadian citizens and to ensure commercial or proprietary information is not released into the public domain. | Clearly identified standard release processes and appropriate resource allocation will likely present opportunities to prevent risks such as Privacy Act breaches, which could occur due to the possible pairing of information between datasets. |
| Data ownership | In order to meet objectives, business areas at TC often work horizontally using shared data across numerous applications. In some cases, identifying the “real” business owners of datasets and information may be complex. | Opportunities may exist to streamline applications and leverage data more effectively in support of business priorities. |
| Capacity and resources | The department will need to closely consider its capacity to address the number of potential questions that may be received from both internal and external stakeholders.
As implementation activities increase, the level of resources required to support Open Government will require consistent monitoring and evaluation in order to meet expectations. In addition, the investment required to prepare datasets for release in useable formats may be very high and will include the need to assess whether TC is collecting the right data for the right purposes; for example, ensuring consistent elements across datasets will be an important part of meeting this challenge. |
As a result of ensuring consistent elements across datasets, there may be opportunities to achieve efficiencies based on standardization. |
5. Outcomes
In developing its Open Government Implementation Plan, Transport Canada has considered a variety of factors to assess the benefits and outcomes which may be achieved. As a result, the department’s Open Government priorities and activities will generally consider the following streams as part of the outcomes it seeks to attain: Citizens; Industry; and Economy.
The following diagram provides an overview of elements and objectives which relate to the aforementioned streams:
Figure 1: Transport Canada – Open Government Outcome Streams and Considerations – Text version
Industry (from top to bottom):
- Opportunities for service enhancement
- Reduced technology costs (3rd party apps)
- Data can be leveraged to reduce costs and grow business
- Stronger relationship with the public sector
Citizens (from top to bottom):
- Benefits from greater public sector transparency and private sector competition
- Opportunities to use data/information for personal gain
- Improved Service Offerings
- Increased dialogue and accessibility to government bodies
Economy (from top to bottom):
- Stimulates new private sector business opportunities
- Increased technology sector employment
- Reliable, accessible, data fosters increased competition
- Greater public sector transparency supports economic growth and stability
As many as thirty-four (34) specific deliverables and milestones are designed to support Open Government at Transport Canada as identified in Planning Table A of this document. Implementing these deliverables / milestones will be foundational to supporting the overall outcomes of this initiative, and to maximizing its potential related benefits.
As opportunities are identified over the course of implementing its 5-year Open Government Implementation Plan, TC will seek to achieve outcomes in the following areas which best align with its mandate, vision, priorities, and business environment:
- “Open by Default” – Greater transparency and accessibility to TC data/information: TC will seek to move to an “Open by Default” business culture in support of Open Government. Proactively increasing the accessibility of external stakeholders to transportation related data that is in high demand will facilitate business activities and enable stronger relationships. Identifying the data and information which is a priority to Canadians will both help increase departmental accountability and foster potential socio-economic benefits. Development of renewal processes to maintain the currency of TC’s data/information will ensure that stakeholders and the public have access to timely, up-to-date information on the department.
- Increased engagement with Canadians: Increasing the department’s level of outreach and direct consultation/collaboration with citizens and the private sector will be examined. Examples of potential benefits to the department include:
- Simplified engagement and consultation processes using Government of Canada technologies and standards; and
- Insights gained from potential consumers of departmental information, which in turn will enable the department to gain an increased understanding of stakeholders needs. This will help ensure the reusability and value of information which is released.
- Innovative solutions: Developing innovative solutions in support of program and service delivery to Canadians will be considered. For example, the potential may exist for TC to make links between identified datasets and to create new applications and/or tools which leverage Open Government data/information, based on these findings. Also, as a result of making quality data available to researchers, more research can be generated leading to greater innovation. The following figure shows some innovative usage of data across the world in the transportation sectors.
Figure 2: Global Examples – Transportation Sector Open Data Usage 
Figure 2: Global Examples – Transportation Sector Open Data Usage – Text version
- A Deloitte study commissioned by the UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills, demonstrated and annual savings of £58m for customers resulting from Transport for London’s open data initiatives
- EMT in Madrid has used Open Data to build a “Smart City” which links transportation data with other city elements (e.g. Traffic, parking, waste)
- The U.S. National Centre for Transit Research used open data to improve planning and operations
- The Transport Canada Vehicles Recalls dataset was used to develop CAN Fuel, a mobile application which provides information about vehicles fuel efficiency
- Rennes Métropole (France) has developed 40 mobile apps using open data to improve bus and metro services
- Map applications from Google and Bing use open data to enable features such a trip planning
- The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation used open data to access citizen accessibility to jobs using public transit
- STM in Montreal has a participated in local Hack-a-thons to build relationship and identify new innovations for service delivery
- Transport for London’s open data feeds have used to produce hundreds of apps used by millions of citizens across various modes of transportation (=IT savings)
- Quality and Efficiencies: Government of Canada platforms for Open Government likely will present the potential for the department to reduce the costs that are traditionally associated with publishing data/information for public consumption. Achieving efficiencies in this area will be considered as part of internal Open Government standards and processes which are developed. Investments in the development of processes and standards to prepare data for release will result in improvements to data quality.
- Strengthening Information Management (IM): Strong information and data management practices are key to supporting Open Government initiatives and ensuring that departmental data/information can be identified and consistently released. TC will consider all mechanisms for continued growth in this area as part of its IM Strategic Plan, IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan, and IM awareness program.
- Culture change: Inherently, Open Government will result in a shift in the way in which government institutions consider and use information / data. An evolving workforce and increased adoption of new technologies and social media platforms will present potential ways to enhance the way in which TC delivers its programs and services. TC will work to build internal awareness of Open Government benefits by engaging and communicating with internal stakeholders.
- Facilitating access to information: The Access to Information process is significant to supporting departmental transparency. TC will consider possibilities to streamline the level of effort that is traditionally associated with Access to Information requests by proactively making data / information of popular interest publicly available. Potential to do so will be considered as the department moves forward and gains a better understanding in this area.
6. Governance Structures and Decision Processes
The following sub-sections describe the governance structures and decision processes that support Open Government and how those responsibilities are delegated and fulfilled within the institution.
The governance of TC’s Open 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.
TC’s governance structure for Open Government has received formal endorsement from the departmental Executive Management Committee (TMX), chaired by the Deputy Head, and is part of its renewed IM/IT governance model. TC has established two formal governance committees:
- Open Government Steering Committee, with representation from business and IM/IT as its governing body with the necessary influence and authority to ensure that the department can successfully meet the Government of Canada’s commitments for Open Government;
- Open Data Working Group to support the Open Government Steering Committee and develop the deliverables associated with the Open Data requirements.
Open Government Steering Committee
In alignment with TC’s Integrated Decision Making Framework for governance under the Program Alignment Architecture, the Open Government Steering Committee operates as a “Supporting Committee” of the Transport Executive Management Committee (TMX). The Steering Committee supports overall horizontal integrated decision-making at the department for Open Government, and Members share a collective responsibility to contribute expertise and guidance to address relevant issues.
Figure 3: Transport Canada’s Integrated Decision Making Framework – Text version
From top to bottom
- TMX
On the left: Individual Responsibilities (Organizational Structure)
- ADM / DG / RDG to Individual Areas of Responsibility: People Management, Internal Communications, Business Delivery, Accommodations and Workplace issues.
- ADM / DG / RDG to Management Committees have communication of issues and feedback with Directors and Managers then all employees.
On the right: Collective Responsibilities (PAA Structure)
- Strategic Outcome Boards to Collective Areas of Responsibility: Values and Ethics, how resources are determined and allocated, Operational Policies, HR Strategies and change management initiative.
- Strategic Outcome Boards to Program Business Committees have communication of issues and decisions with Directors and Managers and then all employees.
Middle:
- Supporting Committees: Open Government Steering Committee to Management Committees and Program Business Committees.
The Open Government Steering Committee is chaired by the Director General, Technology and Information Management Services Directorate and Chief Information Officer (DG TIMSD/CIO). The DG TIMSD/CIO is also the departmental IM Senior Official (IMSO), who is responsible for meeting the requirements of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Directive on Open Government. This includes an obligation to establish formal departmental governance structures and decision processes that support Open Government.
As required, the Steering Committee feeds into related TC senior executive committees and is linked to departmental Program Business Committees (PBC’s) by way of its decision-making flow for the assessment and public release of datasets and information. The following diagram provides further details on the Steering Committee’s Governance Relationship Model.
Figure 4: Transport Canada Open Government Governance Relationship Model – Text version
TC Open Government: Governance Relationship Model
- Open Data Working Group
- Conducts preliminary assessment of data sets in data inventory using TC Release Criteria Checklist
- Communicates with Business Owner regarding assessment results for data set(s) in inventory.
- Business owner
- Communicates assessment results for data set(s) in inventory to Program Business Committee for review and validation (based on guidance from the Open Data Working Group).
- Program Business Committee
- Reviews assessment results for data set(s) in inventory
- Provides approval on whether to support release of data set(s) based on business considerations
- Documents decision
PBC communicates decision to Business Owner
Business Owner communicates PBC decision to ODWG
- Open Data Working Group
- Evaluates data set(s) from technical standpoint to determine level of effort and risks to release (e.g. data quality, metadata language, format, etc.)
- Updates Departmental Release Schedule based on:
- Prioritization of high value data set(s) for release;
- Assessment of data set(s) based on risk, value, effort, and strategic fit; and
- Identification of resource requirements
Sends updated Release Schedule and points/issues requiring decision (e.g. Legal, Security, data aggregation, etc.) for review and approval to the Open Government Steering Committee
- Open Government Steering Committee
- Reviews and makes recommendations on the Departmental Release Schedule and points/issues which require decisions.
Recommendations on Release Schedule and points/issues are discussed with the IMSO.
- DG TIMSD, CIO, IMSO
- Provides final approval for Release Schedule and makes decisions based on Open Government Steering Committee recommendations.
- Provides final approval for public release of TC data set(s) (joint sign-off by IMSO and Business Owner)
- Sends authorisation email to Treasury Board Secretariat to release data set(s)
- Senior Management governance forums (TMX, ISMB, etc.)
- As required, major items for decision and/or updates are presented to TC senior management governance forums
- IMSO provides bi-annual updates on Open Government
The mandate of the Open Government Steering Committee is to provide a forum for discussions, evaluations, and resolution of questions/issues related to Open Government initiatives at TC.
The Steering Committee meets this mandate by:
- Providing strategic direction on Open Government at TC, ensuring that related departmental activities are aligned with organizational priorities and that “open by default” requirements are integrated into program operations and business culture.
- Acting as the senior advisory and priority setting forum for Open Government at TC, including the provision of recommendations and guidance related to:
- TC’s Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP);
- Annual updates on OGIP progress;
- Data and information release schedules and prioritization;
- Resourcing and sustainability; and
- Risks/issues that require a senior management decision to proceed.
- Identifying and selecting Members for related working groups which are required to support TC’s Open Government initiatives on specific streams (i.e. Open Data, Open Information, and Open Dialogue);
- Referring major items with significant department-wide impacts requiring a senior executive decision to the appropriate TC senior management governance committees (TMX and/or SOMB’s/ISMB); and
- Providing guidance to departmental Program Business Committees regarding Open Government roles and responsibilities.
Open Data Working Group
The TC Open Data Working Group is a department-wide committee with representation from business and IM/IT. Membership is composed of Managers/Chiefs that have the knowledge of the business unit, access to the business resources, and the authority to collaborate required to ensure the identification and implementation of activities needed to support the maximum release of open data at Transport Canada. The Working Group is chaired by the Chief, Data Management Infostructure, in the IM Branch of TIMSD.
The mandate of the Open Data Working Group is to:
- Provide input and make recommendations to the TC Open Government Steering Committee on the activities required to meet the Directive on Open Government requirements relating to open data (data inventory, data release processes, guidelines on formats, evaluation criteria, inquiry response processes, and other initiatives as required; and
- Participate in the Data Inventory and Data Release processes, once defined.
Open Information and Open Dialogue
Moving forward, TC intends to establish additional Working Groups in support of the Open Information and Open Dialogue streams. Committee mandates and membership will be established upon creation of these governance forums.
6.1 Roles and Responsibilities – Deputy Head and Information Management Senior Official
The Deputy Head chairs the departmental Executive Management Committee, to which the Open Government Steering Committee is a supporting committee. The Deputy Head is has overall accountability for Open Government implementation at Transport Canada and is the key signatory for approval of this Open Government Implementation Plan.
The IM Senior Official and Chair of the Open Government Steering Committee is responsible for:
- Meeting the requirements of the Directive on Open Government and reporting to the Deputy Head any “significant difficulties, gaps in performance, or compliance issues.” Footnote 6;
- Making decisions on Open Government initiatives, risks, and issues based on the recommendations of Members of the Steering Committee;
- Providing final approval for the public release of departmental data sets and information, and authorization to the Treasury Board Secretariat to do so on behalf of TC;
- Providing final approval for data/information release schedules;
- Providing progress updates to TC senior management committees; and
- Escalating major risks and items for decision as identified by Steering Committee Members to the attention of TC senior executive committees (TMX and/or SOMB’s/ISMB).
6.2 Roles and Responsibilities – Key Stakeholders
Open Government Steering Committee Members are responsible for:
- Supporting the Information Management Senior Official to ensure the successful implementation of the Directive on Open Government Footnote 7 at TC, and to meet any applicable commitments identified for the department in Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government Footnote 8;
- Providing advice and input on the development of the TC Open Government Implementation Plan, as well as annual updates to the Plan;
- Reviewing, providing advice, and priority setting on:
- Initiatives related to Open Government at TC;
- Risks and issues related to the public release of data and information; and
- Data/information release schedules and prioritization; and
- Resourcing and sustainability for Open Government initiatives;
- Actively supporting the goal of “open by default” for all data and information in their program / functional area;
- Identifying and selecting Members for related working groups which are required to support TC’s Open Government initiatives on specific streams (i.e. Open Data, Open Information, and Open Dialogue); and
- Appointing a delegate at a minimum EX-01 (or equivalent level) to participate in their place, when unable to attend a meeting of the Steering Committee.
Open Government Steering Committee membership includes key stakeholders from Information Management, Access to Information and Privacy, Departmental Security, Legal Services, Communications and all TC Business areas.
Open Data Working Group members are responsible for:
- Participating in the identification of activities required to produce the deliverables/milestones relating to open data commitments.
- Conducting the activities required to deliver on the open data commitments.
- Consult with their respective organizations as required to:
- promote open data
- gather input for the development of the open data release processes
- identify, prioritize, prepare, and submit data as per the open data process
Open Data Working Group membership includes key stakeholders as nominated by the Open Government Steering Committee members.
6.3 Communication, Awareness, and Engagement
Transport Canada has developed an internal communication and engagement strategy to support the execution of the Open Government Implementation Plan. The primary objectives of the strategy are to:
- Raise senior management awareness of Open Government and its implications for Transport Canada.
- Engage key business stakeholders to:
- Develop the departmental Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP);
- Participate in governance forums;
- Contribute input towards the development of supporting processes;
- Integrate “open by default” requirements into program operations;
- Create departmental assessment and release procedures;
- Develop an initial inventory of datasets eligible for OG release; and
- Obtain datasets and information for public release.
- Communicate relevant information to all TC employees.
The audiences for the communications and engagement include:
- all TC employees;
- TC executives and senior management committees (TMX, Business IM/IT Council);
- Key business stakeholders (programs, Legal Services, ATIP, Communications, Security etc.);
- Technology and Information Management Services Directorate (TIMSD) staff; and
- Regional IM/IT staff
A three-phased communications approach will be taken to raise awareness and communicate updates and impacts, as follows:
- Phase I to raise awareness about Open Government and its impact to Transport Canada
- Phase II to communicate Transport Canada’s Open Government Implementation Plan and its impacts to departmental operations.
- Phase III to provide regular updates on Transport Canada’s Open Government initiatives and the impacts on departmental operations.
Additional communications approaches will be planned as part of the development of the Release Processes to support the publication of Data and Information. This could include communications to external stakeholders, including other partnering government departments and agencies and, potentially, industry associations.
7. Planning Table
Several planning assumptions have been made to support the development of TC’s Open Government Implementation Plan, including: defining an initial resourcing model for all activities; alignment to TBS prescribed dates; and the dependency on guidance from TBS.
Resourcing
Transport Canada has defined a core formula for costing the Open Government Implementation Plan activities based on the establishment of a Core Team for Open Government and the Governance bodies.
- Open Government Core Team
-
The IM group at TC will staff a team to coordinate all the Open Government Implementation Plan activities. This core team is expected to be composed of one AS-04 Coordinator (average salary $66,082) and two AS-02 Assistants (average salary $56,400) with a projected annual cost for this team is approximately $178,882.
- Governance Bodies
-
For the purposes of this Plan, Transport Canada has evaluated the level of effort of the Governance body members, composed of key stakeholders and subject matter experts, as follows:
- Open Government Steering Committee
-
annual cost for this Committee is $19,200 – based on: (12 members from all TC business lines) x (average EX-2 starting salary $130,000 / 52 weeks / 37.5 hours = 66.66 per hour) x (2 hours per month) x (12 months)
- Open Data Working Group
-
annual cost for this Committee is $42,696 – based on: (15 members from all TC business lines) x (average Chief/PM6 salary $92,500 / 52 weeks / 37.5 hours = 47.43 per hour) x (5 hours per month) x (12 months)
- Data Owners
-
Regarding activities that will require the input and participation from the TC business lines/data owners (e.g. data inventory collection, and future Working Groups), TC is not able to quantify this effort at this time but it is recognized that the effort to process data and information for release is not insignificant.
As previously stated, TC intends to potentially establish additional Working Groups in support of the Open Information and Open Dialogue streams. Resourcing requirements for these governance bodies will be determined upon establishment.
Open Government Implementation Plan Dates
The dates provided by TBS for the delivery of Open Government Implementation deliverables/milestones are as follows:
- Year 1 is from (the Directive’s effective date) to
- Year 2 is from to
- Year 3 is from to
- Year 4 is from to
- Year 5 is from to
Guidance from TBS
All the deliverables and milestones listed in the following Planning Table have been prescribed by TBS in their “Guidance Guidance on Using the Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) Template Footnote 9.” Changes to the plan may be required as further guidance is received from TBS.
Planning Table A – Directive on Open Government (DOG) Requirements
| DOG Reference | Compliance Requirement | Deliverables / Milestones | Dependencies | Lead | Activities | Start Date | End Date | Resources (HR 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 | 1. Transport Canada’s Data Release Plan | 6, 10 | IM |
|
(Year 3) | NOTE: resources (HR and Financial) for each deliverable/milestone are applied as per the TC Open Government Resourcing Model (see Planning Assumptions above) | ||
| 2. Transport Canada’s Information Release Plan | 7, 9 | IM |
|
(Year 4) | |||||
| 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 | 3. Listing of accessible and reusable formats (for data and information) to be used at Transport Canada | IM |
|
Data Information |
Data (Year 3) Information (Year 4) |
|||
| 4. Conversion protocol(s) for data identified for release whose native format is not accessible and reusable | IM |
|
(Year 3) | ||||||
| 5. Conversion protocol(s) for information identified for release whose native format is not accessible and reusable | 11 | IM |
|
(Year 4) | |||||
| 6. Release process to support the publication of Transport Canada’s data | 3 | IM |
|
(Year 3) | |||||
| 7. Release process to support the publication of Transport Canada’s information | 4 | IM |
|
(Year 4) | |||||
| 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) | 8. Methodology for establishing a data inventory | IM |
|
(Year 1) | Complete October 2015 | |||
| 9. Methodology for establishing an information inventory | IM |
|
(Year 3) | ||||||
| 10. Data inventory (detailed, itemized list(s) that describe the volume, scope and complexity of the data held by Transport Canada) | 8 | IM |
|
(Year 2) | |||||
| 11. Information inventory (detailed, itemized list(s) that describe the volume, scope and complexity of the data held by Transport Canada) | 9 | IM |
|
(Year 4) | |||||
| 12. Renewal processes(s) to maintain the currency of Transport Canada’s data inventory |
|
(Year 4) | |||||||
| 13. Renewal processes(s) to maintain the currency of Transport Canada’s information inventory | IM |
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(Year 5) | ||||||
| 14. Assets included in the data inventory are evaluated to determine their eligibility and priority for release | 6 |
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(Year 3) | ||||||
| 15. Assets included in the information inventory are evaluated to determine their eligibility and priority for release | 7 | IM |
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(Year 4) | |||||
| DOG 6.4 | Developing, posting to the designated website, implementing, and annually updating a departmental Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) | 16. Governance structures are in place to oversee the implementation of activities within Transport Canada ’s OGIP | IM | (Year 1) | Complete July 2015 | ||||
| 17. Transport Canada’s Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) | IM | (Year 1) | Complete October 2015 | ||||||
| 18. Signatures in section 2 (Approvals) of Transport Canada’s OGIP | 17 | IM | (Year 1) | Complete October 2015 | |||||
| 19. Transport Canada’s OGIP is staffed and funded | 17 | IM |
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(Year 2) | |||||
| 20. Monitoring and reporting processes for assessing progress and maintaining the currency of Transport Canada’s OGIP | 17 | IM |
|
(Year 2) | |||||
| 21. Transport Canada’s first annual update to the OGIP | IM |
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| 22. Transport Canada’s second annual update to the OGIP | IM |
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|||||||
| 23. Transport Canada’s third annual update to the OGIP | IM |
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|||||||
| 24. Transport Canada’s fourth annual update to the OGIP | IM |
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| DOG 6.5 | Maximizing the removal of access restrictions on departmental information resources of enduring value prior to transfer to Library and Archives Canada. (LAC) | 25. Methodology for the removal of access restrictions from data and information resources of enduring value (IREV) prior to their transfer to the LAC | LAC | IM |
|
(Year 3) | |||
| 26. 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 Transport Canada’s disposition plans and procedures. | LAC | IM |
|
(Year 4) | |||||
| 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 | 27. Governance structures are in place to oversee the implementation of open government requirements in any new plans for procuring, developing, or modernizing departmental information applications, systems, or solutions | 3 | IM |
|
(Year 3) | |||
| 28. Directive on Open Government requirements are integrated into Transport Canada’s procurement, process(es) for applications, systems, and solutions | 3 | IM |
|
(Year 4) | |||||
| 29. Directive on Open Government requirements are integrated into Transport Canada’s, development process(es) for applications, systems, and solutions | 3 | IM |
|
(Year 4) | |||||
| 30. Directive on Open Government requirements are integrated into Transport Canada’s modernizing process(es) for applications, systems, and solutions | 3 | IM |
|
(Year 4) | |||||
| 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. | 31. Performance framework for the monitoring of Transport Canada’s progress against the activities and deliverables / milestones in the OGIP | 17 | IM |
|
Complete | |||
| 32. Progress against the activities and deliverables / milestones in the OGIP is regularly reported to the governance structures in place to oversee the implementation | IM |
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Ongoing | ||||||
| 33. Performance framework for the monitoring of Transport Canada’s ongoing compliance to the requirements of the Directive | IM |
|
Complete | ||||||
| 34. Process to ensure significant difficulties, gaps in performance, or compliance issues are reported to the Deputy Head (DH) | IM |
|
Ongoing |