Open Data opening Ukraine

$ 700 million in annual revenue, the ability to check the car for its VIN number and the free flow of non-personal data – this and other “spoilers” of today’s Open Data Forum in our brief review.

The goal of the Open Data Forum, which took place on September 7 in Kyiv, is to create a platform for a joint search for opportunities for the effective use of the potential of open data and the discussion of trends and innovations in international practice. The event was organized by the State Agency for Electronic Government of Ukraine in partnership with the Eurasia Foundation’s Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services Program / TAPAS, supported by USAID and UK AID.

Andrii Sheveleiv, an Association Development Expert, went to the event and heard some interesting news.
Susan Fritz, Regional Director for USAID in Ukraine and Belarus, noted the economic, social and anti-corruption effects of open data. In particular, according to the results of the project “Transparency and accountability in public administration and services” survey , the open data in 2017 brought to the economy of Ukraine 700 million dollars or 0.67% of the country’s GDP. Full research results are available at the link.

Gianfranco Cecconi, Head of Insight & Data Consulting Capgemini, EU’s European Data Portal Manager, noted the progress of Ukraine in the field of open data and recalled that the Digital Agenda for Europe aims to introduce a free flow of non-personal data.

Special attention of the leasing community was attracted by the speech of the Head of the Main Service Center (MSC) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Vladislav Krikliy. He told about the opening of data on primary registration of cars about what the Ukrainian association of lessors informed last week. In Mr. Krikliy’s opinion, all data that does not fall under the criterion of personal data should be disclosed. Also, answering the question why the information on cars is still not attached to VIN numbers (a unique identifier number placed on the car at the time of manufacturing), the head of the MSC Ministry of Internal Affairs informed the sensational news – this information will be available shortly, in particular, with the help of VIN number it will be possible to find out:

  • Records of all owners of the vehicle (from the initial registration).
  • Vehicle accident history.
  • Records about official service.

All these and other additional services will be available to users of the E-cabinet on the site of the GTS MIA on a fee basis.

Oleksiy Goncharuk, Head of the Office of Effective Governance, emphasized that the global trend towards data openness has triggered the onset of the Reputation Economy, when reputation and information determine the success of the business, its value and commitment of consumers who are ready or not ready to “vote” for the company and its products in money and through information channels.

The Ukrainian Union of Lessors consistently advocate maximum openness of data and the penetration of Open Data into all areas of business, lawmaking and regulatory activity. Open data are also important in the field of leasing, primarily for the purpose of developing a civilized leasing market, countering fraud and combating corruption.