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Open Government Data
Open Government Data is the data that anyone can freely use without technical, financial, or legal constraints. Open Government Data aims to promote transparency, increase citizen participation, improve the efficiency of government services, foster creativity and innovation, create new job and economic opportunities, and merge and use multiple data sources to acquire new knowledge. The Open Government Data can also be re-used and redistributed, taking into account the requirements of the Open Data License under which such data was distributed. Government Open Data helps bridge the gap between governments and citizens. Riyadh Municipality has provided open data for all its visitors through an open library portal that contains several types of data in multiple formats which facilitate processing and reuse, in order to enhance transparency and encourage e-participation. Riyadh Municipality sought to share this data with the beneficiaries through Riyadh Municipality open data portal.
The public benefits from the data provided in different ways, such as:
Acquiring a better understanding of how government agencies work.
Creating opportunities for people to evaluate the performance of various government agencies.
Allows citizens to use the data for research, reports, providing feedback etc..
All government agencies can opt for the open dissemination of their data for various purposes.
Open Data Policy and Regulations
To achieve the principle of transparency and enable citizens in the Kingdom to access a large base of government data, the Kingdom has launched related policies and guidelines.
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is the national regulator of data in Saudi Arabia. SDAIA has developed the Framework for national data governance to set the policies and regulations required for data classification, data sharing, data privacy, freedom of information, open data and others in anticipation of necessary legislation.
Main Principles for Open Data:
Principle 1: Open by Default
Principle 2: Open Format and Machine-Readable
Principle 3: Up to Date
Principle 4: Comprehensive
Principle 5: Non-discriminatory
Principle 6: Free of Charge
Principle 7: KSA Open Data License
Principle 8: For Improved Governance and Citizen Engagement
Principle 9: For Inclusive Development and Innovation
Open Data Standards and Controls :
The National Data Management Office (NDMO) has also adopted Open Data Standards as part of the . The Open Data domain comprises five controls and ten specifications. This domain focuses on providing Saudi citizens access to government information, portraying the process for accessing such information, and the appeal mechanism in the event of a dispute.
Open Data Strategy :
The Open Data Strategy aims to Provide high-value and re-usable Open Data for the nation to increase transparency and foster innovation through collaboration, enabling a data-driven economy. The Strategy Vision is to “Maximize the economic impact of Open Data for the Kingdom.” The Strategy Mission is to “Provide high-value and re-usable Open Data for the nation to increase transparency and foster innovation through collaboration, enabling a data-driven economy.”
This will be accomplished by implementing 8 initiatives and 26 projects, including awareness and capability building, local and international partnerships, and uplifting technology and infrastructure. For more information about the or , please visit the following link.
Open Data License :
The Open License applies to all datasets published on the Open Data Platform. It is a license agreement intended to allow users to freely share, modify, use and reuse the dataset published on the Open Data Portal. Databases can contain a wide variety of types of content (images, audio-visual material, and sounds all in the same database, for example), and so this license only governs the rights over the Database and not the contents of the Database individually. Licensors may therefore wish to use this license together with another license for the contents. Sometimes the contents of a database, or the database itself, can be covered by other rights not addressed here (such as private contracts, trademark over the name, or privacy rights/data protection rights over the information in the contents), and so users are advised that they may have to consult other documents or clear other rights before doing activities not covered by the Open Data License.
The Open Data License allows users to:
To Share: To copy, distribute, use and reuse the dataset.
To Create: To produce works from the dataset.
To Adapt: To modify, transform and build upon the dataset.
Users are obliged to attribute any public use of the dataset or work produced from the dataset in the manner specified in the license. For any use or redistribution of the dataset or works produced from it, users must clarify to others the license of the dataset and keep any notices on the original dataset intact. The open data license allows users to distribute and produce works regarding the dataset, transforming and building upon them. The source should be mentioned in the prescribed manner in the license.
Open Data Platform :
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provides an integrative database of open government data to achieve transparency, encourage electronic participation and stimulate creativity. By disseminating data on ministries and government agencies openly on an Open Data Platform for Government Agencies, citizens can view, use, and benefit from it. The platform enables users to have a central point of access to find, download and use datasets generated by the ministries and governmental entities in the country. Citizens can access a large number of datasets available on the Open Data Platform and search by organizations, groups, tags, or formats of the datasets. They are also encouraged to use the dataset request function to ask government agencies to publish new datasets.
Geospatial Platforms and Services:
Riyadh Municipality has many diverse and multi-sourced data models and geospatial layers, whether sourced from under-secretariats and departments of Riyadh Municipality or from other external parties, Riyadh Municipality works to manage and update them according to the highest international standards. Based on the Riyadh Municipality's keenness to improve the geospatial digital experience, Riyadh Municipality spatial portal has been launched as an interactive cartographic platform specialized in displaying geospatial data for Riyadh Region. The spatial portal includes a large variety of layers and satellite images of high confidentiality and reliability, provided with multiple options and advantages in searching and displaying data, in addition to providing many other geospatial services for employees of Riyadh Region Municipality, Sub-municipalities and the external beneficiaries. You benefit from all the services provided by visiting the spatial gateway. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provides several geospatial portals to enable residents of all cities to benefit from them, including the residents of Riyadh city. The user can benefit from Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data included in the open data platform, the national portal, or through the Riyadh Municipality spatial gateway.
National Data Bank:
NDB is a constellation of objectively interconnected national data platforms that aim to accelerate data sharing, improve national data quality, and instill data as a common denominator for the digital economy in the Kingdom link.
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs):
The Open Data Portal includes Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) from across the government. It is an excellent opportunity for all developers to use these APIs to build new applications and services for all Saudi citizens, residents and businesses. For more information on using Open Data APIs, please see the Open Data Developers API Guide and the Publishers API Guide.
Real-Time Data
Many government platforms offer real-time data, which also provides Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). You can find the list of examples of real-time data platforms which also provide API on the following link.
Open Data Toolkit and Guidelines
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has developed an Open Data Toolkit to facilitate a culture of open data in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to guide government agencies and other entities to understand the basic concepts of Open Data and how to plan and implement an open government data programme. The toolkit provides a comprehensive step-by-step approach to help government agencies how to develop an open data initiative, create their open data strategies and platforms, and release more open data in a simplified manner.
The Open Data Toolkit contains a Data Quality Guideline that provides practical and useful information and guidance for government agencies on creating a dataset, metadata, definition of metadata, basic elements of metadata, use of Open Data License, and publishing the datasets on the Open Data Portal.
Open Data Competitions and events
To facilitate Open Data use and develop a culture of use of open government data for value creation, SDAIA is organising a series of events, hackathons, datathons, and workshops to upgrade knowledge and capabilities in the open data field for government entities, young entrepreneurs, students, and citizens. The events cover various topics related to open data, such as the value of open data, use cases, data management, open data ecosystem, data privacy, and more. The events are focused on increasing the adoption of open data culture and promoting wider sharing of data through practical exercises and study of international best practices on identifying, sharing and using open data link.
Success stories of open data
The government calls on all citizens to take advantage of the available datasets through the open data platform, including APIs, to support the development of innovative applications and services that serve the community and enhance the quality of life. For more details, please visit the link.
Open Data Use Cases
The government encourages all citizens to use the available datasets on the open data platform, which includes APIs to build new applications and services for Saudi citizens. Please visit the following link to find more information about use cases and applications built on the basis of open government data. You can also submit your use case using the following link
Request Datasets
Users (citizens, residents, visitors, researchers, etc.) can freely request that government agencies publish new datasets using the dataset request function. Users are not obliged to provide justification for the request. All Government agencies that will receive such requests are obliged to inform the user about the outcome of the request. Riyadh Municipality also made it possible for the beneficiary to obtain data in various formats by submitting an open data request
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Last Update:
05/14/2025
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