To encourage constructive dialogue between the public and private sectors

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Achieving fair and open access to PSI to
maximise benefits from re-use

• To encourage constructive dialogue between the
  public and private sectors
• To share our knowledge at the EU level
• To support good practice and help expose the
  consequences of bad practice
• To brief EU politicians about the need to
  enforce existing policy or secure policy change

Michael Nicholson Nikolaus Futter 11th Meeting
of PSI Group, Luxembourg 6th May 2008
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Why is this important

• Information access and connectivity leads to
  national wealth creation
• Government policies or attitudes can prevent this
  happening
• Disconnect between the national interest and
  the public sector interest
• The UKs Office of Fair Trading points to closed
  PSI access policies causing substantial economic
  detriment to the economy
• Citizens Internet competence, understanding and
  expectations growing exponentially. Government
  must facilitate this
• About 70 of information used in education,
  business and the professions passes through
  government at some point of its lifecycle
• Ordnance Survey claims its maps provide Eur 130
  211 billion of gross added value

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An under-exploited marketplace
The eager entrepreneur
The PSI Treasure
What is available?
Reasonable Terms?
Effective Appeal process?
Fair competition?
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The PSI Gate-keeper
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Our wish list

• Clarity about what PSI is available
• Terms aimed at maximising re-use
• Clarity over the remit of the PSI producers
• A level competitive playing-field
• A review process that is relatively swift, low
  cost, open, adequately independent and robust
• Transparent outcomes, properly implemented within
  a realistic timetable

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The most important barrier?

• The threat of unfair competition from the PSI
  producer itself
• The PSI producer public task is normally poorly
  defined
• Can be encouraged to exploit own PSI
• Uses cross-subsidy to replicate existing market
  products
• PSI coverage mission-creep.
• Cover commercial product cost from revenue from
  public task activities
• Too easy to justify new developments in public
  interest

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The economic cost to the public sector

• Protective licensing can be complex to develop
  and manage
• Operational atrophy. Data sharing becomes
  difficult
• Higher cost of disseminating information
• Duplicated effort
• Investment in unnecessary or higher-cost
  activities

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The economic cost to the private sector

• Complex licensing restricts your market
• Less experimentation . Why take the risk?
• Risk of wasted investment
• Higher cost of negotiating and managing licensing
  arrangements
• Less economically efficient. Less competition.
  Higher cost.

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The economic cost to the citizen

• Knowledge is available but inaccessible
• Time wasting?
• Loss of job-opportunities?
• Higher taxes than necessary?
• Less choice?
• Economic inefficiency?

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The PSI Alliance an agent for improvement and
change

• To share our knowledge at the EU level. To
  support good practice by PSI producers and help
  expose the consequences of bad practice
• To brief politicians at EU and member state level
  about the need to enforce existing policy or
  secure policy change
• To encourage constructive dialogue between the
  public and private sectors
• Specifically to reinforce efforts to strengthen
  the Directive for the Re-Use of PSI
• To secure a more dynamic, open and fairer
  market-place for PSI re-use
• To help the EU knowledge economy develop

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PSI AllianceEmail info_at_psialliance.eu or
harriet_at_quintuspa.com