Celebrating the Federal Government's OGP Commitments

One of our objectives is to create an enabling data environment for the nonprofit sector. This means making sure all of the different stakeholders in the sector have access to the data they need to make informed decisions.

We have made some great strides over the past three years. Datasets we have helped to “liberate” include the Canadian Revenue Agency T3010 tax forms, gaming records of the BC government, and granting records of several key funders in Canada.

Now we have a new item to add to that list.

The federal government recently announced the commitments in their Third Biennial Plan to the Open Government Partnership. We are proud to report that the proposal we submitted as part of the earlier consultation process was adopted. 80 organizations and individuals in the nonprofit sector stepped forward to support it, making it the highest voted on proposal in the consultation.

There are 22 commitments in the plan. Our proposal forms the basis of Commitment 11: Increase Transparency of Grants and Contributions Funding. We’re excited to work with the open government team to ensure that they capture important information about federal funding, and make that data available to the nonprofit sector. Data elements that we are hoping make it into the standard include consistent reporting of the business number of the recipient, the aim of the funding, the expected location of the project, and the intended beneficiaries. Of course, all of this should be available in machine readable format through the open data portal.

In short, this commitment is great news, as it will continue the process of opening up the crucial data the sector needs to have an enabling environment for its work.