About

The Riyadh Open Data Team (ODT) is a unit inside the Data Management Office (DMO) of the RCRC. The DMO and ODT started together and have nourished each other throughout their development.

What assets are brought by the DMO for a quality Open Data service?

The DMO is a unit inside the RCRC that acts like a data hub for the whole organization by:

• Hosting and maintaining data inventories;
• Defining the data classification of all RCRC departments, such as determining what is confidential and what can be made public;
• Organizing the storage and normalization of the data across all departments of the organization.
• Deploying the regulations of the NDMO.
• Creating a data culture inside the organization.

There is no better structure than the DMO for promoting the benefits of opening data to the public inside a government institution. By design, it is also the right service to drive and assist businesses in identifying the best datasets: the Open Data Service was originally been created for this purpose.

The ODT has leveraged the knowledge of the DMO on the availability of Riyadh data outside the RCRC.

What are the national data regulators are providing for Open Data?

The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CITC), the Digital Government Authority (DGA), the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) are the major information technology regulators in the Kingdom.

The National Data Management Office (NDMO) is a branch of SDAIA. Both are the nation’s data regulators. The NDMO has published five regulations. One of them is specifically dedicated to open data:

• Data Classification Policy and Regulations
• Personal Data Protection Law and the Implementing Regulations
• Data Sharing Policy and Regulations
• Freedom of Information Policy and Regulations
• Open Data Policy and <Regulations

The framework is complete in terms of open data because all steps that enable to identify free datasets and to process them have been clearly formulated. Working with such a framework is necessary to remain consistent with other Open Data initiatives across the Kingdom and worldwide.

Both Riyadh Open Data and the National Open Data Strategy comply with international standards.