Do-It-Yourself Open Data Toolkit

Many cities want to open up their data but are not too sure where to start. To support these efforts, OpenNorth, and the Government of Canada have piloted the development of a do-it-yourself open data toolkit for municipalities.

Toronto's Open Data Master Plan and Data4Impact Report

Drawing on our strategic planning, maturity modelling, and stakeholder engagement expertise, OpenNorth is supporting the City of Toronto in developing its Open Data Master Plan, and we’re going about this in a very engaging and collaborative way.

Open Smart Cities in Canada: Situating Canadian Cities within an International Smart City Ecosystem

Smart cities, intelligent cities, sustainable cities, sentient cities, cities as platform, the next city, innovative cities, programmable cities, connected cities, and hackable cities are among the list of labels observed by the Open Smart Cities in Canada project’s Environmental-Scan (E-Scan) and Gap Analysis to describe data-driven and networked urbanism.

Newsletter: Summer 2017

Open smart cities in Canada: ideals versus reality

An environmental-scan (e-scan) and gap analysis of Smart City practices and strategies at the Cities of Montreal, Ottawa, Guelph, and Edmonton disentangles the web of digital media to elucidate how these cities imagine and deploy their vision of a Smart City.

Where you can find us in coming months

A roundup of where OpenNorth worked in 2017.

Newsletter: Winter 2017

Check out what we’ve been up to and what’s to come to kick-off this year.

Final Report: Aligning Canadian Open Data Programs with International Best Practices

In our role as Open Data Charter Stewards and in collaboration with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)-funded research partnership, Geothink, we researched the potential benefits and challenges to Canadian provinces and municipalities in adopting the Open Data Charter.

What Could Open Data Programs Gain from Aligning with International Best Practices? Mapping open data practices in Canadian sub-national governments to the international Open Data Charter

Established in 2011, OpenNorth is Canada’s leading open data non-profit organization, committed to promoting government transparency and accountability, and public participation in democracy. In our role as Open Data Charter Stewards, and in collaboration with the research partnership, Geothink, we are researching the potential benefits and challenges to Canadian provinces and municipalities adopting the ODC.

Open Data: Can it make Canadian cities more resilient?

Worldwide, open data is helping to fight corruption, to increase government efficiency, and to grow sectors of the economy, and early research hints that it can also play an important role in making our cities more resilient.

Newsletter: Fall 2016

It may have been the hottest summer recorded in years, but that didn’t stop the Open North team from participating in a number of innovative initiatives over the last few months. Check out what we’ve been up to and what’s to come:

Taking ownership of the open government action plan: Canadians need to work together

As it does every two years, the Government of Canada released its open government action plan, the third of its kind so far. And yet, for many of the millions of engaged Canadians across the country, the existence of this plan remains unknown to them.

Exploring the Social Sector’s Relationship with Data: Takeaways From Data 4 Impact

Community – it’s one of the foundational pillars of our vision for better and more open democracy.

Applied research in action: understanding the data needs of settlement organizations in Canada

When Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) approached Open North a few months ago to conduct an assessment of their open data strategy, we were thrilled to say the least. Indeed, the timing could not have been better for such a research project.

Spreading the word about Citizen Budget, our innovative online budget simulator

As always, the Open North crew has been out and about in the world getting the word out about Citizen Budget, our powerful online budget simulator. For the fourth time now, we took part in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Conference Trade Show, where Citizen Budget is always highly...

Open Cities Strategies: A New Initiative by Open North to Help Cities Succeed in Planning and Implementing Their Open Data Programs

Our new service offering is called Open Cities Strategies. Based on international best practices and the newest trends in open data assessment methodologies and maturity modelling, Open North will evaluate your needs and support your open data programs on a range of topics.

Launching and sustaining municipal open data initiatives: how Open North can help

Cities across Canada are committing more than ever to implementing open data infrastructure and policies, which in turn means they now have a greater need for strategic planning and tactical support in order to draw the full benefits of open data.

Open North Spring 2016 Newsletter

Open North’s Spring 2016 Newsletter

10 fundamentals to keep in mind when opening parliament

The Open Government Partnership, which was initially founded to encourage the inclusive development and implementation of open government plans, is becoming an umbrella network for both governments and parliaments, offering up principles, mechanisms, and guidelines for both institutions.