10 CLOSER TO BRUSSELS
Normally a developer or journalist has to research into the portals of various institutions; open data, instead, is presented in a central portal rather than hidden in the depths of numerous web sites.
to be in place in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Factor one is machine readability: only if data is available in an inte-
roperable format can it be fed into some program. PDF reports
typically do not meet this criterion, since extracting the raw data out of these reports is an expensive manual piece of work.
Factor two is free licensing. This means not only the absence of direct costs but rather internationally recognized terms of use
like the Creative Commons or Open Data Commons licenses,
which are granted for all purposes without the need for a requ-
est. The third of the most challenging factors is the ease of access. Normally a developer or journalist has to research into the portals of various institutions; open data, instead, is presented in a
central portal rather than hidden in the depths of numerous web sites.
For Europe’s regions, open data offers a number of opportuni-
ties. In contrast to many other similar initiatives, e.g. INSPIRE, it is neither a strict top-down nor bottom-up approach. On the
contrary, every region can embrace the open data idea at its own pace and possibilities. This leads to both cooperation and com-