Open Government

Trinidad and Tobago was the first CARICOM state and one of sixty-six (66) countries to join the Open Government Partnership. Open Government is a demand of citizens and an aspiration that has been an important drive for the GoRTT since 2012. The initiative seeks to strengthen public sector governance by:-

  1. Improving openness, transparency and accountability in government; and
  2. Promoting greater citizen participation and collaboration in public affairs.

Trinidad and Tobago’s first Open Government National Action Plan was approved by the Open Government Partnership.

Open Data

Open data is data that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone - subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and share-alike (OpenDefinition). The Open Data Handbook gives more information about Open data, while the most important aspects of Open data can be summarised to:

  • Availability and Access: the data must be available as a whole and at no more than a reasonable reproduction cost, preferably by downloading over the internet. The data must also be available in a convenient and modifiable form.
  • Re-use and Redistribution: the data must be provided under terms that permit re-use and redistribution including the intermixing with other datasets.
  • Universal Participation: everyone must be able to use, re-use and redistribute - there should be no discrimination against fields of endeavour or against persons or groups. For example, ‘non-commercial’ restrictions that would prevent ‘commercial’ use, or restrictions of use for certain purposes (e.g. only in education), are not allowed.

data.gov.tt

This data portal was developed and is currently managed and hosted by the Ministry of Public Administration.

CKAN

Data.gov.tt is powered by the open-source application CKAN. CKAN is a complete out-of-the-box software solution that makes data accessible and usable – by providing tools to streamline publishing, sharing, finding and using data. CKAN is used by governments and user groups worldwide and powers a variety of official and community data portals including portals for local, national and international government.

Publish on data.gov.tt

The Open Data initiative is intended to be in alignment with key themes of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the CARICOM Strategic Plan 2015-2019 and Vision 2030, which include the themes of transparency, accountability, accessibility to the public, good governance, building effective and inclusive institutions at all levels and operational excellence.

Ministries, Divisions and Agencies of The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago who would like to find out more information or publish data and other material on data.gov.tt, should contact us.

Contact Us

Ministry of Public Administration

Levels 5-7 National Library Building
Corner Hart and Abercromby Streets
Port-of-Spain
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Telephone: (868) 623-4724
Email: opendata@gov.tt