1. OGD Handbook
  2. Identify

What data does my organization hold?

In order to publish OGD, you need to know what data your organization holds. Ideally, you will have an inventory of all datasets in your organization. However, this is not absolutely necessary. Start by identifying just the datasets that are most often requested and may already have been published. If you wish to compile a complete inventory of your data collections afterwards, you can find further information here.

Identifying OGD: list of questions

The following questions will help you to identify data that can be published on opendata.swiss:

  1. Which data have already been published (website, other portals, etc.)?
  2. Which data are most often requested within your organization? Would it be feasible to publish them proactively?
  3. Which data in your organization should be published for reasons of efficiency (one-off publication rather than repeated individual delivery)?
  4. Do you have a complete overview of your data collections (inventory)?
  5. Is information about your datasets available through other IT data gathering?

Once you have identified suitable data, you must establish whether it is technically and legally possible to release them. Further information on preparing data for publication can be found in the “Prepare” section.

Distinguishing between OGD and services for specific customers

In general, the data published as OGD are those for which there is wide demand and which can be reused by a number of people. By contrast, datasets that were created in response to a specific customer request do not normally constitute OGD. Further information on this distinction can be found here.