[Fwd: City of Ottawa - Data Dissemination Policy]
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[Fwd: City of Ottawa - Data Dissemination Policy]
 
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attached is the policy.
Will have to respond to this! Would luv to know if anyone has brought this sorta thing up at city council anywhere in canada yet? I've just noticed that I didn't attach the policy. Sorry about that. Here it is now ... <<IT Policy - Data Dissemination v.1.0 2001-01-01.pdf>>
Ms. Lauriault, In response to your request for information, please find attached the City of Ottawa’s Data Dissemination Policy and Cost Schedule as it relates specifically to electronic geographic data. The policy states, “Fees are generally based on dissemination costs only and do not include the cost of acquiring, developing or maintenance of the original data. In specific circumstances, the City may waive fees.” In the context of this policy, the City recognizes four types of clients:
Category A clients are not charged for data and rarely require a license agreement. Category B clients are charged a fee to reflect the staff resources consumed in the preparation of the data and sometimes require a license agreement. Category C clients are usually charged the same fee as Category B clients and must also enter into a signed data license agreement naming a specific project or use. Category D clients are expected to pay a fair market rate for any data they want to commercialize. For all requests it is expected that the client can demonstrate a legitimate use of the data. Merely ‘wanting’ the data may not qualify as legitimate. This provision ensures that staff resources are not unduly expended on frivolous requests. Additionally, the license must refer to a specific project or use as this helps the City track how the data is being used and by whom. Your interests appear to fall under Category C. This category includes clients such as architects and engineers, developers, surveyors and members of the general public. My interpretation of the fee schedule is this … a request for data includes a fee for staff time ($79.95 per hour), a nominal fee for each individual data file ($26.65) and a fee for either a CD or email transmission ($26.65). An architect, for example, may wish to purchase two electronic sheets of mapping to aid in site design for a new building project. The data will cost 2 x $26.65 for the two files, 1 hour of labour at $79.95 and 1 email at $26.65 plus any applicable taxes. They will then be expected to sign a data license agreement entitling them usage of the data for this one specific project. It should be said that each sheet of 1:2000 scale data costs $2000 - $3000 to produce. The $26.65 per sheet (or electronic file) merely makes up part of the fee schedule and is in no means any attempt at cost recovery. The $26.65 per file has been factored into the dissemination fee to discourage requests such as “all electronic files for the entire city”. This type of request would be considered exorbitant and most probably would not serve as a legitimate request. This type of request would have to be evaluated on its own merits as a bonafide request. For different sizes of geographic data orders, be it one electronic file, twenty or two hundred, this fee schedule, in my opinion, calculates a fair and reasonable rate for geographic data dissemination. It collects a fee to compensate the City for preparing the data as per the policy and discourages nuisance requests. It should be noted that the City of Ottawa makes most geographic data available on its web site through the interactive web map. It has been my observation that 95% of geographic data requests from the general public are well served by the site. Individuals not comfortable with computer technology account for one half of the remaining requests. This group can usually be assisted with an interactive telephone conversation that may result in a hardcopy paper map sent to them through the mail. The remaining requests are usually for digital geographic data in a format not available on the web site. These requests are evaluated individually based on their merits as legitimate requests and the client can either elect to pay the fee specified or request that the fee be waived. The fee structure can be waived for any Category C client. I fully encouraged members of the general public, at least those that have the ability to manipulate this type of technical data, to receive the data that they require in order to further the work of the City within their community. When clients do not have the ability to manipulate this type of data themselves but can demonstrate a legitimate use for such data, I have worked with these groups, within reason, to render as much assistance as possible given our fiscal restraints. In the past I have been asked why all geographic data in its ‘raw’ form cannot be stored on the City’s web site for possible download. My response has been “due to the tremendous cost associated with storing data on-line”. Further more, it would only serve a very small and select group of individuals, i.e. those with expensive software, computing power and specialized skills to be able to manipulate the data. This group of individuals would be well within their rights to request digital geographic data from the City and they can expect to either pay a nominal fee for it or receive it free of charge so long as they can demonstrate both a legitimate reason to have the data and a reason to expend staff resources preparing the data. I also believe the corollary to be true, that the dissemination of raw geographic information on the web would be detrimental and confusing to the majority of people on the web site. I hope I have answered your query regarding data dissemination satisfactorily. I include my direct dial telephone number (613) 580-2631 for you to call me if you have any further questions. Stephen Perkins
------------------------------------ -----Original Message----- She outlines her query below, and during my discussions with her, I suggested that it may be best to let her and a staffperson in the field discuss the matter in more detail. Could you advise who could speak to her on this matter?
-----Original Message-----
This e-mail originates from the City of Ottawa e-mail  IT Policy - Data Dissemination v.1.0 2001-01-01.pdf (258K) Download Attachment IT Policy - Data Dissemination v.1.0 2001-01-01.pdf (258K) Download Attachment |
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