FCA - UAE,Federal Customs Authority -United Arab Emirates

The open data policy is considered one of the leading practices that reflect the desire of the organization in continuous development through opening up to its customers by providing all the data and information they need in a transparent and seamless manner to enable them to follow up as well as to give their feedback about the services and activities of the organization.

The invitation to follow up this policy at the level of the federal authorities in the United Arab Emirates comes in consistency with strategic objectives which include the provision of user-centered government services. The concept of open data requires making available the information and data for each person so that he can access, reuse and redistribute such information and data without any restrictions. As part of the transparency policy pursued by the Federal Customs Authority, which aims to strengthen the confidence and participation of the user, the FCA has published on its website the information that represents an essential foundation for a knowledge-based economy and society, which helps to strengthen partnerships to create innovative solutions.

Objective

This policy aims to present the guidelines that shall be followed by adopting the open data policy on the website (Open Data).

General specifications of available data

The government entities adopting the open data policy on their websites shall abide at least by the following guidelines:

• The published data shall cover the services and activities of the government entity that would be of value to the customer / website visitor.

• The website visitor shall be able to access the data without any obstacles (for example: the request to register).

• The published data shall be in a downloadable format, available for "Cut and paste".

• The best versions of the files used for the available data are Word and Excel as the users may use them easily

• The website visitor shall be able to express his opinion about the published data.

• The data shall be published in a readable way.

• The website visitor shall be able to know the size and type of the file and the time required to download it before starting the downloading process.

• In the event that the file needs a specialized program to run, the website visitor shall be notified of the same.

• All the possible interaction platforms with data users shall be made available, links to electronic platforms shall be als published where the said data are discussed, such as forums, blogs, Facebook pages, etc.

• The open data page shall contain the open data policy giving the users a clear and unambiguous permit to use and distribute the data.

Conclusion

The guidelines herein represent the minimum requirements for the government entities wishing to pursue the open data policy with its users. The commitment to these guidelines reflects the seriousness of these entities to bring success to this policy and take advantage of its results reflected in the increase of trust with customers and continuous improvement of their services.