UK EITI Open Data Policy
The latest UK EITI Open Data Policy approved by the UK MSG on 8th October 2024.
UK EITI – Open Data Policy
(Approved by the UK EITI MSG on 8th October 2024).
The UK committed to implement EITI in May 2013 during the UK’s G8 Presidency. In October 2014, one year after the first meeting of the UK EITI Multi-Stakeholder Group, the UK was recognised as an EITI candidate country. The UK’s first EITI report was published in April 2016, and a further nine reports have been published up to September 2024.
The MSG agreed objectives in 2014 which aim, among other things, to increase knowledge about the extractives sector in the UK. These objectives include an intention to “enhance accountability to the UK public on the revenues from the UK’s extractives industries” and to “increase public understanding of the social and economic impacts of the UK’s extractive industries and enrich public debate on the governance and stewardship of the UK’s oil, gas and mineral resources”. These two objectives are explicitly supported by a third: to “ensure information is readily accessible and presented to the public in a clear manner”.
These objectives are in line with the EITI Principles, which declare that “a public understanding of government revenues and expenditure over time can help public debate and inform choice of appropriate and realistic options for sustainable development” (Principle 4). The EITI 2023 Standard requires “that government and company disclosures are comprehensible, actively promoted, publicly accessible and contribute to public debate” (Requirement 7.1a). Improving the accessibility and comparability of EITI data is essential to realise these objectives.
Open Data Objectives
Open EITI data can increase transparency about government and business activities and increases awareness about how the UK’s natural resources are used and how extractives revenues are levied and spent.
Open data (defined at http://opendefinition.org) promotes accountability and good governance and enhances public debate. Providing access to EITI data can empower individuals, the media, civil society and business to make better informed choices about the services they receive and the standards they should expect.
Free access to, and subsequent re-use of, open data are of significant value to society and the economy.
Open Data in UK EITI Implementation
Intellectual Property Rights in each UK EITI Report vest in the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), who contract the independent administrator on behalf of the UK MSG. DESNZ grants a worldwide, royalty-free, non-sub-licensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable licence for the use and exploitation of the same, including: reproduction and sharing of the licensed material in whole or in part; and production, reproduction and sharing of material adapted from the licence material.
The MSG has agreed that each UK EITI Report and associated data should be published on the UK EITI website. This ensures that UK EITI Data are published in a standardised, open format, and can be accessed by all through the publications and reports section of the ukeiti.org website (the data is also available in machine-readable format on request via ukeiti@energysecurity.gov.uk).
Where datasets have been developed for the purpose of the UK EITI Report e.g. reconciliation and contextual data, these will be made available on ukeiti.org or will be available on request via the UK EITI Secretariat. To the extent possible, these datasets will be published simultaneously with the UK EITI Report. Where appropriate, the contextual data published on ukeiti.org will include a longer time series than the version published in the EITI Report. Where datasets used in tables or charts have been accessed from a third party, the source will be specified in the Report alongside a link if the data are available publicly. In general, tabulated data will be made available in CSV (Comma Separated Values) format. To assist users, consistent naming conventions will be applied to names of companies, fields and licences when possible.
The MSG will delegate the responsibility for reviewing the robustness of data sharing to their compliance sub-group, which will recommend any subsequent changes to the MSG.