The current web-based service offerings make use of closed data sets and do not expose that data for any other uses beyond those originally envisioned for the application.

For instance, we have been working on an implementation similar to the example cited in the report of Amsterdam's Google Map response system in the past couple months prior to the release of this report on eGovernment, and have come to the point where we need only the coordinates of City ward boundaries outlines to complete the service and put it online for use by the citizens of Ottawa. Under the City's Data Dissemination Policy, a dissemination and licensing fee apply to each set of data. I would argue that in the interest of stimulating local innovation around city services, that some basic data sets such as ward boundary data, trail coordinates, event/calendar data be freely accessible and be licensed for use so long as the data is not used for commercial gain. We'll be continuing to pursue access to this type of data at OpenOttawa.org for use in our volunteer projects.