The activities to support open government data (OGD) in Switzerland are organised by various bodies, including the specialist body for data management and interoperability, the OGD forum and two operational working groups (legal and portal).
The specialist body for data management and interoperability is responsible for coordinating data management and interoperability throughout the Federal Administration. It also coordinates open government data and OGD activities.
The main function of the OGD forum is to facilitate the sharing of expertise on open data and support stakeholder debate on this topic in Switzerland. It also provides support for the implementation of the OGD activities set out in the 2024‒2027 OGD master plan. To this end, it sets out recommendations for the development of OGD in Switzerland, supports the coordinated implementation of OGD throughout Switzerland and raises awareness throughout the Federal Administration of the OGD principles in accordance with the federal act (EMOTA). Additionally, it encourages multistakeholder participation and debate on OGD matters at every level of the Swiss federal system. The members of the OGD forum have the power to set up independent working groups.
Two working groups have been set up to support delivery of the OGD master plan. The portal working group oversees the operation and development of the opendata.swiss portal. This group is open to all opendata.swiss contributors. The legal working group ensures that OGD activities have a solid legal basis and that conditions for the use of OGD keep pace with new developments.
