Bayanat.ae

UAE Open Data Portal

Source in English: ESCWA-OECD Case Study - Bayanat.ae UAE Open Data Portal

Bayanat.ae is the official data portal in the United Arab Emirates, and it was developed in as the first initiative in the Arab region to support open data and enhance data sharing based on related international standards.

Implementation: 2016

Contributor(s)

The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, with the support of various local partners, namely governmental entities, public and private sector companies, data providers and publishers, and technology providers such as Microsoft, in addition to international partners such as Open Data Watch and Open Data Collaborative.

Purpose

Bayanat.ae was designed to be a unified official access point for open data. It specifically aims to improve the process of data sharing and facilitate the public use of open data, while maintaining quality and increasing citizens’ trust.

Functions

As a central platform for collecting and sharing data, Bayanat.ae maintains data availability, timeliness, presentation and visualisation. It features the first international-level search engine "Bayan," using artificial intelligence technologies, for easier use and direct access to desired data.  In addition, it has developed an integration level with Microsoft Cortana, an option allowing users to search published data on the platform through their desktop search engine, and to receive the data through their configured email.  This initiative allows tracking site traffic and usage, and organizing and participating in data-related events such as hackathons.

Clients

All citizens benefit from this initiative especially students and subject matter experts such as statisticians, researchers, and data scientists. Similarly, governmental entities, private companies and international bodies improve their work by using the platform.

Outcome

By 2020, the platform had provided 3,000 polished datasets covering the most relevant areas of life in the United Arab Emirates. It has been used by all groups of society, allowing them to benefit from openly published data and propose solutions.

Challenges

Given that open data was a new concept when the project first started, one of the biggest challenges was changing the culture of data privacy. Building an "Open Data Community" helped raise awareness and overcome this challenge.

Useful links

Bayanat.ae Official data portal of the UAE Government