Looking for NZ government Open Data publishing standards/procedures

Jan 27 14:34 NZDT

Dear Ninjas,

I am working on a small project for a Dutch agency that is interested in
improving the publication
and distribution of open data by the Dutch government.  The stated goal of this
project is to:

	Improve the supply and distribution process of government open data in The
Netherlands

The focus of the project is on the use of publication formats, data and
metadata formats, procedures,
and policies that can make government data and publications easier to discover,
access, acquire,
and utilize for the full range of purposes to which they can be put.  The
intended users of such data
include not just end-users (citizens, organizations, and other government
agencies) but also various
intermediate entities, such as developers of applications or online databases
that repackage, collate,
integrate, process, or republish such data for end-users.

I have been asked to perform a small number of small-scale international case
studies looking for ways
that other governments are approaching this issue.  In particular, I am looking
at four English-speaking
cases: the U.K. the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand.

I am therefore looking for relevant agencies, programs, projects, offices,
groups, or individuals who
are engaged in the production, publication, and management of open data in New
Zealand, as well
as pointers to any specific standards and policies, approaches, or efforts that
might provide useful
insights into the problem and/or models for the Dutch effort.  Similar pointers
to counterparts in the
U.K., Canada, or the U.S. would also be helpful, if you happen to know of any.

I would greatly appreciate any individual or agency contacts, websites, issue
papers, policy documents,
or standards specifications you can suggest that might help me understand what
is being done in New
Zealand (and elsewhere) along these lines.

Appreciatively,

Jeff Rothenberg
Information Science Consultant
www.JeffRothenberg.org