The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has commissioned DotEcon to undertake an evaluation of a 2006 study by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) into the Commercial Use of Public Sector Information (CUPI). As a result of its work, the OFT recommended that more information held by the public sector should be made more readily and more cheaply available for commercial re-use.
The CMA wants to find out how the OFT’s recommendations have affected the availability of public sector information (PSI), and to estimate the benefits that could be attributed to the OFT study.
As part of our work, we would like to gather evidence from the industry to understand the current state of commercial use of PSI, and in particular:
- whether PSI holders have significantly altered their behaviour in providing PSI (e.g. in terms of amount of data supplied, quality, pricing and licence terms); and
- whether users still find problems in the market, especially where related to the competition concerns identified in the CUPI study.
To obtain the views of PSI holders and PSI users, we are intending to hold open workshops in November to give stakeholders a chance to comment on the current state of PSI-related markets, hypotheses about the impact of the OFT study and any remaining concerns or challenges.
If you hold or use PSI, and are interested in participating, please let us know by emailing cupi-evaluation@dotecon.com, providing a brief overview of your involvement with PSI. We will then send you further information about the most appropriate event for you.