National Open Data Portal Improves Data Access
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, in cooperation with various government entities in the Sultanate of Oman, has recently launched the National Open Data Portal. The portal is a national digital platform that enables researchers and entrepreneurs to access open government data, helping to support innovation and encourage data-based decision-making.
The Portal allows users to interact with the available data through the “Request New Dataset” service, which enables them to submit a request for data that is not currently available. Users can benefit from this service easily after signing in on the portal by entering their email address, password, and full name, then activating the account through a verification email.
After signing in, users can track the status of their submitted requests and vote on them, which helps identify the datasets that are most in demand. The relevant entities review these requests and work on making the datasets available, in line with approved open data standards.
The portal also enables users of open data to submit a successful use case that shows how open data was used in developing innovative solutions, research studies, or community-focused projects. This contributes to enriching knowledge and encouraging the exchange of ideas between the entities and users.
Currently, the National Open Data Portal includes 44 government entities publishing open data, with 362 datasets available, which have been downloaded more than 8,000 times. This reflects the growing interest among researchers and entrepreneurs in benefiting from open data across various fields.
