Basic public data

High-quality, standardised public data can be used across systems, countries and sectors to create value and expand knowledge

Compared with many other countries, Denmark holds a large amount of information on its companies (in CVR, central business register) and its citizens (in CPR, social security number). In addition to that, there are also a long series of registers in other areas, containing information on matters such as immovable property, buildings, geography and climate. Taken as a whole, it is basic information about our society, which is why we refer to it as basic data.

Since 2013, the Basic Data Programme has worked to collect basic data across the country’s IT systems, so that the public and private sector can use them efficiently.

Working with basic data has multiple purposes:

To standardise data, making it possible to combine data from different sources
To provide quality assurance, ensuring data is correct, complete and updated
To distribute data on a common platform, making data and support available from the same place

The Basic Data Programme helps to make work processes in the public sector more efficient, by allowing data that is collected in unique registers, and knowledge emanating from different sectors, to be more easily combined, thereby creating more efficient processes and leading to wiser decisions. In addition, a higher quality of data and easier access will enable the private sector to develop new and efficient solutions and products.

The Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure is responsible for five of the Basic Data Programme’s sub-programmes.

The Basic Data Programme consists of eight sub-programmes. Below you can read more about the five sub-programmes that the Agency is responsible for:

Sub-programme 1: Efficient property management and reuse of property data

Until now, information about properties, buildings and ownership has been registered in different systems, meaning the various public authorities have had difficulty gaining access to and combining certain data. With sub-programme 1, a connection will be established so that this information can be registered in a uniform and secure way, thus giving authorities easy access to property data. It will also make information about the area of the property, owner, administrator and buildings on the property readily available. This information may be used in matters such as housing transactions, construction cases and property assessment.

Sub-programme 2: Efficient reuse of basic data about addresses, administrative units and place names

In sub-programme 2, the Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure aims to make sure that data about addresses, which covers all addresses registered in Denmark and is used by most public authorities, is made available in a uniform and easily accessible way. This will also improve efficiency, by saving resources that various authorities would have dedicated to updating this data. Another important outcome will be consistency in the address data that is used in public systems and as a basis for police work, emergency services and in the transport business, where knowing the exact addresses, locations and place names is of the utmost importance.

Sub-programme 3: Common basic data about water management and climate adaptation

With sub-programme 3, The Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure is improving the data used in areas such as management of water canals and predicting flooding. The data improvements will make it easier to predict water movement and where water may collect during extreme conditions. This will strengthen emergency services’ preventative efforts regarding cloud bursts and extreme rainfall, so that properties, infrastructure and crops are better protected against flood damages. This data is also used for the municipalities’ planning of city development and construction work, and supports a more efficient management and better protection against climate change. All data and tools for calculations are made freely available in The Map Supply (Kortforsyningen.dk).

The work on improved data for water management is also included as one of the initiatives in the joint Digital Strategy 2015 – 2020.

Sub-programme 4: Free and efficient access to geographical data

With the Basic Data Agreement’s sub-programme 4, map data, cadastral maps and The Danish Elevation Model have become open data and, since 1st January 2013, have been freely accessible for everyone. Since then, there has been a large increase in this data use. The Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure works to increase the significance of open geodata for the authorities’ work and companies’ possibilities for growth in the future. The use of geodata is expected to spread to entirely new management areas and, in that way, open data will also be able to contribute to more efficiency and modernisation within the public sector.