Who is behind this Site?
Amit Uttamchandani, from caribbeansignalcom.
Why are you doing this?
I am a firm believer in open data, especially in the context of governments. I support and encourage the idea and implementation of an ‘open data’ portal for the public to be able to access data generated by the Government of Barbados (GoB).
For example, the UK government has data.gov.uk. According to their site, visitors can: “Find data published by central government, local authorities and public bodies to help you build products and services.”
What is Open Data?
According to the World Bank: “Data are considered to be “open” if anyone can freely access, use, re-use and redistribute them, for any purpose, without restrictions.”
Is this site affiliated or associated with the Government of Barbados?
No, it is not. It exists on its own as an individual, private effort. A temporary stop gap until GoB decides to launch their own open data platform. Even then, this site can act as a small ‘backup.’
This Site doesn’t have that much information, Why?
Lack of time and resources, this project is currently a one-person show. The original focus is on GoB data (but I will also be adding non-GoB sources of data, or data that is not related to the GoB, for example, fuel price data).
The first iteration of the site went live using the domain name barbadosfiles.com on August 13. I started with select reports from the Barbados Auditor’s Office website, and the website of the National Insurance Scheme (two institutions that were in the news recently).
Do you accept submissions?
Yes. Persons are free to submit files that they may find useful or informative. However, it must be open data, i.e., no leaked, confidential or secret documents. Also, submissions must be GoB or non-GoB related. For example, reports, audits, findings, acts, bills, data sets, et cetera, et cetera. Please contact me via LinkedIn if you wish to submit information.