Linked open data concept in public institutions – Lower Silesia (Poland) case study

Purpose: The aim of the article is to review the level of advancement of linked open data (LOD) concept in public institutions, based on the example of Lower Silesia (Poland) organizations. Moreover, this paper considers the level of advancement of Lower Silesia institutions on the famous Tim Berners Lee’s scale and compares the obtained results. Design/methodology/approach: case study of important public institutions of Lower Silesia region, and the assessment of LOD concept advancement, based on 5-star Tim Berners Lee’s scale an short expert interviews. Findings: We can observe considerable interest and willingness to create a network of linked open data, which is visible in the growth of the number of data sets and the ever-expanding structure of the LOD cloud. Implementation of LOD in public institutions can be really helpful in management and decision-making processes. Public entities in Lower Silesia (Poland) should continue to develop their network to reach the highest level of advancement of LOD concept, especially in the context of integration with other data sets. Research limitations/implications: The limitation of the research was the fact that not all public institutions are still familiar with the concept of linked open data, or do not use it to its full extent. Practical implications: In the context of public institutions, LOD can play a key role in improving transparency, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making. Users can freely access information that is crucial to them and use it for interesting social or commercial projects, as well as individual ones. Social implications: The practical implementation of LOD is also related to its social impact, everything depends on the type of data that is made available to users. Very often, they are related to administration, public transport, budget management of smaller and larger communities or health care, what can really contribute to improving the quality of life. Originality/value: For the first time, the level of advancement of the linked open data concept in Polish public institutions was evaluated, which may improve the results in institutions already using this idea but also encourage them to develop the network of linked data resources. Keywords: linked open data, management, decision making, big data, data analysis, public institutions, semantic web. Category of the paper: research paper, case study.