Superadmins, please utilize ProConnect for account management.
On data.gouv.fr, there is a current consideration to implement a routine password renewal process for administrative accounts. The proposal involves scheduling these updates at regular intervals, leveraging the platform’s existing password rotation feature to enhance security protocols.
At present, this initiative is listed in the platform’s development roadmap under the “todo” section, indicating that development has not yet begun. It stands alongside other administrative features still in planning, such as adding a “Reusability” tab on dataset pages and providing a dedicated, user-friendly editing interface for resources—specifically, a direct link to the resource editing form.
Additionally, there are discussions about creating an intermediate user role. This role would grant moderation capabilities over content but would not permit creation or deletion rights. Such a role would serve as an opportunity to assess and determine which team members within data.gouv.fr should retain super-admin privileges.
Enhancing Highlighting of Key Data Sets
One of the ongoing development efforts involves creating a data extraction tool based on images, utilizing artificial intelligence technologies. This feature, currently in the “doing” phase (actively being worked on), was initiated with a ticket in March 2024. The plan is to employ existing AI tools to facilitate image-based data extraction.
This section also covers workflows for publishing and editing community-contributed resources to improve collaborative data management.
Refinements Under Review
Further along in the development process (“review” phase), improvements are being made to the discussion features. Some updates have already been delivered, such as the ability to edit messages (including an indicator and the modification of creation dates), comment reporting functionalities, and the option for organizations to reply in discussions.
Planned enhancements include introducing a search function—initially limited to discussions with at least ten messages to reduce noise—and organizational statistics, such as response rates and average reply times.
This section also features a dashboard highlighting high-value datasets (HVD). It will include a label indicating data with significant societal or economic impact.
Recent Completed Tasks
Recent closed tickets include:
- Warning Notification for Inactive Users: Users inactive for over three years (as mandated by privacy policies) will receive a warning before their account is deleted.
- Management of Multiple Data Producers: Differentiating roles among “creators,” “producers,” and “distributors.”
- External Schema Integration: The interface now allows direct input of external schemas alongside existing ones in schema.data.gouv.fr.
- Dataset Status Filtering: Ability to filter datasets by status (deleted, archived, private, public). An alternative approach considered was sorting, but due to overlapping or additive statuses, priorities for filtering criteria were discussed.
Top Examples of Data Reuse in 2024: Climate, Networks, Mobility
Among the platform’s planned features for 2024 are API access to tabular data, large dataset downloads in Parquet format, an improved catalog based on Grist, enhanced geospatial data harvesting, integration of api.gouv.fr services, and organization categorization based on SIRET numbers.
Throughout the year, over 630 instances of data reuse have been documented. Here are ten notable examples:
- National celebrations and commemorations in France from 1970, compiled by the National Archives.
- Analysis of gambling and lottery tickets, highlighting persistent losses, published by Le Monde.
- Local climate projection data, provided by Callendar—a French startup specializing in climate risk assessment.
- State financial account visualizations, created by the Ministry of Public Finances.
- Mobility diagnostics, developed by geographic information specialist Bruno Iratchet.
- Energy renovation aid calculators, available through Mes Aides Rénovation.
- Thesis search engine, developed by Arno Cellarier at SNCF Connect & Tech.
- Climate data for France, contributed by Omar Shrit of Renesas Electronics.
- Data visualization for small towns of the future, created by French GIS firm SPALLIAN.
- Network status maps, managed by ARCEP (French telecom regulator).
The most accessed dataset of 2024 was the INSEE file listing deceased persons. Other highly viewed datasets include property values (Ministry of Economy), the national registry of associations (Ministry of the Interior), the public list of training organizations (Ministry of Labour), and the Sirene database (INSEE).
Many of these top datasets align with the most frequently reused data, including property sales explorer by Meilleurs Agents, the property value explorer on data.gouv.fr, and the matchID database of deceased individuals.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Improving User Satisfaction
Data.gouv.fr monitors four key impact indicators on a monthly basis:
- Average quality score of the top 1,000 most viewed datasets
- Average response time to discussions related to datasets (from either data producers or platform moderators)
- Number of datasets in the top 100 with high-quality reuse, according to platform assessments
- Percentage of users who answer affirmatively to the question “Did you find what you were looking for?”
Since early 2024, the first indicator has remained relatively stable, averaging between 70 and 75 out of 100. The response time has also stayed steady at around 18-19 days. The proportion of datasets with high-quality reuse has increased from approximately 55% in early 2024 to nearly 70% recently. However, the “satisfaction rate” indicator remains consistently low—hovering between 5 and 6%.
This low percentage echoes feedback from recent user surveys, which highlight issues such as:
- Complex interface, especially for non-expert users
- Poor search performance and a lack of effective filters
- Insufficient documentation, with metadata often outdated or sparse
- A need for better data visualization tools and email alerts for dataset updates
