Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data (VLED) aims at enlarging the number of municipality members in order to promote utilization of open data and big data by municipalities so as to realize "regional revitalization".

Please look at the below-stated contents of VLED, and we are most pleased if you decide to join us as municipality members. (PDF of this document can be downloaded from this site.)

1. About VLED

VLED was established in October 2014 with a view to creating new businesses and employment and promoting regional revitalization, through promotion of effective utilization of the data owned by public organizations (i.e. making public data available to the public) and utilization of such data in combination with the big data owned by companies, etc., and also to vitalizing public relations and transmission of information about our country's technologies, services, culture and local resources to overseas, also taking advantage of the opportunity of the Olympic Games and Paralympics to be held in Tokyo in 2020. VLED has taken over all the activities of Open Data Promotion Consortium established in July 2012.

Professor Ken Sakamura of Tokyo University serves as Managing Director, and nine (9) companies, namely, NTT, NEC, Dentsu, KDDI, Microsoft Japan, Hitachi, Fujitsu, and Mitsubishi Research Institute, are corporate members.

2. Main activities of VLED

In addition to three (3) Committees, namely, "Technical Committee", "Data Governance Committee", and "Utilization and Dissemination Committee", which were created when Open Data Promotion Consortium was in place, "2020 Open Data City Promotion Committee" was newly established, taking the opportunity that the organization was transferred to the form of a general incorporated association.

Furthermore, "Municipality Subcommittee" is created under the Data Governance Committee and "Data-Scientist Qualification-Examination Subcommittee" under the 2020 Open Data City Promotion Committee.

Taking part in each Committee are knowledgeable persons, member companies and representatives from the concerned Ministries and Agencies. Municipality members can also participate in deliberations of any Committee. Their participation by way of "on-line" is also presently under consideration.

3. Types of members and numbers of members

There are three (3) types of members, namely, employees (corporate members), supporting members (companies, groups, etc.) and municipality members. No annual membership fee is set for municipality members. There is no fee for supporting members, either, for the time being.

As regards the number of members for each type of members, the number of groups that completed their transfer procedures and new registration is twelve (11) for municipality members and seventy-seven (77) for supporting members (companies, etc.), as of December 25, 2014.

List of municipality members as of today
(There are also a number of municipalities that are preparing application for entry, or that are requesting information, besides the above-said members.)

4. Activities of municipality members and the benefit gained from joining VLED

1) Participation in the Municipality Subcommittee

Municipality members are free to take part in any meetings of the Municipality Subcommittee. Because municipality members are from all over Japan, it is rather difficult for them to meet together in one place. Thus, the basic style of activities is information sharing and exchange of opinions based on e-mails using the mailing list (ML).

Themes that have been considered desirable for deliberations by each Committee out of the opinions expressed by e-mails are taken up by the relevant Committee, and the results of examinations are fed back to the Municipality Subcommittee through ML.

Issues held by municipality members are shared by way of ML, and the municipality member having problems can obtain suggestions (how to solve the problems) from other Committee members or feedbacks from the Committee.

Issues gathered and solutions therefor will be taken up in the FAQ of the open data guidance (tentatively given name), compilation of which is currently under consideration. (This introductory material is expected to be widely promulgated.)

2) Participation in deliberations of any Committee

Municipality members are free to take part in any deliberations (in which they desire to participate) of all four (4) Committees. Assuming that it may be difficult for remotely located municipal members to participate, method of participation by way of on-line is presently under consideration.

3) VLED's support for the holding of events

VLED is supporting events related to open data and big data held by municipality members (such as symposia, seminars, ideathons, hachathons, application contests, etc.). (VLED also supports other events held by other members than municipality members.) It is also possible to receive advice from Secretariat.

Event information is widely promulgated among members and to other people through VLED's website and by other means.

4) Matching between VLED members and other stakeholders

A variety of companies and groups are members of VLED. Representatives from the concerned Ministries and Agencies (such as Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Cabinet Secretariat, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, etc.) also take part in deliberations of VLED. Creation of a mechanism to support the matching between members and other stakeholders is currently under examination.

5. Method to join VLED

In order to join VLED, please download "application form for entry (for municipality members)" from the website stated below and send it to the address given in the application form, after filling out necessary information.

About the method to join VLED:

6. Inquiry about VLED

Please contact the following address.