Data.wa.gov.au allows data publishers to create and manage collections of their datasets as part of a group of data. Groups are a very flexible way of collecting similar or related datasets together and could be used to catalogue datasets for a variety of reasons, for example -

• For a particular project or initiative,
  
  
• to bring together similar datasets from multiple agencies,
  
  
• to group datasets together that all share the same theme,
  
  
• or as a very simple way to help people find and search your own published datasets.

The 'Geographic Boundaries' group brings together administrative boundaries datasets from many agencies into one easily discoverable place.

Creating a group

Creating new groups is a system administration task restricted to the Open Data Team.

Requesting creation of a new group on data.wa.gov.au is open to everyone - data publishers and users alike - who have an idea for a new collection of datasets that would benefit everyone by making that data more discoverable.

Submitting a request for a new group is simple, please email the Open Data Team and include the following information -

• The name of your group
• A description of the group covering the purpose of the group, the sorts of data you expect to include in it, and contact information for the primary administrator of the group. Where relevant, you may also want to include links to further information about the group - such as when the group supports a particular programme or initiative.
• An image for the group that can appear on the groups page. For example, this could be an eye-catching image relating to the group (such as the WABBA group) or a logo of your agency or programme (such as the Census groups). Please ensure you have the rights to use the image and provide credit where required.
• The name of the group administrator(s) that shall be appointed to manage the group and decide who has permission to add data to the group.

The Open Data Team will create the group on your behalf and appoint you as its primary administrator with responsibility for managing the group.

Managing your data and groups

Controlling which groups datasets appear in is a simple process, and responsibility for this lies with the publishers of datasets.

As a data publisher, to be enabled to add data to a group you must be given access to the group by the administrator of the group. For example -

If the data publisher for the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is the administrator of a group containing data relating to regional Western Australia they may only add datasets that are published by their department. If they wanted to collaborate with the Department of Planning, Lands, and Heritage to bring together regional planning datasets they, as group administrator, could appoint a data publisher from Planning to the group, thus enabling them to now add their own data to the group.

Group Roles: Admins and Members

There are two levels of access available within groups, each with their own particular permissions to manage the group.

Administrators: Can update the group's information, as well as manage organisation members. There may be one or more administrators.

Members: Can add or remove their own datasets from the group.

Adding and removing your data from groups

As a data publisher, adding or removing your data to a group is a simple process accessed via the Groups tab on each of your datasets. If you are an administrator or member of any groups, you will have access to the "Add to group" and a drop-down list including all of the groups you have access to.

The DPAW District Boundaries datasets seen here is already part of two groups. As a member of the 'Aboriginal Communities' group we can also add it to that group.

Data publishers are also able to remove their data from a group through the Groups tab by moving their cursor over the group and selecting the "Remove" button.

Discovering and promoting your group

Anyone visiting data.wa.gov.au can discover groups in two main ways -

• Through visiting the Groups page and browsing or searching for groups relating to their area of interest.
  
  
• Through the Groups tab on each dataset, which lists all of the groups the dataset is a part of. 

The Groups page on data.wa.gov.au showing a selection of the available dataset groups.

The Open Data Team are always keen to promote groups to the wider community of data users as part of our mission of making data more discoverable. Please get in touch with us if you would like to -

• Publish a short article or blog post-style entry on data.wa.gov.au about the initiative behind your group. This can be a handy way to promote the work of your area, raise awareness of the data you're publishing, and better engage the community of data users.
  
  
• Promote your group on the data.wa.gov.au homepage alongside the groups of datasets there.