Businesses, entrepreneurs, academics, researchers, and the public can leverage publicly available open data released through open data portals to inform their business, create new lines of services, develop products such as mobile applications, find insights, and solve problems.

Every death or injury from suicide is a tragedy. These are Nova Scotians, each with a unique life journey. Many individuals, families, and communities are deeply affected by suicide. While there are many things that can contribute to suicidal behaviour, there are also many resources and supports that aim to be life promoting and protective against suicide. It is important to consider a broad range of data and information to guide decisions towards prevention.

Nova Scotians are encouraged to spend time outdoors, be active and remember to protect themselves against tick bites, which is the best way to prevent Lyme disease. There are several kinds of ticks in Nova Scotia, but only the blacklegged tick carries the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, and not all blacklegged ticks carry the bacteria.

Reducing court delays and improving the speed at which the criminal justice system handles the cases of young persons remains a priority in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to work with justice system stakeholders (e.g., the Crown, judiciary, Legal Aid, police) to identify ways to reduce case processing times and to meet the 98-day youth case processing target, which was established in response to the Nunn Commission recommendations.

The Nova Scotia Government, along with many other governments within Canada and around the world, recognizes that the data it collects and manages becomes more valuable it is is "opened" up and made freely available to the public in support of collaboration and innovation. The province fosters innovation by encouraging citizens, academics, entrepreneurs and government employees to find new ways to use open data to solve problems, gain efficiencies, create opportunities, and develop new and innovative products and services.

Releasing open data provides opportunities for government to support transparency and accountability, improve business functions and processes, increase citizen engagement, and support internal knowledge and collaboration.

The first Nova Scotia Open Data Contest was held in partnership with the School of Information Management and the Rowe School of Business (Dalhousie Faculty of Management) on March 4-5, 2017.

The second annual Nova Scotia Open Data Contest was March 3-4, 2018 in partnership with the School of Information Management and the Rowe School of Business (Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University).

The third annual Nova Scotia Open Data Contest was held March 2-3, 2019 in partnership with the School of Information Management and the Rowe School of Business (Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University) in conjunction with International Open Data Day.

The fourth annual Nova Scotia Open Data Contest was held March 7-8, 2020 in partnership with the School of Information Management and the Rowe School of Business (Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University).