text: This is the principle of subsidiarity, often summarized in a way that may sound familiar to many 
  
  Open Data advocates:*"What men can do by themselves with their own resources can't be taken*
  
  *away from them and assigned as a task to society"*. In March 2011, journalist Guido Gentili made 
  
  just this connection. After noting that the principle was also introduced in the Italian Constitution by 
  
  the 2001 reform of article 118, he concluded that subsidiarity as a strategy for development*isn't an*
  
  *English invention and the "Big Society" vision (a proposal in which Open data is key) would do*
  
  *good to Italy too"*. 
  
  At a more practical and economical level, digital information continues to increase. In spite of 
  
  mounting cost pressures, large public and private organizations have to maintain massive amounts 
  
  of structured and unstructured data, that keep growing, both for their own internal needs and to 
  
  simply*comply with government regulations*. At the same time, signals that traditional public 
  
  services and the whole welfare state won't remain sustainable for long with traditional means, 
  
  continue to arrive, therefore strengthening the search for radical, innovative and cost-effective 
  
  solutions. 
  
  Besides costs, another practical driver and justification for Open Data that is becoming more and 