data.gov.uk : how did we do it? Professor Nigel Shadbolt UK Open Data Advisor 16th March 2011 Paris

Nigel Shadbolt

Janu

ary

1, 2

009

“Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.”

--- President Obama

Putting Govt Data online- Data.gov.uk beta

May

21,

200

9

Janu

ary

19, 2

010

data.gov.uk online Semantic Web and Linked Data enabled

May

21,

201

0 data.gov online data.gov relaunch with semantic web featured

June

30,2

009

Dec

embe

r 8, 2

009 “Open Government

Directive” released

2009 2010 …

57 Data Sets

~3000 Data Sets

~2000 Data Sets

~6000 Data Sets

June

, 201

0

2005

A race always helps…

“Where there is no vision the people perish” Proverbs 29,18

Cholera cases

Bicycling traffic accidents

Open Data is not partisan

•  Tim Berners-Lee and myself appointed 9th June 2009 and set about creating data.gov.uk

•  Open Data referenced in both main UK party manifestos

•  Reappointed to Public Sector Transparency Board June 2010

•  Governments, local authorities, cities releasing data

Promote Open Data at all levels: the state, regions and cities

Use a range of arguments

•  Transparency

•  Accountability

•  Engagement

•  Improve Public Services

•  Efficiency – better for less

•  Economic and social value

•  Government as a platform

Publish and the apps come

Publish data that matters…

In the UK most recently crime….

Embed Public Data Principles

•  Data release driven by public and businesses

•  Publish the data unless good reason not to

•  Public data will be timely and fine grained

•  Public data will be published in reusable, machine-readable form

•  Release data quickly, and then re-publish it in linked data form

•  Public data will be released under the same open licence which enables free reuse, including commercial reuse….

Support the journey to stardom

★ Put your data on the Web (any format)

★★ Make it available as structured data

★★★ Use open, standard formats

★★★★ Use URLs to identify things

★★★★★ Link your data to other people’s data

data.gov.uk 5★ Linked Data

•  National digital infrastructure being built

•  URIs for schools, roads, bus stops, post codes, admin boundaries...

•  Some of the data links across and connects other data together

•  Key data link points exist

Connect to the Web of Linked Open Data

Challenges – Infrastructure

•  There will be a very great deal of data….

•  Who pays the cost of supporting it?

•  Where will the data live?

Shu

tters

tock

Challenges – Quality

•  Uk NaPTAN (public access transport points)

•  Includes 360,00 bus stops

•  Around 18,000 errors

Challenges – Quality

•  UK NaPTAN (public access transport points)

•  Includes 360,00 bus stops

•  Around 18,000 errors

•  Which can be crowd source improved

Challenges – Interpretation

•  Trust people with the data

•  They might interpret it in unexpected ways

•  Do they have the skills?

•  New levels of data literacy

Challenges – Security & Privacy

Lessons

•  Use TD, BU, MO

•  Use agile methods

•  Use open source

•  Use open licences

•  Use open standards

•  Use public data principles

•  Use the community

•  Saisir l’occasion