Category Archives: psi

Europa Press Releases: Digital Agenda: Turning government data into gold

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"The [European Commission's Open Data Strategy for Europe is] to lift performance EU-wide is three-fold: firstly the Commission will lead by example, opening its vaults of information to the public for free through a new data portal. Secondly, a level playing field for open data across the EU will be established. Finally, these new measures are backed by the €100 million which will be granted in 2011-2013 to fund research into improved data-handling technologies."

Ordnance Survey Blog: Changes to the OS OpenData licence

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"From today, anyone who visits the OS OpenData site, where they can download a wide range of Ordnance Survey mapping for free, will notice something a little different. That’s because we’ve incorporated the Open Government Licence, the new government wide licence, developed by The National Archives, which enables easy access to public sector information."

Design Issues: Putting Government Data online

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Tim Berners-Lee: "Government data is being put online to increase accountability, contribute valuable information about the world, and to enable government, the country, and the world to function more efficiently. All of these purposes are served by putting the information on the Web as Linked Data. Start with the "low-hanging fruit". Whatever else, the raw data should be made available as soon as possible."

Design Issues: Putting Government Data online

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Tim Berners-Lee: "Government data is being put online to increase accountability, contribute valuable information about the world, and to enable government, the country, and the world to function more efficiently. All of these purposes are served by putting the information on the Web as Linked Data. Start with the "low-hanging fruit". Whatever else, the raw data should be made available as soon as possible."

Observer: Parliament’s transparency trick puts raw data out of easy reach

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John Naughton: "[Why] should we have to exercise arcane technical skills in order to get at public data? As one US expert put it, "converting PDF to XML [ie web format] is a bit like converting hamburgers back into cows". We'd like the cows, please. After all, we paid for their upkeep. Why can't all official numerical data be published in internet-friendly formats? That's what the Obama administration is now doing. And it's what the UK government would be doing if Gordon Brown's commitment to "transparency" was anything other than an expedient gimmick. This isn't just a matter for techies; it's about the health of our democracy in a networked age."

Press Gazette: Government cuts 30-year rule and looks to extend FoI

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"Gordon Brown said today that he had asked internet guru Sir Tim Berners-Lee to 'help us drive the opening up of access to government data on the web'. He also said that justice secretary Jack Straw was considering whether the scope of the Freedom of Information Act should be extended to further bodies which spend public money."

Official Google Blog: Adding search power to public data

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"We just launched a new search feature that makes it easy to find and compare public data ... Since Google's acquisition of Trendalyzer two years ago, we have been working on creating a new service that make lots of data instantly available for intuitive, visual exploration. Today's launch is a first step in that direction."

Puffbox.com: Guardian Data Store: threat to ONS or its saviour?

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Simon Dickson calls on public sector bodies to do better at releasing their information, or risk letting the Guardian do it for them: "I'm simply warning of the uncomfortable position where an outside entity - indeed, in this case, one with an explicit political slant - becomes the gatekeeper to (supposedly) pure statistical data."