Open Data
What, Why, How
OGD Bern, 2011-06-24
Rufus Pollock
@rufuspollock[.org]
The Open Knowledge Foundation
Founded 2004 / Not-for-profit
Build Communities and Tools to
Help People Create, Use and Share Open Information
http://www.okfn.org/vision/
Sonnets to statistics, genes to geodata
Community based, with 15+ projects and workings groups
CKAN the Data Hub software and community
CKAN powers data.gov.uk and more than 30 other sites
OpenSpending.org and WhereDoesMyMoneyGo - Mapping Government Spending Around the World
Things are Moving Fast
Open Government Initiatives Around the World
2.5y ago ~ 0. Now UK, US, Finland, Norway, Poland, Netherlands, ...
Open Data: What?
"A piece of content or data is open if anyone is free to use, reuse and redistribute it - subject only, at most, to a requirement to attribute or share-alike."
Anyone means Anyone!
(So no restrictions on commercial use etc)
What Data?
Transport, Geodata, Statistics, Electoral-Legal ...
Key point: Non-Personal Data!
(E.g. Train times, station locations, spending breakdowns, national laws ...)
Open Data: Why?
A Story
Better Understanding
Better Governance
Better Research
Better Economy
The Challenge and the Opportunity
The Challenge
Info Complexity
The Possibility
Info Technology
Openness and Scaling
(Closed Data Doesn't Scale!)
|
|
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| We're Weaving Data Together |
To Scale We Need to Componentize |
But We Need to Put Humpty-Dumpty Together Again - Not Possible if Closed |
Information is Special: Non-Rivalrous
Very cheaply copied ~ zero cost
Giving me a 'copy' of your car is a problem, giving me a copy of your data isn't
Innovation
In Products and Services
The Best Thing to do With (Your) Data will be Thought of by Someone Else
Fixing is Faster with Open Data
(And You Don't Repeat Yourself)
To many eyes all bugs are shallow
Est 6% of all bus-stops in NAPTAN wrongly located
How?
Deal with Licensing
It's boring - but without it nothing else works ...
KISS: Keep it Simple (Stupid!)
Don't worry (too much) about e.g. formats, schemas etc
Starts with what is easy and expand
Issues: Control and Misuse
Data has always been misused.
Government can still play a role in interpretation.
As a democratic society we must trust in informed public discourse
Engage Citizens and Developers
Openness Isn't An End In Itself - Data Has No Value If It Isn't Used
The Future
Quality and Data 'Refining'
We're solving the Quantity Problem
Now Time for Quality
Integrated
Semantic Web and Linked Open Data
Tools and Infrastructure
What Exists at the Moment is Either Alpha or Closed!
Google docs is great but don't we want to build on an open platform ...
Componentized, Distributed, Collaborative
Development of Open Data
'The Debian of Data'
Conclusion
The Holy Trinity:
Innovation, Efficiency, Transparency
AKA: Jobs and Growth, Community and Governance
Enables a Read/Write Society
Unlocking a Vast Potential for
Innovation in Products and Services
The Googles of the Future
Data is a Platform
Not a Commodity
You Build on It, Not Sell It
Some Patience!
Thank-You
Rufus Pollock
rufus.pollock [at] okfn [dot] org
@rufuspollock[.org]
License and Credits
License
Creative Commons Attribution License v3.0 (all jurisdictions)
Credits
lego.jpg: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oskay/265899811/
humpty_dumpty.jpg: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/298669543/
woven_ball.jpg: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exfordy/387876530/sizes/s/
sim_city_airport.jpg: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42183741@N05/3890767674/in/photostream/
thomas_jefferson.jpg: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Peale-Thomas_Jefferson.jpg
stick_figure_male.png: http://www.openclipart.org/detail/15036
stick_figure_female.png: http://www.openclipart.org/detail/15040
city_icon.png: http://www.openclipart.org/detail/20145
city_icon.png: http://www.openclipart.org/detail/20145
itoworld-openstreetmap-2009.jpg: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterito/3054501076/
oil-refinery.jpg: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattjiggins/3948811131
