Why should think tanks andadvocacy groups care about open government data?

Jonathan GrayOpen Knowledge Foundation

2011/03/17/Budapest/OSI

Some cautionary reminders

Datasets don'tchange the world

(People do)

Government datasets don'tfall out of the sky

(They are generated by people)

Datasets don't tell us the whole truth,and nothing but the truth

(They are partial)

[Drumroll]

What is 'open government data'?

Re-use

From legal uncertainty...

… to legal clarity.

Open data: free for anyone to reuse orredistribute for any purpose

“open” =

usereuseredistributioncommercial reusederivative works

“do what you like”

may require:- attribution

- sharing back

C

opendefinition.org

Why?

Enable people to make useful,valuable things with government data

New ways of representing data

Put policies into context

New ways of delivering data

Personalised services

A richer data ecosystem

Not just about government

More pairs of eyes

Harness external expertise

Collaborate more effectively

Government data isn't always perfect– but it is often a good place to start

Open government data isn't a panacea– but it can help us to create a richer

picture of the world around us

How?

What data is collectedpublished by government?

What laws and policiesgovern the reuse of public

information?

What datasets do you need?

What kinds of questions do youwant to be able to answer?

Help to open up governmentdata in your country:

http://www.opendatamanual.org

Help to map the data landscape:

http://www.ckan.nethttp://publicdata.eu

http://www.opendatasearch.org

Ask and answerdata related questions:

http://www.getthedata.org

Open up your own data!

http://opendefinition.org/licenses

Join the open governmentdata community:

http://bit.ly/ogd-list

jonathan.gray@okfn.orghttp://twitter.com/jwyg

Get in touch!

Image credits

Images by Otto Neurath and the Isotype Institute from FulltablePierre Vivant's Traffic Light Tree by William WarbyThe Green Light by Ted Percival

Further links

Open Knowledge Foundation - http://www.okfn.orgWhere Does My Money Go? - http://www.wheredoesmymoneygo.orgOpen Spending - http://www.openspending.orgEuropean Energy - http://energy.publicdata.euOpen Government Data - http://www.opengovernmentdata.orgCKAN - http://www.ckan.netOpen Knowledge Definition - http://www.opendefinition.orgGet The Data - http://www.getthedata.org

These slides are available under a Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike License. While most imagesare available under an open license (see above) some are used for illustrative purposes and rights may bereserved by their creators.