Member Article

Open Data opportunities bolstered by new institute

A new Open Data Institute will be established in East London, to drive innovation and growth opportunities created by the Government’s Open Data policy.

Up to £10m will be supplied over five years to support the development of the Open Data Institute (ODI) which will be co-directed by Professor Tim Berners-Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt.

The facility is to be based in Shoreditch, and will be implemented and developed by the Technology Strategy Board by April 2012.

Business and academic institutions will focus on innovation, commercialisation and the development of web standards to support the Open Data Agenda.

The work will ensure that Open Data research is opened up as a commercial advantage for UK companies, with work and academic centres to train staff in Open Data skills, and to provide expert advice to government.

Chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, Iain Gray, said: “It is a measure of the priority given by the government to Open Data that it has committed funding at this time to support he Open Data Institute through the Technology Strategy Board, in collaboration with industry and academic institutions.

“The new Institute will help to demonstrate the commercial value of public data and develop the capability of UK businesses to exploit this value, with support from academic institutions.”

ODI will provide support to a range of start-up and embryonic companies. micro-businesses and SMEs that show promise for the exploration of Open Data, with businesses selected through an annual open competition.

In yesterday’s Autumn budget, Chancellor George Osbourne announced that public sector data in travel, health care, weather and house prices will be opened up, with the aim of encouraging investment and innovation.

The Institute will also promote the use of more powerful web data standards and technology and help small businesses with the skills to access procurement opportunities, in order to deliver innovative solutions into the public sector.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .