Open data utopia? Not quite.
Jinfo Blog

By Joanna Ptolomey

Abstract

Although limited within the scientific community, open data in the public sector is growing with government requirements for content transparency. The concept of smart cities can also benefit from open data in areas such as policing and crime. Privacy will always remain an issue, however.

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Of course I know about open data, I write about it often enough here on the LiveWire. In the last couple of weeks examples from here and here. But recently I was rather delighted when open data raised its head in one of my own projects - questions like how might the project engage with open data as users of it, but also perhaps as publishers. It all set me thinking.

In my last LiveWire post I reported that in the scientific community there is a very small percentage of research content that is open, however public sector information is opening up huge swathes of content.

Open data in the public sector comes from many portals. For example in central government and the Ordnance Survey Data Gallery there is now a growing requirement for content to be open and transparent. With the Cabinet Office recruiting members for a new body to help decide what information should become open for businesses and citizens, there seems to be a certain momentum about open data in the public sector.

What about open data and smart cities? And by that I mean improving the way we live in urban areas and being more efficient with our resources? Open data can help combine data in different ways such as crime and policing. A UK open data cities conference takes place in a couple of days with an emphasis on four key areas – democratic and accountable public services, enhancement of cultural experiences, development of new technologies including the semantic web and innovation in the media industry.

The global consulting organisation ARUP thinks smart cities and open data will play a huge part in the success of our urban areas. These information marketplaces should spawn innovation and new supply chains whilst tackling environmental and economic challenges too. Sounds quite idealistic and utopian.

One of the main questions around open data access and use is the issue of privacy. In a recent Information Age article there were suggestions from some organisations, such as IBM, of the possible real time data malicious misuse of weather, transport or traffic reports being quoted.

There were also some concerns around the right to request data that goes beyond the levels of freedom of information requests that organisations currently receive. The pharmaceutical industry has questions around safety and efficacy of drugs that could be gathered earlier in a drugs lifecycle and was discussed in a strategic session on the Cochrane Library – the gold standard of clinical evidence. That would indeed be helpful.

Another tweet catches my eye this morning just before I post to the LiveWire – the UK government open consultation standards events. Patents and licensing and levelling the playing field for IT government work gets the round table discussions going. And if you are a New Yorker, then your city needs your help too with open data policies, technical standards and guidelines. See the wiki site to collaborate with the City of New York.

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