This document discusses CouncilData stores and how data can flow from these stores. It addresses questions around who the data is for, whether the data flows, what formats it is available in like CSV and KML. The document also discusses whether the data can be queried, how timely and live the data is, issues around linked data and data ownership. It advocates using council data to power websites and operations and making council information openly available as data that can be queried and extracted in standard formats.

1. A Quick Look Round CouncilData Stores Tony Hirst Department of Communication and Systems The Open University

2. data NOT information

3. Cf. syndication

5. 3 DiscoverRequestReuse

6. Archival dataCurrent data

17. Verticals

24. Who’s the data for?

26. Does the data flow?

29. http://data.london.gov.uk/datastore/package/births-and-fertility-rates http://data.london.gov.uk/datastore/package/births-and-fertility-rates.csv http://data.london.gov.uk/datastore/package/births-and-fertility-rates.xml

30. CSV

36. So CSV helps simple data flow…

37. =importData(“CSV_URL”)

39. The spreadsheet becomes A DATABASE

40. =userDefinedFormula()

47. KML

52. So KML helps geo-data flow…

53. Malleable data views

54. Can you query it?

55. query: :response

56. http://bit.ly/9sElKU

57. http://bit.ly/aiWnfe

59. Timely data…

61. Live data…

65. Linked Data™

66. Distinct identities?

68. So who speaks SPARQL?

69. Whose data is it anyway?

70. Eat your own dog food

71. Use YOUR data:- to power the council website- in everyday council operations- when working with organisations under council control

72. can I get council info as data?can I query the data?can I get the data out in a standard format?

73. Letter to Government departments on opening up data Monday 31 May 2010

74. Local government spending transparency New items of local government spending over £500 to be published on a council-by-council basis from January 2011. New local government contracts and tender documents for expenditure over £500 to be published in full from January 2011. Monday 31 May 2010

75. [T]he Deputy Prime Minister and I would be grateful if departments would take immediate action to meet this timetable for data transparency, and to ensure that any data published is made available in an open format so that it can be re-used by third parties. From July 2010, government departments and agencies should ensure that any information published includes the underlying data in an open standardised format.

76. Analog Synth Meeting by Todd Huffman The whiteboard by rh Question Mark and Arrow by laurakgibbs my office by moonpir Craft by Vicky Hugheston dog food by notto86 Geocaching by William Hook Diners - Journal Canteen by avlxyz

77. http://ouseful.info@psychemedia