We live in a world full of data. But what’s the point if ...

"I was recently sitting in a room with over 100 other people who passionately believe in the importance of data and ­– more specifically – the importance of the open data movement. We were contemplating the big questions – has the opening up of data in the last five years actually led to a change in people’s lives? Is open data the key to achieving the engagement and empowerment of the most vulnerable, the most marginalised and the most excluded in society? And if­ not why are we putting so much time and effort into generating more and more of it?

It is absolutely true that data has immense potential to lead to positive change in people’s lives, whether that’s by improving targeting of health services, identifying risks associated with weather patterns, or understanding barriers to education. However, simply producing more data – open or otherwise – is not enough."