ONS embraces true open data agenda by tearing down registration wall - IT News from V3.co.uk

"Web users' desire for high speed access to digital services means that they are no longer willing to tolerate registration walls, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). ONS geography policy and research manager Ian Coady cited his experience helping create the Open Geography Portal as proof of the change in UK web user behaviour during an interview with V3. 'We ran a consultation to start to understand Open Geography Portal customers. One of the early responses we had was that people don't want to register to download data,' he said. 'They just want to get it, and feel if you have to register it's not open data. Because of this we removed registration requirements from the portal so people could just get straight into it.' The Open Geography Portal initiative was launched by the ONS in 2013, designed to offer freely accessible digital geographic data, mapping information and aerial imagery. Coady said the shift is due to efforts by the UK government to increase the nation's digital awareness ..."