Open data and the charity sector: a perfect fit | News | guardian.co.uk

abernard102@gmail.com 2013-05-01

Summary:

"Government officials, charity leaders and senior figures from the open data movement said on Monday that the UK must foster an environment of collaboration and transparency in order to share best practices from the public and private sectors with nonprofit organisations. 'Part of the value of civil society is holding power to account, and if this can be underpinned by good quality data, we will have a very powerful tool indeed', said Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society. "The UK is absolutely at the vanguard of the global open data movement, and NGOs have a great sense that this is something they want to play a part in. "There is potential to help them do more of what they do, and to do it better, but they're going to need a lot of help in terms of information and access to events where they can exchange ideas and best practice." Third sector has for too long been misread as third place when it comes to nonprofits. Data has been widely touted as the future of the public and private sectors but when it comes to the adoption of big data initiatives, it is difficult to find a sector more ripe for revolution. The opportunities offered by wider use of data in the third sector are many, from allowing individual organisations to provide donors and funding bodies with more tangible evidence of their successes, to opening up previously inaccessible datasets that could revolutionise their operations. Peter Wanless, CEO of the Big Lottery Fund (BLF), which distributes lottery money to community-run projects, has already seen how better use of data and increased openness can streamline the funding award process, allowing deserving charities to get the money they need as quickly as possible ..."

Link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/apr/30/open-data-charities-perfect-fit

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) ยป abernard102@gmail.com

Tags:

oa.new oa.psi oa.comment oa.best_practices oa.quality oa.funders oa.third_sector oa.government oa.data

Date tagged:

05/01/2013, 13:44

Date published:

05/01/2013, 09:44