The Open Data Institute: The time for data-driven innovation is now | James Vincent | Independent Uncategorized Blogs

"Officially launched on 4 of December the Open Data Institute (ODI) is an independent, non-profit and non-partisan company that aims to become the UK’s premier academy of big data. Considering the current hype surrounding terms such as ‘big data’, there are some that might view this new initiative with suspicion but the ODI seems part of an understated if confident shift in how the UK is taking advantage of a natural resource of the information age: data. The project was first conceived by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton Nigel Shadbolt. The pair made a joint statement in The Times, detailing their vision for data-driven innovation and increased government transparency regarding this information. They describe the main goal of the ODI as '[helping] the public sector to use its own data more effectively,' allowing private companies and public institutions to 'develop the capability of UK businesses to exploit open data, fostering a generation of open data entrepreneurs'. So far these goals seem well-grounded; in terms of both investment and the UK’s current climate of data-access. The ODI is receiving £10m over the next five years from the Technology Strategy Board, a non-departmental public body specialising in tech research and development, and $750,000 over two years from the Omidyar Network (a philanthropic investment firm), whilst recent research by Deloitte has identified a 285 per cent increase in page views at data.gov.uk between January 2010 and September 2012. Of course, page views mean nothing if they aren’t translated into usable services and information, and so the ODI will also serve as a business incubator, helping start-ups to identify the best uses for the UK’s data. Currently there are four companies within the ODI’s program: OpenCorporates, the ‘open database of the business world’ which has information on 49 million companies collected from publicly-available data; Placr which aims to create a single source for UK transport information, including timetables, departures, and disruptions; Locatable, a search tool for where to live – offering details on anything from commute times to crime rates; and Mastadon C, who describe themselves as ‘agile big data specialists’, helping clients get the most from their current data sets. The aims of these companies suggest that the ODI’s main benefit to the public will be via the creation of new web-services and apps...  As well as the possibility of these future services there have already been tangible benefits coming out of the ODI. Mastadon C – one of the incubated companies – recently collaborated with Ben Goldacre (the writer and doctor known for his Bad Science book and column) and Open Health Care UK (the healthy technology start-up behind the NHS Hack Days), to identify prescriptions savings of over £200m..."