Open Data Institute Forges Stronger Connections Between Data Innovators and UK Government

Speaking at the Open Data Institute's (ODI) third annual Summit, British Minister Matt Hancock said the ODI will help bring the voice and views of businesses and innovators working across the data spectrum to the Government's Cabinet Office, and spread awareness of data innovation across government.

He said:

As a data-driven government, we want to engage with the UK’s data economy. So from today, I’ve asked the ODI to help us connect with the businesses, start-ups and innovators progressing this field. Those who are at the leading edge, not just in open data but across the whole data spectrum.

In the same speech, the Minister announced that the Cabinet Office is creating a steering group to oversee the work of embedding data infrastructure across government. The ODI’s chairman, Sir Nigel Shadbolt and the CEO of former ODI Startup, Mastodon C, Francine Bennett will sit on the committee along with other digital and data experts.

The ODI’s mission is to connect, equip and inspire people around the world to innovate with data. Through its membership, events and other activities, the ODI will enable Ministers and officials to engage directly with businesses to inform the Cabinet Office’s work around data. It’s envisaged that the new relationship will lead to:

  • Strong engagement between the Cabinet Office & the business community on the use of government data;
  • Government understanding of data developments & challenges in the data innovation community and;
  • A better understanding within that community of the Cabinet Office’s data programme.

Welcoming the announcement, the ODI’s CEO, Gavin Starks said:

The Cabinet Office is backing the UK’s leadership role in shaping the future of our data infrastructure. Companies working with data will benefit from the deeper connection with Government and help deliver open innovation that is geared to the pace of our digital economy.

Today’s announcement comes as the ODI celebrates its third successful year at its annual summit. Since being founded in 2012 by Sir Tim Berners Lee and Sir Nigel Shadbolt in 2012, the ODI has*:

  • Unlocked over £40M** of value in investments, contracts, sales and efficiencies globally.
  • Trained 2.79K people with open data skills, from entry level open data knowledge, to open data science, including 25 registered ODI trainers.
  • Actively reached 1.69 million people worldwide in person and online, through events, training and international engagements.
  • Certified over 151K open datasets with an Open Data Certificate, recognising high quality publication of open data.

Other speakers at the event, which celebrated Generation Open, included: Sir Tim Berners Lee, Martha Lane Fox and Sir Nigel Shadbolt.

Open Data Institute Forges Stronger Connections Between Data Innovators and UK Government was authored by Hannah Foulds and published in the Open Data Institute Blog. It is being republished by Open Health News under Creative Commons. The original copy of the article can be found here.