A short list of some of the things I’ve worked on which I’ve particularly enjoyed

Part of planning for whatever comes next for me in my career involved reflecting on the things I’ve enjoyed doing. I’m pleased to say that there’s a quite a lot.

I thought I’d write some of them down to help me gather my thoughts around what I’d like to do more of in the future. And, well, it never hurts to share your experience when you’re looking for work. Right?

The list below focuses on projects and activities which I’ve contributed to or had a hand in leading.

There’s obviously more to a career and work than that. For example, I’ve enjoyed building a team and supporting them in their work and development. I’ve enjoyed pitching for and winning work and funding.

I’ve also very much enjoyed working with a talented group of people who have brought a whole range of different skills and experiences to projects we’ve collaborated on together. But this post isn’t about those things.

Some of the things I’ve enjoyed working on at the ODI

• Writing this paper on the value of open identifiers, which was co-authored with a team at Thomson Reuters. It was a great opportunity to distil a number of insights around the benefits of open, linked data. I think the recommendations stand up well. Its a topic I keep coming back to.
• Developing the open data maturity model and supporting tool. The model was used by Defra to assess all its arms-length bodies during their big push to release open data. It was adopted by a number of government agencies in Australia, and helped to structure a number of projects that the ODI delivered to some big private sector organisations. Today we’d scope the model around data in general, not just open data. And it needs a stronger emphasis on diversity, inclusion, equity and ethics. But I think the framework is still sound
• Working with the Met Office on a paper looking at the state of weather data infrastructure. This turned into a whole series of papers looking at different sectors. I particularly enjoyed this first one as it was a nice opportunity to look at data infrastructure through a number of different lenses in an area that was relatively new to me. The insight that an economic downturn in Russian lead to issues with US agriculture because of data gaps in weather forecasting might be my favourite example of how everything is intertwingled. I later used what I learned in that paper to write this primer on data infrastructure.
• Leading research and development of the open standards for data guidebook. Standards being another of my favourite topics, it was great to have space to explore this area in more detail. And I got to work with Edafe which was ace.
• Leading development of the OpenActive standards. Standards development is tiring work. But I’m pleased with the overall direction that we took and what we’ve achieved. I learned a lot. And I had the chance to iterate on what we were doing based on what we learned from developing the standards guidebook, before handing it over to others to lead. I’m pleased that we were able to align the standards with Schema.org and SKOS. I’m less pleased that it resulted in lots of video of me on YouTube leading discussions in the open.
• Developing a methodology for doing data ecosystem mapping. The ODI now has a whole tool and methodology for mapping data ecosystems. It’s used in a lot of projects. While I wouldn’t claim to have invented the idea of doing this type of exercise, the ODI’s approach directly builds on the session I ran at Open Data Camp #4. I plan to continue to work on this as there’s much more to explore.
• Leading development of the collaborative maintenance guidebook. Patterns provide a great way to synthesise and share insight. So it was fantastic to be able to apply that approach to capturing some of the lessons learned in projects like OpenStreetMap, Wikidata and other projects. There’s a lot that can be applied in this guidebook to help shape many different data projects and platforms. The future of data management is more, not less collaborative.
• Researching the sustainable institutions report. One of the reasons I (re-)joined the ODI about 4 years ago was to work on data institutions. Although we weren’t using that label at that point. I wanted to help to set up organisations like CrossRef, OpenStreetMap and others that are managing data for a community. So it was great to be involved in this background research. I still want to do that type of work, but want to be working in that type of organisation, rather than advising them.

There’s a whole bunch of other things I did during my time at the ODI.

For example, I’ve designed and delivered a training course on API design, evaluated a number of open data platforms, written code for a bunch of openly available tools, provided advice to bunch of different organisations around the world, and written guidance that still regularly gets used and referenced by people. I get a warm glow from having done all those things.

Things I’ve enjoyed working on elsewhere

I’ve also done a bunch of stuff outside the ODI that I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed. For example:

• I’ve helped to launch two new data-enabled products. Some years ago, I worked with the founders of Growkudos to design and build the first version of their platform, then helped them hire a technical team to take it forward. I also helped to launch EnergySparks, which is now used by schools around the country. I’m now a trustee of the charity.
• I’ve worked with the ONS Digital team. After working on this prototype for Matt Jukes and co at the ODI, it was great to spend a few months freelancing with Andy Dudfield and the team working on their data principles and standards to put stats on the web. Publishing statistics is good, solid data infrastructure work.
• Through Bath: Hacked, I’ve lead a community mapping activity to map wheelchair accessibility in the centre of Bath. It was superb to have people from the local community, from all walks of life, contributing to the project. Not ashamed to admit that I had a little cry when I learned that one of the mappers hadn’t been into the centre of Bath for years, because they’d felt excluded by their disability. But was motivated to be part of the project. That single outcome made it all worthwhile for me.

What do I want to do more of the in future? I’ve spent quite a bit of the last few years doing research and advising people about how they might go about their projects. But its time to get back into doing more hands-on practical work to deliver some data projects or initiatives. More doing, less advising.

So, I’m currently looking for work. If you’re looking for a “Leigh shaped” person in your organisation. Where “Leigh shaped” means “able to do the above kinds of things” then do get in touch.