Category: Data Ecosystems

The data ecosystem for non-domestic energy consumption data in the UK

Since joining Energy Sparks I've started investing time in trying to understanding the UK energy system and, in particular, the parts of its data infrastructure and broader ecosystem that we work with. It's a big, complex system so lots to wrap my head around. I looked at one part of that data ecosystem in a … Continue reading The data ecosystem for non-domestic energy consumption data in the UK →

We need the right data institutions

Popular Science have recently published three pieces of speculative fiction exploring the question of "will 'we the people' benefit from our data?". They're called "Shared data", "The Memory of Tomatoes" and "Home@Heart". Each of the pieces of fiction is followed up a response from a policy expert. I read the first of these this morning. … Continue reading We need the right data institutions →

What is Swash and is it really changing data ownership?

This is another in a very occasional series of blog posts where I look at different data initiatives, institutions or infrastructure in order to understand a bit more about how they work. And then have opinions about them. Previously I wrote about Common Voice. This time I'm looking at Swash which describes itself as "reimagining … Continue reading What is Swash and is it really changing data ownership? →

Why are we still building portals?

The Geospatial Commission have recently published some guidance on Designing Geospatial Data Portals. There's a useful overview in the accompanying blog post. It's good clear guidance that should help anyone building a data portal. It has tips for designing search interfaces, presenting results and dataset metadata. There's very little advice that is specifically relevant to … Continue reading Why are we still building portals? →

How do data publishing choices shape data ecosystems?

This is the latest in a series of posts in which I explore some basic questions about data. In our work at the ODI we have often been asked for advice about how best to publish data. When giving trying to give helpful advice, one thing I'm always mindful of is how the decisions about … Continue reading How do data publishing choices shape data ecosystems? →

Open Data Camp Pitch: Mapping data ecosystems

I'm going to Open Data Camp #4 this weekend. I'm really looking forward to catching up with people and seeing what sessions will be running. I've been toying with a few session proposals of my own and thought I'd share an outline for this one to gauge interest and get some feedback. I'm calling the session: … Continue reading Open Data Camp Pitch: Mapping data ecosystems →