Open data case studies
Open data has the capacity to change the way we all live and work as well as to meet requirements needed for innovative and transformative solutions. Enabling transformation with open data is much more than just publishing spreadsheets and new data, it has to go much further to ensure learning and development can be embedded.
Recently quite a lot of data stories have been published by various organisations, communities and groups. These stories are a great way to help provide context to how data is, and can be, used to help people understand the use and meaning of local data.
I thought it would be worth putting a few of these case study sources together to highlight some of the thoughts about the future of data transformation and open data nationally and locally.
Open data case studies allow context to be added to any released open data and to show how it has been used, what the possibilities are for further use and how it can have a real impact.
Local Government Association (LGA)- Making open data work for you: case studies
The LGA shares some examples of open data use specifically in local authorities. This is designed to meet local needs and demands by promoting open data and encouraging sharing and sector learning.
Many local authorities increasingly release open data in meaningful and innovative ways and engage with local groups to make better use of it. This list from the LGA contains some of the highlights of projects and innovation that are occurring locally in the UK.
Open data Handbook | Value Stories
The Open Data Handbook is one of the swathe of resources available from Open Knowledge International.
These value stories illustrate how data is being used by projects all over the globe and it is a very good mix of country specific stories, case studies of open data business models and informative blog posts on any and all to do with open data.
Open Data Aha! | Blog
Open data Aha! is a website that is designed to signpost to open data that is being used in ‘real life’. It aims to get the open data-related stories at-source, add them to a larger pool, and begin to look for patterns, gaps, trends and techniques which might be re-usable elsewhere.
This site has been compiling open data stories from around the world for a while now and also includes unique commentary and analysis from a swathe of open data contributors and leaders.
Open Data Aha! has been run as an experiment, currently on hiatus and having a look around, and considering whether / how to turn this experiment into something sustainable. There is still lots of relevant content and examples available from them. Mark Braggins
It also publishes a handy compiled feed of open data stories and blogs from some of main players in the UK: http://opendata-aha.net/feed/
Open Data Blog
Great examples of developments happening with open data, linked data, data visualisations and all things innovation. The case studies cover everything from election results, data dashboards and most importantly playing with government statistics and trying things out. There is a great mix of themes covered and it is a useful site for anyone interested to see what can be done with data in new and the art of the possible. Included on site is handy list of apps that have been developed by the site author.
Gov.uk — Data in government | Open Data Case Studies
This is the Gov.uk blog post illustrating some of the uses of open data, who is using it and what innovative products are coming up.
This is an oldie but a goodie (2012) and has some examples of projects and initiatives that are still in existence today. If you find these case studies intriguing, the Data In Government blog has more up-to-date stories, news and opinions.
Ordnance Survey (OS) | Case studies-OS data in action across the UK economy
A well curated collection of OS OpenData case studies showing how they and geographic data can help businesses and the public sector to develop better decisions making tools and how to improve services and products. Importantly, showing my geo bias here, it concentrates on the geographic element of data so this may introduce new dimensions in what data consumers understand open data can be used for.
Being the OS, there’s also a useful map of where the initiatives are taking place that can be filtered by industry (Central government, financial services, health,…).
Open Data Institute (ODI)
A collection of open data case studies covering different industries, countries and types of data. Some good examples especially for SMEs and start-up out there and the ODIHQ make a good job of highlighting the latest developments and uses of open data and the innovations that are taking place in the industry.
Cambridgeshire Insight Open Data | Stories
Cambridgeshire Insight Open Data is the open data portal for Cambridgeshire and local partners. This project provides local open data from public sector and community publishers to support others to plan and then respond to the challenges locally.
These local open data stories are provided by the data publishers and are designed to help provide context to how data is, and can be, used in local projects and to help people understand the context of local data. As a result the stories can be on a range of quite diverse topics, from pupil forecasting and demographics to smart cities and air quality.
Update 25/02/2017
Thanks to Mark Braggins for pointing out this next example.
Data Campfire
Make Friends with Data
Data Campfire is a platform for the data visualisation community, where they collaborate on Data Visualisation Challenges, learn and share to solve data visualisation challenges.
I haven’t used this one myself but it looks like an intriguing project, and a great idea!, and I’m really keen to see how it develops. Check it out at http://www.datacampfire.com.
Next steps
Open data is growing and so are the associated stories, case studies and examples out there. So there is a a lot more available than just the above but it’s a good starting point. Please do hunt them down and add any additionals in the contents below.
