Are Open Data Efforts Working?; Government Technology, March 2018

Adam Stone, Government Technology; Are Open Data Efforts Working?

"Data managers say that in their fondest dreams, they’ll do more than count data sets and track clicks. They are looking for metrics that connect open data to social outcomes.

Are babies healthier because of open data? Are streets safer? That’s the holy grail of open data metrics, and data chiefs from cities large and small agree that we’re not there yet. In these still-early days of open data, there’s no algorithm that will cleanly and clearly describe the impact of open data on society at large.

“There needs to be more conversation at the national level about how to measure success, especially on the public side,” Roche said. “Maybe there needs to be a standard set of metrics across cities to let us benchmark the use of open data. It’s something we all need to be exploring.”"

There is no shortage of open data. The question is, is anyone using it?; Computer Weekly, 1/9/17

Jonathan Stoneman, Computer Weekly; There is no shortage of open data. The question is, is anyone using it?

"Why publishing data is not enough

So there is no shortage of open data – but is anyone using it? The UK government’s data portal, data.gov.uk, currently shows 36,552 published datasets available, and just over 30,000 of those have an open government licence. There are 6,444 more without a licence and, intriguingly, a further 3,664 are listed as “unpublished”.

Some 1,401 government departments, including local government and agencies, are listed as “publishers”. Two million datasets were downloaded in 2016, but 11,481 – 31% of the whole collection – were not, not even once.

The UK government sees publication as a measure in itself."