In three years, OpenCorporates has built the largest openly licensed database of companies in the world, growing from 3 million companies at launch to listing over 60 million today. The service is regularly used by journalists, anti-corruption investigato

The ODI’s Data as Culture art programme aims to engage diverse audiences with artists and works that use data as an art material. The 2014 commission explores our relationship with surveillance, privacy, and personal data, taking a critical and sometim

The extension of the open data programme to personal data such as medical records was based on the hope that personal data could be anonymised. This is turning into a slow-motion political train wreck, with the care.data scandal and the revelation that th

In 2010, David Cameron described how he expected an army of concerned citizen to become “effective armchair auditors” and use open data to “look over the books, denounce waste, the expensive vanity projects and pointless schemes that we’ve had in

Ian Holt, Head of Developer Outreach at Ordnance Survey, explained and demonstrated what difference the addition of linked data sets has made to the organisation’s open map data. Using examples and case studies, he showed what linked data makes possibl

For our 14th February, 2014 lecture… Climate change is global, yet solving the challenges are often local and bound up in policy making, industrial, organisational and personal decision making. Co-founder of Cleanweb UK and entrepreneur Chris Adams exp

At the January 31st lunchtime lecture, Alan Patrick, co-founder of Broadsight, examined what lessons can be learnt from past technologies such as search, and the most likely safeguards required over the next few years. How do prevent abuse of open data by

Ian Makgill of SpendNetwork, examined government procurement. Can open data be used to protect public investments and deliver an IT project on time and within budget. SpendNetwork believe that government shouldn’t have to pay for spend analysis, as lon

What does it take to be legally open? Amanda Brock, Director, Origin International Technology Law and Dr Ian Walden, Professor of Information and Communications Law, Queen Mary, University of London, walked us through how to use the law with attitude - Ex

What does it take to be legally open? Amanda Brock, Director, Origin International Technology Law and Dr Ian Walden, Professor of Information and Communications Law, Queen Mary, University of London, walked us through how to use the law with attitude - Ex