{"id":40032,"date":"2023-10-20T15:05:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/why-the-future-will-be-built-on-open-data-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:05:55","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:05:55","slug":"why-the-future-will-be-built-on-open-data-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/why-the-future-will-be-built-on-open-data-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the future will be built on open data – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Rikke Duus<\/a>, UCL<\/a><\/em> and Mike Cooray<\/a>, Hult International Business School<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Data has the power to revolutionise and disrupt the way societies are governed. None more so than open data<\/a>, which is free to access, free to use and can be shared by anyone. It\u2019s non-personal and can be used to identify and predict large-scale trends and behaviours. This is as opposed to closed data that is restricted to internal use by an organisation.<\/p>\n

Many organisations are now seeing the benefits of open data. The European Union Open Data Portal<\/a>, the British government\u2019s efforts under the banner of Opening up Government<\/a>, and the Global Open Data Index<\/a> are three examples of initiatives that bring together and make available large amounts of data about industry, health, education, and employment among other fields.<\/p>\n

Others focus on improving transparency, for example where UK taxpayers’ taxes are spent<\/a>, or how farm subsidies are spent across Europe<\/a>. There are also organisations, such as the Open Society, that call for greater transparency in order to hold government to account<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So the availability of open data creates opportunities for all kinds of organisations, government agencies and not-for-profits to come up with new ways of addressing society\u2019s problems. These include predictive healthcare, and planning and improving London\u2019s public transport system.<\/p>\n

In fact, Transport for London was one of the first public bodies to put open data to use to create new applications. More than 5,000 developers have registered to use its data, distributed through 30 feeds<\/a>. This includes journey planning, disruptions, arrival and departure predictions, timetables, routes and fares. Collaborations with developers have led to the popular app, Citymapper<\/a>, and accessible apps such as the Colourblind Tube Map<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Data and where it comes from: closed, shared, and open models.<\/span>
ODI<\/span>, CC BY-SA<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Insight into action<\/h2>\n

Collaborations between multiple partners can help convert open data from insight into action. However, it requires data providers, data users and data developers to come together for a common goal as is the case with Future City Glasgow.<\/p>\n

In 2013 Glasgow City Council won \u00a324m in funding from Innovate UK to identify ways of using technology and data to make life in the city safer, smarter and more sustainable<\/a>. This was based on making large amounts of non-sensitive and non-personal data from various providers openly accessible online. Using this data, developers create new applications that organisations and individuals alike can use.<\/p>\n

Currently more than 370 open datasets<\/a> are available that map the activities of the city, including travel, demographic, education, energy, health and safety data. This is cross-referenced with real-time data from CCTV, traffic management, Police Scotland, community enforcement and emergency services. Anyone visiting or living in the city has access to a personalised dashboard with real-time updates and information that can help them navigate the city. More cities throughout the UK are now putting technology in place to take advantage of open data.<\/p>\n