Data power for the people

PA 281/1 A series of free master classes is being held across the UK to teach the general public about the tools and techniques needed to use and analyse the increasing amount of national and local data being made available via the internet, while avoiding the pitfalls of interpreting statistics. The programme of events, led by Horizon Digital Economy Research and the Centre for Geospatial Science at The University of Nottingham, is open to anyone with an interest in obtaining and using public information on a whole range of topics including crime, healthcare, transport, schools and census data. The information, which could be used to reveal national trends or provide supporting evidence on local issues, would be of particular relevance to local community or campaign groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charities, civil servants and professionals with a role in the planning of local services. It comes following the launch in recent months of data.gov.uk and the London Data Store, which aim to open up access to data held by central government departments about the capital and the regions. The launch of sites making government data freely available and the publication of significant geographical data by the Ordnance Survey came following a concerted open data movement, led by web developers, and a Free Our Data campaign by the national Guardian newspaper. Dr Hanif Rahemtulla, a research fellow in Horizon Digital Economy Research and the Centre for Geospatial Science, said: "The past few months have seen a number of high profile announcements in relation to the release of central and local government data for free.