Northern Ireland to improve access to public data

"The government produces masses of information and data hidden away in obscure publications or odd corners of websites", the DFP writes in a short introduction on the new web site. "The inaccessibility of this data and information means that it is difficult for its owners  -  you - to do something useful with it."

The site was officially opened by Finance Minister Sammy Wilson. According to a statement published by the department, the minister   said: "OpenDataNI will improve the way government consults with the public, ensuring that public sector information is made as simple as possible for people to find and use."

The DFP says the pilot fits in a growing trend of methods developed to harness the public's ideas to improve government products and
services. The department will try to get other Northern Ireland departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies to release non-personal information for publication.

So far the website has links to seven data files, data sources, tools and services. One example of a data file is the Health and Social Care NI, a list of addresses and postcodes of health and social Care providers in Northern Ireland. The site lists that this data is
available in several formats, CVS and XML and the proprietary XLS. "The Health and Social Care for NI Providers database is also available as a webservice", the site adds.

One of the data sources links to Air Quality NI, which provides visitors with information on air pollution in Northern Ireland. An example of a tool is a link to the NI Healthcare Database, a database of Northern Ireland healthcare practitioners and organisations.

A similar website was launched in the same month by a Swedish citizen.  The website Opengov.se aims to compile a list of public data, with the goal of making the data more accessible.

More information:

Open Data NI

Department of Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland

Statement by Department of Finance and Personnel