U.K. National Government Open Data Portal
Project Overview
Portal information
Impact
Since its inception, data.gov.uk has grown to become a leading example of a government open data portal on a global scale. The platform has effectively managed the growth from just a few datasets to many thousands, handling a corresponding increase in site traffic. The portal has had a substantial impact, playing an essential enabling role in the UK government's development of its transparency and open data agenda. As a result, it has strengthened the UK's reputation for openness and innovation in governmental data sharing.
As Datopian, we were entrusted with the mission of creating the United Kingdom National Government Data Portal, data.gov. The intent was to establish a centralized platform for the wealth of government data, making it easily discoverable, licensable, and reusable. Built using CKAN for cataloging, searching, displaying, and storing data, our team played a pivotal role in developing the site from its inception, maintaining it for the first two years, and successfully transitioning the project to the UK government in-house data.gov.uk team in early 2012.
Key Features & Functionality
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Centralized Access: The platform provides a centralized portal to access a wealth of government data.
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Easy to Find: The platform employs an efficient search engine to ensure users can find relevant datasets easily.
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Easy to License: The platform simplifies the licensing process, making it easy for users to understand how they can use the available data.
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Easy to Reuse: Data sets are presented in reusable formats to encourage the development of applications, insights, and solutions.
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Scalability: The platform is designed to handle growth, successfully managing an increase from a few dozen to thousands of datasets, and a corresponding rise in site traffic.
Services Provided
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Throughout the course of the project, our team delivered an array of services, including:
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Development and Design: Building the site from its inception using CKAN to catalog, search, display, and store data.
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Maintenance and Support: Our team provided the primary maintenance and support for the first two years of the project.
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Metadata management, file hosting, and API integration for individual agency CKAN instances.
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Transition: We ensured a successful transition of the project to the UK government's in-house team in early 2012.
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Continuous Support: Despite the handoff, we continue to work closely with the in-house team, contributing to the ongoing development and maintenance of the platform.
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Contribution to Open Source: Data.gov.uk has become a major contributor to the CKAN codebase and community, exemplifying the advantages of open-source projects.