DataPress is a platform that publishes raw data and helps non-technical users analyse and release open data.
Open data is helping to solve common problems for businesses and governments. Initiatives in the UK are starting to democratize the availability of information, but many people still find it hard to access or understand data from governments and local councils.
This is the problem DataPress is trying to solve. The London-based start-up, founded by former developers who worked on the UK Government’s data.gov.uk website, transforms data from local governments into easy-to-use resources for residents and communities. The founders also believe that more open data will help encourage start-ups, with entrepreneurs using data to develop business ideas.
The DataPress cloud-based platform allows government officials to better open up complicated information and statistics. The team at DataPress works with civil servants to build data visualizations for everyday use, and to offer training to help turn public data into a public utility.
The company has worked with teams in London and Leeds to improve their use of open-source data. The platform also helps users to ‘follow’ data publishers in a similar manner to a blog – the developers describe their idea as a ‘Wordpress for data’.
Barnet Borough Council in London was one of the first to take on DataPress to run their data portal. Their aim was to be the most transparent local authority in the UK. After launching their DataPress platform, the council experienced a surge of web traffic and renewed public interest in open data. Originally, the council had hired a non-profit organization to build their first data portal, at a cost of £40,950, but needed a long-term sustainable solution. The DataPress hosting plan saved the council tens of thousands of pounds.
DataPress’s other flagship project was known as the Leeds Data Mill. It aimed to help the city to become smarter by harnessing, interpreting and presenting open data on the city’s waste, air quality, footfall and other criteria, in an effort to help decision-makers and consumers change for the better. The city is using the platform to host events and hackathons, engaging with developers and sharing raw datasets. The Data Mill relies on CKAN and WordPress. Open-source plug-ins can host event pages and integrate with Meetup.com. Developers and companies can contribute their own datasets during a hackathon, and Leeds wants to build its open-data community.
The city of Amsterdam has since enlisted DataPress to build and run its publishing platform, data.amsterdam.nl. The city required a bespoke platform that matched their visual identity and made use of technologies like CKAN and Wordpress. They were also keen to encourage more people to get involved in data publishing, so needed an interface that made it easy to publish and to view data.
Jasper Soetendal, programme manager of Open Data for the city of Amsterdam, said: ‘We want to encourage data-driven decision-making in the city.’ Soetendal aims to make Amsterdam smarter, more agile, transparent and efficient, using open data. The first step involved providing a clear overview of what data is available for his colleagues and partners and for application developers, researchers and citizens. DataPress enables both data and content publishing in a single platform, and is mobile-responsive and compatible with all open-data standards by default. Open data creates a dialogue between governments, councils and citizens, and helps to create smarter, safer, more efficient cities.
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Website: datapress.com
Contact: contact@datapress.io
Innovation name: DataPress
Country: United Kingdom
Industries: Government & legal / Smart cities