The article "Open Linked Data to Inform Policy and Improve Services", written by Mike Thacker from Porism & esd Toolkit has been published in the European Journal of ePractice nr 12. The European Journal of ePractice is a peer-reviewed online publication on eTransformation. The Journal belongs to the ePractice.eu community, is sponsored by the European Commission as part of its good practice exchange activity and is run by an independent Editorial Board. The journal has a target audience of 50,000 professionals in Europe and beyond, and builds on a community of some 25,000 members.

The Linked Data approach provides a way of publishing government data to make meaningful interpretation possible. It allows joining up of information from different organisations to facilitate collaboration. It lets non-government organisations, including businesses and pressure groups, produce fresh insights.

The paper summarises the main techniques of Linked Data and why those techniques lend themselves to an evolutionary approach to information sharing. It describes applications of Linked Data in the UK in line with the UK Government’s transparency agenda. Challenges to the adoption of Linked Data are presented. The paper concludes by highlighting the potential of Linked Data to improve evidence-based policy making. It recommends that policy makers encourage use of Linked Data and consistent use of URI sets across government organisations.

* Read the article: http://www.epractice.eu/en/document/5290094
* Download the full issue: http://www.epractice.eu/files/European%20Journal%20epractice%20Volume%20...
* About the journal: http://www.epractice.eu/en/journal