Open Data Consultancy Final Report

1. Introduction

This report presents the outcomes of the Open Data Consultancy study that Swirrl IT Limited was commissioned to carry out for the Scottish Government from September to November 2013. The study incorporated 3 main components:

• Understanding the needs of the Scottish Government regarding data publishing and internal data management and advising how the open data approach could be applied in this context
• Holding a series of three workshops to raise awareness and explain the details of open data to staff from the Scottish Government
• Creating a pilot website to illustrate how open data, and in particular linked open data, could be applied in practice to improve access to Scottish Government statistical data.

This report describes the findings and suggestions arising from the study and aims to provide useful reference information and discussion points, to assist the Scottish Government in developing a plan for how it makes use of open data in future.