Google Zeitgeist 2011 keynote: the importance of open government data
Cheryl Foong, 17 May 2011
At the Google Zeitgeist 2011 event held in UK, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon George Osborne MP delivered a keynote address emphasising the importance of open government data:
“For politicians of my generation, the incredible disruptive impact of the internet is not a threat – it’s an opportunity.
An opportunity to build societies that are more open, more innovative and more prosperous.”
The Chancellor looked at the “three most dramatic ways the internet is changing government”, i.e.:
1. Changing accountability
2. Changing policy making
3. Changing public services
The Chancellor also announced two important developments in UK’s open government data initiative:
- A new “smart cities” Research Centre, a collaboration between leading universities Imperial College London and University College London, which focuses on energy data, transport data and social data. The Research Centre “will develop new technologies […] to harness and exploit these new datasets, and support the businesses and technologies of the future”.
- The recruitment of Beth Noveck (former White House Chief Technology Officer who led the Open and Transparent Government initiative) to take the open government agenda forward.
A transcript of the address is available at the HM Treasury website.