The Telegraph --- Public data: Government should get out of the way of innovation

[Michael Lenczner-2]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8742476/Public-data-Government-should-get-out-of-the-way-of-innovation.html

"In the white heat of a technological revolution, a government
minister aggregates Britain’s assets and expertise into a state
corporation. The new public body is charged with taking on Silicon
Valley with innovative commercial products, bringing in a healthy
revenue stream for the taxpayer.
No, it is not 1968 and the minister responsible isn’t a slide-rule
wielding Tony Benn. It’s 2011, and the minister is the hard-nosed
Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office’s scourge of public sector
profligacy."

Michael Lenczner
CEO, Ajah
http://www.ajah.ca
514-400-4500
1-888-406-2524 (AJAH)

[Tracey P. Lauriault]

This is a really important article. 

 

The Ordinance Survey was reviled internatinally for is cost recovery / profit motive.  This is precicely why the UK Guardian Open Data Campaign took them to task.  Public institutions need to collect these data to govern, they get to govern with public funds which we pay into.  Data light is not in our best interest, but access to data are and the public, us, can decide how to innovate with these.  If our government data producing institutions privatize, like Land Information Ontario, like the Ontario Government did under Harris, or any other cadastre system in the country, then we go the way of the telecoms, where they own all the data about the infrastructure - the pipes and the content - and we have not seen a network map in Canada since 1984 as a result (http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/5thedition/economic/transportationandcommunications/mcr4105) and we have been arguing against them at the CRTC for ever. Statistics Canada is another example as it controls our demographic data under a marketing cost recovery regressive licensing lock and key!

 

I am not sure that is what we want.

On Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 11:40 AM, Michael Lenczner <[hidden email]> wrote:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8742476/Public-data-Government-should-get-out-of-the-way-of-innovation.html

"In the white heat of a technological revolution, a government
minister aggregates Britain’s assets and expertise into a state
corporation. The new public body is charged with taking on Silicon
Valley with innovative commercial products, bringing in a healthy
revenue stream for the taxpayer.
No, it is not 1968 and the minister responsible isn’t a slide-rule
wielding Tony Benn. It’s 2011, and the minister is the hard-nosed
Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office’s scourge of public sector
profligacy."

Michael Lenczner
CEO, Ajah
http://www.ajah.ca
<a href="tel:[phone]" value="[phone]">514-400-4500
<a href="tel:[phone]" value="[phone]">1-888-406-2524 (AJAH)
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