Obama administration lauds role in Data.gov.uk

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 22 Jan 2010 at 09:05

The Obama administration has patted itself on the back for the UK Government's introduction of Data.gov.

In a blog post entitled "They Gave Us The Beatles, We Gave Them Data.gov", Barack Obama's chief information officer Vivek Kundra congratulates the UK Government on giving the public access to Government data - before saluting the US's role in the effort.

The Federal Government does not have a monopoly on the best ideas

"Taking a page from our efforts here in the Obama Administration, the United Kingdom has launched data.gov.uk – a site to aggregate datasets from the UK Government," Kundra writes. "It is exciting to see the seeds of openness, accountability, and transparency taking root around the world."

He goes on to graciously concede that "the Federal Government does not have a monopoly on the best ideas. We are all part of an increasingly complex network of communities, ideas, and information," he writes.

"We are pleased to see that other governments share the Administration's philosophy that data availability will help change how government operates and empower citizens to participate in making government services more effective, accessible, and transparent," he concludes.

Data.gov was launched by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and provides public access to NHS figures, crime data, environmental studies and more.