Case Studies

Made for: The (UK) Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)

Date: April 2011

Website: opendatacommunities.org

This site is the result of a collaboration with the DCLG, who published the 2010 Index of Multiple Deprivation statistics in March of 2011. As recommended by the Public Sector Transparency Board, this Linked Data site supplements the traditional approach of just publishing an Excel file.

The aim of this Linked Data version is make the data easier to reuse, browse and navigate. To illustrate this, we also created a web-application called IMD Mapper, which gets data via the PublishMyData API and allows you to browse the deprivation indicators on a map. We've been blogging about how we made IMD Mapper on our Learn Linked Data blog.

Thanks to friends at Swirrl, we have now built a full LinkedData version of the 2007 and 2010 English Indices of Deprivation (IMD). The dataset sits on Swirrl's "PublishMyData" platform, which means - if you're a software developer - it can be directly queried and results obtained in a variety of formats.

Steve Peters, DCLG

Made for: Manchester Digital Development Agency Hackday & DataGM.

Date: April 2011 - October 2011

Website: linkedmanchester.org

LinkedManchester was initially created for the Lovely Data MDDA Hackday in April 2011 with a Linked Data version of the TfGM bus timetable data. The bus timetable data housed here is used as the basis for several apps via our API, including GMBuses and NextBus.

We were awarded the Linked Data award in the 2011 Open Data Challenge (a European-wide competition run by the Open Knowledge Foundation) for the bus timetable data on this site.

In October 2011, we added Trafford Spending Data as a demonstration study for DataGM.

I had tried to create a Bus Times app but the enormity of the dataset stalled my work. Then Swirrl created the Linked Data version of the TfGM data and within a day I had created a reliable and simple app showing the times of buses at bus stops across Greater Manchester. Without Swirrl's work and experienced help my app would not exist and I'd keep missing by bus!

Ben Gibbs, creator of the GMBuses web app, and member of the DataGM steering committee.

They have made the [Manchester Bus Data] easily available for both human eyes, and for application developers thus stimulating innovative uses of the data.

Richard Wallis, Talis, Open Data Challenge judge

Made for: Various uses

Date: 2011

Website: publishmydata.com/datasets

We normally create separate sites to host data for a particular topic, but this is an additional collection of datasets which you may find useful and interesting. Where appropriate, we include some of these on our other sites for cross-referencing and querying.

Made for: ALISS

Date: October 2011

Website: data.aliss.org

The ALISS project is about pulling together and curating resources for people in Scotland with long-term health conditions: providing the tools, activities and information people need to manage their condition effectively. Swirrl's contribution has been to take the information already held in the 'ALISS engine' and make it available as Linked Data. The ALISS engine already has an API, but providing a SPARQL endpoint and Linked Data offers an additional way that application or website developers can access the information, and will help make connections to other useful data.

Made for: Aberdeen County Council

Date: May 2011

Website: linkeddata.aberdeencity.gov.uk

An initial selection of Aberdeen's open data in Linked Data format, with more datasets on the way.

Made for: Scottish Linked Data Group

Date: February 2011

Website: linkedscotland.org

A home and proof of concept for Linked Open Data about Scotland, set up for the Feb 2011 Scottish Linked Data group hackday. Read more.