Open and linked data
Open data is all about 'opening up' non-personal data held by the government and making it freely available to you. A list of bus stops, details of train timetables or information about healthcare providers in your area are all considered examples of open data.
When the data is structured in a certain way, enabling it to be combined with other data to create something new, it becomes known as linked data. For example, combining a list of bus stops with postcode data to create a map of bus stops near your home.
The aim of open and linked data is to allow you to view information, and re-use it in useful ways which can help increase access to public services for everyone.
In Northern Ireland, the OpenDataNI website contains details of some government data.
Developed by the Department of Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland, it contains information about:
- dentists, opticians, GPs, residential care centres and hospitals
- out-of-hours rotas for pharmacies
- bus and train timetables.
data.gov.uk also contains data supplied by the Northern Ireland Executive for a wide range of topics, including:
- employment surveys
- hospital waiting lists
- births, deaths and marriages statistics.
- crime and justice
- population and migration
- labour market.
For more information about open data and what it means for you, visit www.data.gov.uk





