Linking UK Government Data

What does it take to create a web of linked government data? With the launch of data.gov.uk the UK Government has been finding out. This paper sets out the case for using Linked Data standards for publishing open government data and describes some of the benefits. It explains how Linked Data standards uniquely allow governments to publish data responsibly and why responsible data publishing is so important to the open government data movement. The paper goes on to explain how the Linked Data world was not quite ready for the large-scale adoption of these standards by a major government, leaving much to be done to develop practical approaches and patterns for the publishing of government data. From URIs, to provenance and versioning, through to statistics and geographic information, much thinking and work has been done. In each case the emphasis has been, not on research, but designing simple repeatable patterns, supported through tools. This work has also involved and building understanding and capability amongst officials from across government departments and agencies. It explains why the government's use of linked data standards was not universally welcomed and was even greeted by antagonism from some. Learning from this feedback the paper describes how we are now using linked data standards to enable government as a platform, commoditising the process of creating APIs to meet the needs of a wide range of data consumers, from business, academia and the developer communities.