Olivia Solon reports that Professor Nigel Shadbolt has shared an outline of the plan for the UK’s Open Data Institute. She writes, “Shadbolt told Wired.co.uk: ‘Open data is not just about transparency and accountability; there is potential for economic innovation and value to come from it.’ The Institute’s remit is fairly broad, but will primarily focus on helping private and public organisations understand how to make the most of open data. It will not actually store any data itself, but it will provide business incubation for startups, providing mentoring, advice and potentially space. Shadbolt says that the aim is to cultivate and incubate 12 companies a year.”

Solon continues, “The ODI Jump Start scheme will draw upon the talents of UK students, focusing on engaging with universities to find graduates with startup ideas or very early-stage businesses. The Institute will also provide training to organisations keen to find out how to publish and use open data. ‘We will go through mature companies’ data assets an identify which ones could be made open or supplemented with other open data,’ said Shadbolt. It will also train up individuals with a view to develop an army of open data evangelists within businesses.”

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Image: Courtesy Flickr/ Will Scullin