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Projects

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We bring together commercial and non-commercial organisations and governments around specific sectors to address today’s global challenges.

Driven by needs, and focused on timely challenges, we help people identify and address how the web of data will impact their businesses and their sectors. Together, we will build a strong data infrastructure

Current projects

Current project
R&D: Digital twins
- Built environment and housing
- Data infrastructure
- Cities
- Deborah Yates
- Fionntán O'Donnell
- Jared Robert Keller
- Olivier Thereaux
- Sonia Duarte
- Vicky Hallam
Exploring ‘digital twins’: identifying the pain points and good practices to understand what makes them successful
Current project
R&D: Collaborative data maintenance
- Data infrastructure
- Innovation
- Open standards and open APIs
- Peer networks
- Startups
- Leigh Dodds
- Myriam Roderick
- Sonia Duarte
- Vicky Hallam
We aim to identify and document design patterns that support the creation of tools to collaboratively maintain data assets
Current project
R&D: Can data trusts increase or help data sharing?
- Agriculture and food
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
- Emerging tech and AI
- Innovation
- Search and discovery
- Cities
- Weather, energy and environment
Could ‘data trusts’ help to increase data sharing while retaining trust from both people and organisations? We’ve been researching and piloting the impacts of ‘data trusts’ in the real world
Current project
Creating a shared understanding of rights over data
- Data ethics and privacy
- Anna Scott
- Peter Wells
- Renate Samson
We are exploring what citizens think of data ownership and rights with Luminate and the Royal Society for Arts so we can explain it better
Current project
Sharing engineering data for the public good
- Built environment and housing
- Cities
- James Maddison
- Leigh Dodds
Funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, this project aims to develop a movement within the engineering sector that will lead to the sharing and use of data for the public good, with a particular focus on improving safety
Current project
Enabling data access to support innovation in agriculture
- Agriculture and food
- Deborah Yates
- Josh D'Addario
- Leigh Dodds
- Pauline L’Hénaff
Funded by the Gates Foundation, and working in collaboration with CABI, this project aims to create tools, guidelines and learning programmes that will support and enhance the use of agricultural data ecosystems
Current project
Tanzanian Data Lab (dLab)
- Skills and literacy
- Dr Dave Tarrant
Read about the Tanzania Data Lab (dLab) programme – set up to help improve data skills in Tanzania
Current project
OpenActive
- Data publishing and use
- Health and physical activity
- Richard Norris
- Tara Lee
OpenActive is a community-led initiative in the sports and physical activity sector using open data to get people more active
Current project
Data Ethics Canvas
- Data ethics and privacy
The ODI’s Data Ethics Canvas is aimed at improving ethical practices in data projects and therefore helping to build trust in data
Current project
Mapping data ecosystems
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
The ODI’s Mapping data ecosystems tool aims to help organisations identify, map and communicate all elements of a data project or activity
Current project
Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) Action
- Agriculture and food
- Weather, energy and environment
Current project
R&D: Scaling data innovation
- Innovation
- Peer networks
- Skills and literacy
- Ben Snaith
- James Maddison
- Mike Rose
Exploring barriers and researching solutions around scaling and replicating successful local data projects across the UK
Current project
R&D: Open standards for the UK energy sector
- Data infrastructure
- Open standards and open APIs
- Weather, energy and environment
Applying the principles and tools of the Open Data Standards guidebook to a data standards project for customer data in the UK energy sector
Current project
ARCHANGEL: digital archives and distributed ledger technologies
- Emerging tech and AI
Guaranteeing the integrity of digital archives using distributed ledger technologies
Current project
Antimicrobial resistance and data
- Health and physical activity
In response to the growing public health crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), we ran a short project exploring how to gather and openly share data from antibiotic/AMR surveillance initiatives run by pharmaceutical companies
Current project
Data innovation for the UK: research and development
- Data ethics and privacy
- Data infrastructure
- Innovation
- Open standards and open APIs
- Public administration services
- Science and research
- Anna Scott
- Jeni Tennison
- Miranda Marcus
- Peter Wells
Our R&D projects cut across themes of data sharing and trust; supporting innovation; and upgrading data infrastructure
Current project
R&D: Predicting cause and effect of data strategies
- Data infrastructure
- Innovation
- Public administration services
- Philip Horgan
We’re exploring the use of data-related behaviour models through prototype agent-based models, to investigate possible effects of policy and investments on levels of innovation and productivity
Current project
R&D: Geospatial data and technology
- Data infrastructure
- Geospatial data and mapping
- Deborah Yates
- Leigh Dodds
Exploring how the UK’s geospatial data infrastructure is evolving to help unlock its value
Current project
R&D: Global data infrastructure for trade
- Innovation
- Public administration services
- Josh D'Addario
- Lawrence Kay
- Peter Wells
- Sonia Duarte
- Waverley Coquet
Researching how to help the UK build stronger trade links for data-enabled businesses, focusing on Hong Kong, Australia, Canada and Germany.
Current project
R&D: Managing the risk of re-identification
- Data ethics and privacy
- Skills and literacy
- Fionntán O'Donnell
- Olivier Thereaux
- Sonia Duarte
This research and development project aims to help organisations reduce the risks of re-identification when sharing or opening data, by giving them tools and knowledge to recognise and mitigate those risks
Current project
R&D: Increasing access to data while retaining trust
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
- Emerging tech and AI
- Public administration services
- Skills and literacy
- Peter Wells
- Renate Samson
- Sonia Duarte
This project explores the options for making data available – with the aim to help organisations decide which option best complements their particular business model
Current project
Improving decision making, innovation and transparency in agriculture and nutrition (GODAN Action)
- Agriculture and food
- Pauline L’Hénaff
We’re part of the GODAN Action project that enables data users and producers to engage effectively with open data and maximise its potential for impact in the agriculture and nutrition sectors
Current project
Blockchain's potential role in the future of archiving
- Emerging tech and AI
The ODI aims to provide reasoned input about the many promises of these new technologies
Current project
R&D: Enhancing data collaboration between the UK and France
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
- Innovation
- Peer networks
- Cities
- Transport
- Olivier Thereaux
This work explores how twinning programmes are helping French and British cities to solve problems in their communities with data.
Current project
R&D: Helping businesses understand emerging data technology
- Jared Robert Keller
- Olivier Thereaux
Helping businesses understand emerging data technologies with the aim to to boost innovation, reduce costs and create competitive advantage
Current project
R&D: Peer-to-peer accommodation
- Built environment and housing
- Retail and consumer
- Cities
How can data be used to improve the peer-to-peer accommodation sector?
Current project
R&D: New service delivery models
- Innovation
- Public administration services
- Transport
- James Maddison
How can data help to improve public services?
Current project
R&D: Making it easier to create open standards for data
- Data infrastructure
- Open standards and open APIs
- Leigh Dodds
Open standards for data are reusable agreements that make it easier for people and organisations to publish, access, share and use better quality data
Current project
R&D: Open data publishing
- Data publishing and use
- Olivier Thereaux
Data publishers use tools to publish data. Key considerations around data publishing are quality, speed, automation and cost. Find out how we are auditing current tools, reviewing user needs and offering solutions through open source prototypes.
Current project
Building open data capacity in Tanzania
- Skills and literacy
- Dr Dave Tarrant
- Emily Vacher
Over the course of the project, we trained 222 people and reached a further 127 with policy advice and engagement, including policy seminars and communications masterclasses
Current project
Data Pitch: a Europe-wide data accelerator
- Innovation
- Startups
- Melanie Abraham
- Orsola De Marco
- Ryan Goodman
Data Pitch is a new European-funded project bringing together established businesses and startups to meet today’s challenges with data.
Current project
Research: Answering questions using web data
- Search and discovery
The WDAqua project (Answering Questions using Web Data) is a collaborative research project across different European countries, researching how to turn web data into successful services.
Current project
Open banking: setting a standard and enabling innovation
- Banking and finance
- Open standards and open APIs
- David Beardmore
If implemented effectively, open banking will unlock innovation that will transform and improve the customer banking experience
Current project
Ukraine: Open data for transparency and accountability
- Peer networks
- Public administration services
- Skills and literacy
- Startups
- James Maddison
As part of the Open Data Institute’s (ODI) international work we are working with the Government of Ukraine

Past projects