OPEN PUBLIC DATA AS A CATALYST FOR INNOVATION

Eoin McFadden Department of Enterprise

Trade & Investment

eoin.mcfadden@detini.gov.uk @eoinmcfadden

“Innovation is the successful generation and exploitation of new ideas”

So why is innovation so important?

Investments in innovation are estimated to be responsible for 63% of UK productivity growth (NESTA)

Even in the current market, companies who are innovating are twice as likely to be growing (ITI Business

Monitor)

Companies who invest in innovation demonstrate greater job growth, more exports and a greater rate of survival (NESTA)

Asset or Millstone?

NI Public Sector

30% total NI employment

29% of GVA (UK 19%)

“Why shouldn’t Northern Ireland aspire to have a public sector that not only serves its people well, but also stimulates economic activity?” Simon Hamilton

Minster for Finance and Personnel 1 Aug 2013

Marxist vs Free Markets?

If Innovation correlates with productivity.....

Between 1997 and 2012 overall output per job increased by 24% across the UK services sector

However......

For government services output per job increased by 9%

“If the UK public sector were to catch up with service sector output by 2020 this would equate to efficiencies of £24bn per annum” Policy Exchange 2013

Impact of digital tech on government

Smaller : we will have to do more with less Better: Breaking up the Oligopoly = massive savings Faster: Agile development Stronger? : More relevant to how we live?

NI Executive Innovation Strategy 2014-2025

Open Data

•‘Strategic Partner’ of the UK Open Data Institute •Developer Engagement Strategy to support local companies •Prizes and SBRI Competitions to stimulate new products and services

Scalable services ecosystems > collaborative ventures based on open application programming interfaces (APIs) Move to mobile makes geospatial element even more important

Open Future?

The Northern Ireland Open Data Challenge

•To encourage the reuse of NI open data (especially that available from NISRA) for public good •To stimulate discussion and awareness of NI data sets currently available (and encourage the publication and reuse of more across the NI public sector)

•To improve dialogue and engagement between NI public sector and local developer community (and the Open Data Institute) •To ascertain the appetite for further competitions including SBRIs for the reuse of public data to meet policy challenges.

The Northern Ireland Open Data Challenge

Judging Criteria

•How will it improve the quality of life in NI? 40% •How Innovative? 30% •How Useable? 20% •How Sustainable/Commercial? 10%

The Pitch and the Prize

Best entries pitch in public at CultureTech to

Open Data Institute Technology Strategy Board

NESTA InvestNI

£5k Prize

Timescales/Milestones

Challenge Opens: June

Registration by 22nd August

Applications Close 28th August

Shortlisted Applicants notified 5th September

Judging 18th September at CultureTech

Flourishing Innovation Ecosystems must be OPEN