The document summarizes the activities and deliverables of the W3C Government Linked Data working group. The working group aims to provide standards and information to help governments publish data as usable Linked Open Data using Semantic Web technologies. It discusses key terms like Linked Data and Linked Open Data. The goal is to improve access to government data and encourage innovative uses by applying best practices for publishing structured data on the web.

1. Building Bridges: Fueling Economic Growth with
Government Open Data
Linked Open Data Bernadette Hyland
31-Oct 2012
W3C Government Linked Data WG
W3C TPAC Lyon France
@BernHyland
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2. Slide credit:
Jennifer Bell
VisibleGovernment.ca
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Context of today’s breakout session is to briefly describe the activities & deliverables of the
W3C Government Linked Data working group, what we’re doing and then focus on an
interactive discussion about what each of us needs to more effectively work with government.
Could the W3C as an organization help us to be more effective within our organizations,
foundations, etc?

3. Growing chorus ...
“We’re moving from managing
documents to managing discrete pieces of
open data and content which can be
tagged, shared, secured, mashed up and
presented in the way that is most useful
for the consumer of that information.”
-- Report on Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to
Better Serve the American People
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Governments around the world are defining detailed digital services plans that are based on Open data and open
APIs to deliver government and private digital services.
At the highest level, government executives in the UK, EU, US, India, Brazil are committed to managing open
data and content in a way that is useful for the consumer of that content. The question is HOW?

4. Game changing technology to
meet government missions
• Highly scalable computing &
hosting via the Cloud
• International Data Exchange
Standards
• Agencies publishing Open
Data as “5 star Linked Data”
• Open Source tools
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Over the last decade, a Web-oriented approach to information sharing has impacted how scientists, researchers, regulators
and the public interacts with government. Linked data lowers the barriers to re-use and interoperability among multiple,
distributed and heterogeneous data sources. Specifically, the mechanisms by which the environmental & human health
scientific community shares information is changing.
The Digital Government Strategy sets out to accomplish three things: Access to high quality digital information & services;
procure and manage devices, applications, and data in smart, secure and affordable ways; and unlock the power of
government data to spur innovation.
Access to high-quality Linked Open Data via the Web means millions of researchers and developers will be able to shorten
the time-consuming research process involving data cleansing and modeling.

5. “Big Data Is Important, but
Open Data Is More Valuable”
As change agents, enterprise architects can help
their organizations become richer through
strategies such as open data.
David Newman, VP Research, Gartner
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Open data refers to the idea that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they
wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other forms of control. The term “open data” has gained
popularity with open data initiatives including data.gov.uk, data.gov and other government data catalog sites.
Enterprise architects are playing an important role in fostering information-sharing practices. Access to, and use
of, open data will be particularly critical for a business that operate using the Web; organizations should focus on
using open data to enhance business practices that generate growth and innovation.

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7. The mission of the Government Linked
Data (GLD) Working Group is to
provide standards and other information
which help governments around the
world publish their data as effective and
usable Linked Data using Semantic Web
technologies.
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We are 16 months into the Government Linked Data Working group’s two year charter.

8. Let’s agree on some terms ...
Linked Data
Refers to a set of best practices for publishing and interlinking
structured data for access by both humans and machines via the use
of the RDF family of syntaxes (e.g., RDF/XML, N3, Turtle and N-
Triples) and HTTP URIs.
Linked Data can be published by an person or organization behind
the firewall or on the public Web. If Linked Data is published on
the public Web, it is generally called Linked Open Data.
- W3C Linked Data Glossary: https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/gld/raw-file/default/glossary
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But first, let’s define terms. Lots of people use the term “open data” to mean a range of things. The
Administration through data.gov and other sites, is committed to increasing public access to high value, machine
readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch, agencies and offices.
“The primary goal is to improve access to Federal data and expand creative use of those data beyond the walls of
government by encouraging innovative ideas (e.g., Web applications),” - About Data.gov.
The term “Linked Open Data” refers to the best practices and standards for achieving that goal, specifically, to
publish data on the Web for access and re-use.

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“The primary goal is to improve access to Federal data and expand creative use of those data beyond the walls of
government by encouraging innovative ideas (e.g., Web applications),” - About Data.gov.
The term “Linked Open Data” refers to the best practices and standards for achieving that goal, specifically, to
publish data on the Web for access and re-use.
W3C sees Linked Data as the set of best practices and technologies to support worldwide data access, integration
and creative re-use of authoritative data.

10. Linked Data is simply
sensible ...
Answers the question, “how are we
using technology to make a real
difference in people’s lives ...”
Data re-use on the Web matters ...
Government Linked Data
can help you navigate
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We need messaging that works for the stakeholders in government.
It cannot be academic speak nor retail speak.
Our deliverables have to address the key issues that motivate government to invest in
improving the worldwide INFORMATION infrastructure, the Web of Data.

11. Credits
Golden Gate Bridge, Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paraflyer/3179937406/ and
Seattle Bridge http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/2548358743/
Gartner: “Innovation Insight: Linked Data Drives Innovation Through Information-
David Newman
Sharing Network Effects” Published: 15 December 2011
Linking Government Data, Springer (2011)
David Wood, ed.
http://3roundstones.com/linking-government-data/
Digital Government Strategy: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the
American People,
US Executive Branch
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/egov/digital-government/digital-
government.html
W3C Linked Data Cookbook http://www.w3.org/2011/gld/wiki/Linked_Data_Cookbook
All other photos and images © 2010-2012 3 Round Stones, Inc. and released under a CC-by-sa license
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