The other night I was invited to speak at a Free Our Data debate hoted by the Policy Exchange thinktank. In the absence of any government speakers or representatives of the Trading Funds I think I was there as a surrogate.
I have participated in the discussion about policy and funding of geographic data for a while now and the dialogue has probably helped me and other participants to find an increasing amount of common ground. So much so that Charles Arthur said of me the other night “that’s not the real Steven Feldman” to which I could have replied “do my eyes deceive me, is that really scourge of OS?”
So this is what I think we agree upon.
- Easy and costless access to public sector information for other parts of the public sector, the third sector and community groups and individuals
- Simple licensing and transparent commercial charges and practices for business who wish to add value to public sector information
- A sustainable funding model for those Trading Funds that are currently dependent upon licensing revenues
Now that sounds simple doesn’t it?
