Bristol City Council has an open data platform, and a team to work on release and engagement. They also have a mobility API for transport data. How, though, to get more people to use this lovely open data?
#odcamp moving beyond just hack days to engage with open data
The already run hacks – they have one coming up on Saturday 21st May 2016. They also run round tables with community groups. They’re running a session with the University of West of England journalism course pairing journalists with coders to see what they can do. But they need more than hacks – they’re limited to people with a particular technical skill set.
In just a few days time, Open Data Camp – the ‘unconference‘ entirely devoted to open data – is returning for a third time. This time, it’s coming to Bristol, and is featured by the BBC as part of Digital Bristol Week.
As has been previously mentioned, the Sunday of ODCamp 3 coincides with the Bristol 10K run. This means that there are going to be a number of road closures around Bristol City Centre and some considerable disruption to travel.
Unfortunately for us, Waterside is in the most heavily affected part of the city. We are in communication with the event organizers to get details of where the course crossing points will be and we will pass that information on as soon as we have it. The best advice we can give is to allow extra time to get to the venue on Sunday and if at all possible, don’t drive in to the city on Sunday.
We’re happy to say Swirrl is once again sponsoring Open Data Camp as it heads towards Bristol for its next leg.
It’s our favourite conference on data: attracting a crowd of people who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about what they do, exchanging ideas and news in a relaxed atmosphere.
We’re grateful to the team of volunteer organisers (see the Eventbrite page for a list – thanks all!) for all their efforts to put on these events, and we’re glad to help by putting in some money towards the costs.
Our CEO, Bill Roberts, will be there and keen to talk about publishing, connecting and analysing open data, making better use of statistical data in the public sector, connecting up satellite data to the web, and more.
Looking forward to seeing you in Bristol!
(PS: if you like Open Data Camp, you’ll probably also like the Data-Driven Decisions event that Swirrl is running in Manchester on 26 May 2016. Tickets now available! Tickets are free, but we’re asking for donations to Manchester Coder Dojo, helping inspire and educate our next generation of technologists.)
First, there was Open Data Camp, in Winchester (Feb 2015).
Then, came Open Data Camp 2, in Manchester (Oct 2015).
Guess what’s coming next….
Correct!
Back on the road again
We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that the Open Data Camp unconference charabanc is hitting the road again, and will be coming to Bristol the weekend of 14th & 15th May 2016.
Bristol Charabanc No 173 Operated By Bristol Tramways & Carriage Co. Ltd.
Three = Free
As usual, Open Data Camp 3 will be free to attend. This is possible because:
the organisers are unpaid volunteers. This time, we’re also collaborating with South West Data and the ODI Bristol.
the generosity of sponsors, who are prepared to stump-up some cash to cover costs like venue, refreshments, merchandise, pre & post-event drinks, stationery, live drawing etc. Without sponsorship, we simply wouldn’t be able to hold these events.
Matthew Buck of Drawnalism ‘In the Moment’ at ODCamp1
Thank you already
We are delighted to announce that we already have two major sponsors:
We are hugely grateful. Networked Planet and Bristol City Council: You are, quite simply, marvellous.
Can you support ODC3?
There will of course be all sorts of other costs to cover, and we are therefore seeking other sponsors to help us make the event go with a whizz and a bang.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please get in touch.
Watch this space
We’ll share more details on the Open Data Camp web site in the next couple of weeks, including the ticket release schedule, and information about travel & accommodation.
That’s it for now.
Picture credits
Open Data Camp 1 & 2 artwork by Matthew Buck of Drawnalism
