Last year during my Open Government Data Camp keynote speech on The State of Open Data 2011 I mentioned how I thought the central challenge for open data was shifting from getting data open (still a big issue, but a battle that is starting to be won) to getting all that open data in some common standards and schemas so that use (be it apps, analysis and other uses) can be scaled across jurisdictions.
Looks like someone out there is trying to turn that challenge in to a business opportunity.
Listpoint, a UK based company has launched a platform with the goal of creating translators between various established specs. As they point out in an email I saw from them:
“The Listpoint reference data management platform is a repository for data standards in the shape of code lists. Listpoint will help interpret open data by providing its underlying metadata and schema in machine readable format. E.g. mapping ISO country codes and Microsoft Country codes to provide a translation layer for systems to surface a single view of data.”
Interesting stuff… and exactly the types of challenges we need solved if we are going to scale the opendata revolution.
eaves.ca 
Agree that ‘getting data open’ remains the biggest hurdle. In fact, it might be one of the most important governance questions facing organizations, in particular Nonprofits/Charities that have soooooo much useful information the public could benefit from. Would be interested in your thoughts. Also, where does data simplification come into place? Almost of the opinion we need less, but more salient information flowing from organizations. Not just asking for the data-vault. But this takes lot of mental energy to prepare organizations to build this as a core competency.
Agree that ‘getting data open’ remains the biggest hurdle. In fact, it might be one of the most important governance questions facing organizations, in particular Nonprofits/Charities that have soooooo much useful information the public could benefit from. Would be interested in your thoughts. Also, where does data simplification come into place? Almost of the opinion we need less, but more salient information flowing from organizations. Not just asking for the data-vault. But this takes lot of mental energy to prepare organizations to build this as a core competency.
Agree that ‘getting data open’ remains the biggest hurdle. In fact, it might be one of the most important governance questions facing organizations, in particular Nonprofits/Charities that have soooooo much useful information the public could benefit from. Would be interested in your thoughts. Also, where does data simplification come into place? Almost of the opinion we need less, but more salient information flowing from organizations. Not just asking for the data-vault. But this takes lot of mental energy to prepare organizations to build this as a core competency.
How will these standards work with the archival standards we already have in place? Is archiving not one of the more important of issues with open data as well? If we create standards outside of the archival realm, are we not setting ourselves up for yet another challenge down the line when we start realizing we need to archive these data and we now need to move from these standards to archival standards?