Open Data Round Up: 12/08/13

Key pieces of information from the open data world over the past week include:

• As part of a new NHS procurement strategy announced by the Government this week all NHS Trusts will be required to publish their spending data in open data format
• The Information Commissioners Office has been talking about forthcoming changes to the Freedom of Information Act which will give users new rights to request data in a reusable format and to reuse that data 
• The USA’s open data site data.gov is collating a list of open data sites around the world – a handy link to bookmark if you’re looking for government data from around the world
• This video from the Ordnance Survey on Linked Data is also very interesting
• More data is starting to emerge about the midata Innovation Lab – including details of some of the partner organisations involved and programmes of work being developed. This information again comes via Ctrl_Shift who are very engaged in this project

The development of the midata Innovation Lab is of particular interest to Horizon as we’re hosting a workshop with key people from academia, industry and government next month to look at the implications of programmes like midata. What do you think? Is the midata Innovation Lab a good idea or a potentially damaging one for consumers?