London: 24 October 2008

The UK Whiteahall & Westminster World has published an article titled: Minister trails data lab following the Unlocking the Potential of Public Sector Information Conference that took place in London on the 14 October 2008. The opening paragraphs of the article state:

“The government is considering the creation of a new facility to make best use of new data-management techniques, according to the minister for transformational government.

Tom Watson was speaking at a Whitehall & Westminster World conference on public sector information, organised in association with the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI).

Watson said that techniques such as ‘mashup’ and ‘screen scraping’ – which allow for data from multiple sources to be synthesised and repackaged – had the potential to revolutionise how citizens access information on public services. “The Power of Information review recommended that government create a data mashing capability, often called a data-mashing lab,” he added. “My officials are looking hard at this.””