Because good research needs good data

Free Our Data: Make Taxpayers' Data Available to Them

Joy Davidson | 11 May 2006

On 9 March 2006 the Guardian's Technology supplement carried an article called "Give us back our crown jewels" [external]. The argument is simple: government-funded and approved agencies such as the Ordnance Survey and UK Hydrographic Office and Highways Agency collect data using our funds, but then charge users and companies for access to it.