Open Data Platform recognised at local government IT awards

The Open Data Platform unlocks ORC data, transforming it into information and resources that citizens can use. It collects data from several ORC systems including consent data, sea and river level data, and water and air quality data, and uploads it to the cloud. The data can be searched, compared, charted and mapped with the platform’s online reporting and visualisation tools.

The data is also available in machine-readable format (OData) that can be freely used by anyone for any purpose simply by attributing ORC as the data source. OData works with familiar tools like Excel and it's easy to build new applications that make use of the data.

Head of Theta Software Andrew Taylor comments:

“As we’ve heard at the ALGIM conference this week, open data can be a foundation for innovation and social change. ORC had a clear vision for project, to lead the way for local authorities in New Zealand in implementing open data, so it's fitting that they were recognised in the excellence in innovation award category."

The Otago Regional Council’s IT Manager Robert Body adds:

"ORC is committed to open data. Being selected as a finalist in this year's awards recognises the significant step we have taken in making our data publicly available and usable. As well as giving our stakeholders access to better information, we look forward to the innovative uses of open data that will occur in the future – with the datasets we have now and the data that we will collect in the years to come."

The Open Data Platform was also one of three finalists in the Windows Azure Solution category of the Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2013, and was highlighted in the opening keynote at Microsoft TechEd 2013.

Read a case study about the open data platform for ORC.

The open data platform is now available to other organisations seeking to make their data open and accessible.

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