Next Steps…​

Posted : Blog Post : 28.01.2020 - North West Open Data

So far I’ve reviewed the Local Government Transparency Code 2015 in three parts, I think I have a basic understanding of what the code mandates with respect to what open data sets need to be provided by local authorities, however skimming around some of the council websites in the Northwest I see a large variance in data presentation, format and data that is included.

I find it useful in situations like this to step back from the overall complexity and amount of variability and just zoom in on one aspect to try and understand that portion of the whole. Concentrating on the detail helps me subconsciously build up a mental framework which eventually lies at the heart of my eventual understanding of a system.

Definition of rabbit hole

: a complexly bizarre or difficult state or situation conceived of as a hole into which one falls or descends

especially : one in which the pursuit of something (such as an answer or solution) leads to other questions, problems, or pursuits

— Definition of RABBIT HOLE. (2020). Retrieved 28 January 2020
from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rabbit%20hole

Where to start can sometimes be difficult to determine, in this case it seems to me that the ‘Expenditure exceeding £500’ data set is the most interesting and illuminating in a cross authority context. So here’s some thoughts of where I would like to go on my trip down the ‘rabbit hole‘ of detail.

  • Concentrate on the data set in .csv format, this seems the most fundamental basic level, it can be imported into spreadsheets and yet be machine read

  • Use the 2018-2019 time range, latest file availability for a full year

  • Automate the process as much as possible

  • Review the variance between local authorities and try to understand some of the difficulties they face

  • Read and understand the Local Government Associations open data guides and get some measure of compliance across authorities

  • My eventually aim would be to build a schema in a relational database and load all the Northwest England data sets

  • Spend some time developing cross authority queries to compare and contrast expenditure and costs

I don’t expect this to be trivial and certainly expect to go off at tangents at times but thought I would set out my initial aims so that I can return to them in times of confusion to reset my focus.