Open Access NewsNews from the open access movement Jump to navigation |
|||
Making public data accessible to some and not all
Michael Cross, Is NHS data there for any company - or just one? The Guardian, April 27, 2006. Excerpt:
Few repositories of public sector information contain more political dynamite than those in NHS data sets. This week it was NHS staff numbers; next week it could be surgeons' death rates. Earlier this year, the official custodian of the NHS's data raised eyebrows by announcing a special relationship with a commercial firm. At least one competing business has questioned whether a level playing field is possible under the new arrangement. The case provides an example of the potential conflicts created by the government's policy of earning commercial returns on public sector information - a policy challenged by Guardian Technology's Free Our Data campaign.... |