The promise and problems of including ‘big data’ in official government statistics

Not directly related to ARDC and research, but of interest to the data conversation in Australia

"The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will soon announce the kinds of information it will collect in the next national census in 2021. If international trends are a guide, “big data” will comprise a growing part of ABS data collection and analysis."

https://theconversation.com/the-promise-and-problems-of-including-big-data-in-official-government-statistics-106440

Chair of the Productivity Commission speaking about the inquiry into Data Availability and Use

http://www.themandarin.com.au/77139-peter-harris-rules-forcing-data-destruction-akin-burning-books

http://www.pc.gov.au/news-media/speeches/data

The final report is due at the end of the month (March 2017)

DoE releases Sensitive Ecological Data Access and Management Policy

This policy on sensitive ecological data forms part of the Australian Government’s approach to making data more accessible, discoverable and re-useable. Successful long term management and sharing of sensitive ecological data is about trust, risk management, the credibility of the participating organisations and the desire to disseminate the best available data to inform management of the environment. The most effective approach to managing sensitive data is to have a consistent methodology that is applied by all organisations with the same or similar information; for this reason the policy is available for use under a Creative Commons—Attribution licence, to provide maximum access and use by other government agencies, organisations and private companies that collect and manage sensitive ecological data.




http://www.environment.gov.au/about-us/environmental-information-data/information-policy/sensitive-ecological-data-access-and-management-policy

Australian Government Public Data Policy Statement

Australian Government Public Data Policy Statement
The Australian Government released its Public Data Policy Statement (attached) yesterday. Please note research data and high-value data. More information ... https://blog.data.gov.au/news-media/blog/australian-government-public-data-policy-statement.

Geocoded National Address File
Also of interest, the Australian Government has entered into an agreement with PSMA Australia Limited (PSMA) to release the Geo-coded National Address File (G-NAF) and their Administrative Boundaries datasets under an open data licence in February 2016. More information ... https://blog.data.gov.au/news-media/blog/geocoded-national-address-data-be-made-openly-available.

​Other useful links​

​More information about Public Data has now been published on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet​ website at https://www.dpmc.gov.au/pmc/about-pmc/core-priorities/public-data-branch-within-dpmc. Updates are posted to the data.gov.au blog at https://blog.data.gov.au/.

Data Start - Using Australian Government data in startups

http://datastart.com.au/

Growing Startups Using Open Government Data

Creating new opportunities for tech startups

DataStart creates opportunities for Australian tech startups to develop sustainable businesses through access to open government data. We are seeking applications from founders and teams across Australia for our pilot program. One team will receive a nine month incubation program with Pollenizer and government assistance with customer discovery, technical support and access to government data. The successful team will also have opportunities to access private investment, networks, platforms and coaching as they create their dream company.

Open to all great ideas

Founders follow their passion, so the program will support any concept idea rather than prescribing areas of opportunities. Founders are free to learn through fast failures to build momentum.

Leveraging government data

Over 7,500 open data sets are available through data.gov.au and other government platforms. We are looking for entrepreneurs who can apply innovation and creativity to uncover new value and solve global problems.

Application Period

Applications Close 
11th Dec, 2015

We’re calling for strong founders with great ideas to apply to the first DataStart program. Founders can attend information nights in major cities, learn about the support offered, and apply to be shortlisted for the coaching week in Sydney. 

Australia: National science and research priorities

http://minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/macfarlane/media-releases/national-science-and-research-priorities

National science and research priorities 

26 May 2015

Joint Media Release with Prime Minister the Hon Tony Abbott MP and the Minister for Education and Training the Hon Christopher Pyne MP

The Commonwealth Government has announced new national Science and Research Priorities to ensure our high performing science, research and innovation system delivers maximum benefit.

The nine cross-disciplinary priorities are food, soil and water, transport, cybersecurity, energy, resources, advanced manufacturing, environmental change and health.

The priorities will help our world-class science and research efforts to reflect the needs of industry, the national economy and the community.