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Explainers

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Heard a new buzzword and wondering what on earth it means? Aching for a bit of plain speaking? Check out our explainers…

Heard a new buzzword and wondering what on earth it means? Aching for a bit of plain speaking? Check out our explainers, written by members of the ODI team…

Explainers

Blog, Explainers 01/10/2021
Why leaders should care how their organisation collects, accesses, uses and shares data
- Data ethics and privacy
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
- Deborah Yates
- Ed Evans
How do you ensure your organisation is collecting, accessing, using, and sharing data in the right way?
Blog, Explainers 26/07/2021
How does data assurance increase confidence in data?
- Data ethics and privacy
- Data publishing and use
- Ben Snaith
- Deborah Yates
- Ed Evans
In this explainer we talk about why we are looking at ‘data assurance’ – we cover what data assurance means or can mean, the impacts of a lack of data assurance and how this relates to confidence, trust and trustworthiness.
Blog, Explainers 12/02/2021
What is a digital twin?
- Emerging tech and AI
Sophie McKee from Slingshot Simulations explains what a digital twin is and how it could help us to plan our lives
Blog, Explainers 23/12/2020
What is an identifier?
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
Identifiers are part of how we make sense of the world and communicate. They act as labels to help us uniquely identify physical and digital objects and services, and as pointers to information available online or stored in a variety of databases and systems
Blog, Explainers 23/09/2020
What is a computer model?
- Covid-19
- Policy
The increasing role of computer models in business and public policy makes broader understanding of what computer models are more important, so we have produced this explainer to clear up doubts and questions. Guest post by Joe Paul, student at Imperial College London.
Animation 14/08/2020

Workshop: Open Cities Through ecosystem mapping, data ethics discovery, and business case development the Open Cities workshop enables city authorities to make better use of data
Blog, Explainers, Guides 20/05/2020
Spot the difference – explaining the Covid-19 apps
- Covid-19
- Ben Snaith
- Jeni Tennison
You might be wondering what Covid-19 apps are for, why the government or your employer is so keen on you using them, and whether you should go along with those requests. This explainer is here to help.
Blog, Explainers, Guides 30/04/2020
What is open innovation?
- Innovation
- Ellen Goodman
Open innovation describes a business or organisation ‘opening up’ their innovation process in order to gain knowledge and ideas from external sources
Blog, Explainers 10/02/2020
How we use the Data Access Map to tell stories and explain concepts
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
- Dr Jared Robert Keller
When it comes to sharing or increasing access to data, there is a wide range of different approaches out there and finding the most suitable approach can be tricky. We’ve created the Data Access Map to help people and organisations explore the various options and navigate this difficult terrain
Blog, Explainers 14/09/2019
Why should we care about data ethics?
- Data ethics and privacy
- Policy
- Skills and literacy
- Simon Bullmore
It’s about time organisations started acting legally, and thinking more about the impacts of work for their customers and society. Here’s why…
Blog, Explainers 09/08/2018
Data's value: how and why should we measure it?
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
- Innovation
- Ben Snaith
A lack of consensus is holding back innovation, governance and regulation
Blog, Explainers 10/07/2018
What is a data trust?
- Data ethics and privacy
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
- Search and discovery
- Jack Hardinges
What is a data trust? What’s the definition and how is one applied?
Blog, Explainers, Guides 03/11/2017
What is 'open data' and why should we care?
- Banking and finance
- Data infrastructure
- Data publishing and use
- Emerging tech and AI
- Innovation
- Peer networks
- Public service design
- Search and discovery
- Cities
- Transport
- Weather, energy and environment
What is ‘open data’, and how does it fit in? Here are 10 things you need to know…
Animation 28/10/2017

What is data infrastructure? Data such as statistics, maps and real-time sensor readings help us to make decisions, build services and gain insight. Data infrastructure will only become more vital as our populations grow and our economies and societies become ever more reliant on getting value from data.