Presentation at Share Conference

Title: Open Tools for Open Data in Finland
Authors: Leo Lahti, Juuso Parkkinen, Joona Lehtomäki
Presenter: Leo Lahti
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A variety of public and private organizations are now taking steps toward a wider access to data in many countries across the globe. Automated tools and customization to local standards are essential for realizing the full potential of the new information resources. The comprehensive R library for Open Data, coined soRvi (‘turning machine’), provides programmatic access to hundreds of data resources in Finland and enables seamless integration of open data streams with professional data analysis and visualization tools. The toolkit received a double award in Private Data opening category in the national Apps4Finland 2011 competition. soRvi is a community-driven project all the way - we develop and apply analytical tools for new insights into how the society works. While our focus is on Finnish open data and tools, we call the open data community to launch a network of similar initiatives, suited for local standards and needs and to share the efforts, code, and fun!