Based on a November talk given at ESADE in Barcelona, this week, Nesta’s Geoff Mulgan shared a draft paper, “A New Family of Data Commons?” for public comment. The paper is part of Nesta’s ongoing work on the topic, which seeks “to design and test out new ways of combining data that give citizens greater control, while also making it easier to generate public value through linking data together.”
Mulgan offers seven central areas where the establishment of a data commons can have a positive impact:
- Help with everyday choices for individuals and families
- Help with everyday choices for organisations - Prediction and prevention of harms
- Better services
- Better coordination of big systems
- Better policy
- More accountable power
He also predicts that four types of data commons will emerge in the coming years:
- Personal data commons
- Public data commons
- Knowledge commons
- City Data Commons
