[CivicAccess-discuss] ODI Kitchener to get 3 million from feds. - Open Data for entrepreneurs

[Tracey P. Lauriault]

Have any of you see of heard this?  Were you aware there was a tender for
this?

Cheers
t

> Kitchener group aiming to mine open data gets $3-million in federal budget
>  By Terry Pender
>
> KITCHENER -- A local group of technology companies and organizations
> received $3 million in the federal budget Tuesday to establish the Open
> Data Institute.
>
> The money will be provided over three years to get large amounts of data
> from the public and private sectors into a standard format that can be
> mined for new insights and innovations leading to new products and
> companies.
>
> "I am very pleased the federal government has chosen to support this,"
> said Kevin Tuer, managing director of the Canadian Digital Media Network.
>
> The network, which is based in The Tannery in downtown Kitchener, put
> together a proposal for the federal government that included public and
> private partners for the Open Data Institute, including Communitech,
> Desire2Learn, the University of Waterloo and Open Text.
>
> Tuer travelled to Ottawa on Tuesday and was in the budget lock-up to see
> first hand if the federal government would fund this region's latest move
> to grow the digital economy.
>
> "We are recognizing the opportunity for open data," said Tuer, managing
> director of Communitech.
>
> The institute will be a national initiative based in this region, either
> at the Communitech Hub in The Tannery or at the University of Waterloo, or
> both.
>
> "It is going to capitalize on getting the open data into the hands of the
> entrepreneurs, and just generally making more data available," Tuer said.
>
> The Open Data Institute will work with governments, academic institutions
> and the private sector on common standards, integration of data from
> different levels of government and the commercialization of the data.
> Developing a common platform to share and access data sets will allow the
> development of new applications and products, creating new businesses and
> jobs.
>
> "We can be a world leader in open data," Tuer said. "I think there is
> unlimited potential here to do something great."
>
> The $3 million from the federal government will be matched with cash and
> services from the other partners. The Open Data Institute will provide many
> new opportunities for startups, social-innovation organization, researchers
> and the commercialization of data sets.
>
> "It is democratized, it is available for everyone," said Iain Klugman, the
> head of Communitech.
>
> Yelp, Google Maps and many weather apps use one form of open data --
> information provided by individuals that is pooled and shared online. The
> other kind, sometimes called Big Data, includes vast amounts of information
> collected by private companies and governments that can be posted in bulk
> online.
>
> IBM, for example, used GPS data from cellphones to plan more efficient
> transit routes in Istanbul and other large cities. It also uses water
> treatment and consumption data to detect leaks in water mains.
>
> "We have this access to this big data. Now how can we help startups and
> other companies take advantage of this resource to build businesses?"
> Klugman said.
>
> Tuesday's federal budget also contained $15 million for the University of
> Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing, and more money for a national
> program that helps early-stage startups called the Canadian
> Accelerator/Incubator Program.
>
> "I think there is good stuff in here for the region and innovation
> entrepreneurship right across the country," Klugman said.
>
> tpender at therecord.com
>


-- 
Tracey P. Lauriault
http://traceyplauriault.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/moving-to-ireland/
https://gcrc.carleton.ca/confluence/display/GCRCWEB/Lauriault
http://datalibre.ca/
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