Session Overview: This session considers the factors that contribute to sustainable Open Data initiatives and equips participants to assess sources of data for indications of sustainability.
Session number: 7
Expected participants: Relevant to all, special relevance to those preparing data for publication
Type: Training
Length: 1-1.5 hours
Exercises: Yes
Web based exercises: Yes
What to bring: Slides, Flipchart, Paper & Pens
Session Flow:
- Defining sustainability - The participants should define sustainability in relation to Open Data. The facilitator should collate the suggestions of participants on the flipchart and lead a group discussion. The key aspects to highlight are that sustainability suggests a dependable, securely-funded and consistent source of data.
- The factors of sustainability - The facilitator should take participants through each of the factors which influence the sustainability of a dataset including secure funding, active support for the datasets and wide reuse of the dataset by the community.
- How to look for sustainability - The facilitator should guide participants through the main indicators of a sustainable dataset and identify the key techniques for finding these indicators. Examples should include looking at the publishing history, checking for a consistent update frequency, searching for user communities around the data and reading the licence for any conditions.
- Assessing sustainability - The participants should undertake self-directed assessment of some open datasets to estimate their sustainability, applying the techniques outlined in the previous session. The facilitator should curate the results and provide constructive feedback on refining assessment techniques.
Companion eLearning Modules:
When running this session, we recommend that participants complete the following eLearning module before attending:
Why should we worry about sustainability?
Completion of the module will help your learners develop a shared understanding of the material before the course and allow you to focus in greater depth on those topics of most interest to the trainees.
