Andy Hird, Managing Director of gazetteer and Address Management specialists Aligned Assets, has been announced as a Non-Executive Director of the Open Data Institute’s Open Addresses UK initiative.
Officially launched on the 14th January 2015, Open Addresses UK Ltd is an independent company aiming to provide a free, and up to date national address list with its website live at openaddressesuk.org. The company has been set up following the award of a grant from the Cabinet Office’s Release of Data Fund. Following an initial project to investigate the feasibility of creating the address list, run by the Open Data Institute (ODI), £383k was awarded to develop the Open Addresses UK platform as an open alternative to other address databases available in the UK.
The aim of Open Addresses UK is to become the first UK address list published as open data and available for everyone to use without restriction. By combining information from existing open data sources with material provided directly by people about the addresses that they know, the platform will become the only dataset that is updated and published in almost real time. Already publishing 1 million addresses, individuals and organisations are now being asked to get involved by submitting data via the Open Addresses UK website.
Andy will be working as a Non-Executive Director alongside his role as Managing Director at Aligned Assets. Speaking about his appointment he said: “I’m thrilled to be a part of this initiative. The innovation of Open Addresses UK demonstrates the steps we have made in this country to ensure that data which is open by its very nature, remains open and accessible. As Non-Executive Director I’m hoping to help drive the innovation that sits at the heart of Open Addresses UK and help it become a goliath in UK addressing.”
ABOUT ALIGNED ASSETS
Aligned Assets are an industry leader in AddressBase, gazetteer and address management solutions. They supply software across the public and private sectors including over 100 Local Authorities, Fire & Rescue Services and Police Forces. In addition to software and data solutions, they offer a complete range of consultancy, training, bespoke development and project management.
ABOUT THE OPEN DATA INSTITUTE
The Open Data Institute (ODI) catalyses the evolution of open data culture to create economic, environmental, and social value. It unlocks supply, generates demand, creates and disseminates knowledge to address local and global issues. Founded by Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt and Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the ODI is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, Limited by Guarantee Company.
