Started: December 2013
Based: Leeds
Website: www.leedsdatamill.org
Twitter: @LeedsDataMill
Category: Science and Technology

Leeds Data Mill is a place for businesses and organisations to share their open data with anyone interested in creating real change in the day to day lives of people working and living in the city.

The Mill was orginally set up in December 2013 and secured backing from the Cabinet Office’s Release of Data Fund and Leeds City Council in 2014. The project, which brings together open data information from multiple sectors across the city and now contains nearly 100 datasets, aims to kick start a new generation of data-driven cities and businesses.

A nine-month programme – supported by Leeds City Council in partnership with open data expert Mark Barrett - included extensive outreach and engagement with public, private and third sector organisations and has resulted in a number of new technologies being created using data sets released by Leeds Data Mill. This includes Leeds City Dashboard, a website which transforms live open data feeds into simple graphics and gives a snapshot of the city at any given moment.

The drive is for Leeds to become the ‘best city for open data’, and over the next year, it will release data and deliver events and engagement projects across the city relating to a number of themes including sport, culture and health

Part of the project is a business offering Data Mills to other cities (the first being York) to encourage the release of local data so citizens can understand their cities in more detail.