London reimagines its data hub after impact of COVID-19

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis is speeding up the evolution of London’s Datastore to function more like a library than a lake.

Speaking on a webinar this week, London's Chief Digital Officer, Theo Blackwell, said this shift reinforces a “purpose-driven” approach to the use of data and better reflects London’s complexity and federated nature. The city has 33 different boroughs, several NHS trusts and various city-wide agencies, which are each “sovereign owners" of their data.

The Datastore open data-sharing platform, which launched in 2010, was one of the first city initiatives of its kind and has been used to tackle challenges such as road congestion and poor air quality, as well as pro...