What Do We Mean By User-Centric?

When open data first emerged around the beginning of the 2010s, the driving force for publication was very much 'publish and they will come' - envisaging that individuals, organisations and communities would be ready to work with whatever data was published. The next half decade brought a realisation that publishing data to solve specific problems is more effective than doing so in isolation. This newer concept of 'publishing with purpose' was captured in the Open Data Charter 2018. Establishing purposeful publication requires working closes with users in the following ways:

- Selecting your datasets to publish alongside key users and stakeholders, and informed by use cases. “Publish with purpose” creates more incentives and momentum than “publish and they will come”.

- Preparing your data in a manner that optimises your users finding and understanding it – eg, learning more about the steps people take when looking for and using open data, and presenting it in a way that they can use (see Documentation and Standards)

- Supporting your users to use it (see Who Are Your Users?, Why Are You Opening Data? What Are Your Users Doing With Your Data?)

- Becoming and staying engaged with your user ecosystem and responding to their needs. Ensuring data is maintained and updated based on those needs.

- Being aware of the social life of your data - how it interacts with people, technologies, and contexts. How your data is collected, aggregated, published and reused will (hopefully!) impact society, so responsible practices are key.

- Thinking about how each decision you make in the publishing process will help or hinder in creating impact.