This document outlines the necessary components for open data to have impact, comparing it to growing flowers. It discusses that open data alone is not sufficient, and requires things like technology, policies, visualizations, applications, and an ecosystem to support linking and analyzing the data to create value. All of these components together are needed to ensure open data fulfills its potential for economic growth, innovation, and transparent governance.

1. How to make the flowers bloom (Why open data is necessary but not sufficient to make a difference)

2. The soil: technology that makes data publication, processing and production possible

3. The seeds: raw, machine readable data

4. Sunight: presenting, visualising, contextualising the data brings the seeds to life.

5. Water: government policies, legislation and regulation provide conditions for growth

7. Flowers: visualisations make the data beautiful and comprehensible

8. Pollinators: link the data, compare it, and breed new flowers ...

9. Pollinators: link the data, compare it, and breed new flowers ...

10. Arrangements: mash-ups, applications, analysis make sense out of the data

11. Applications: potions to make the data useful

12. Without this ecosystem .....

13. ... open data is just a few seeds waiting to germinate

14. OpenData Value Chain economic growth transparent, responsive, effective government innovation Policies, legislation, regulation and governance Technology infrastructure Support activities Community infrastructure / ecosystem Communications and culture change Inputs Machine readable raw data Inventories APIs Catalogues Process Presenting Collating Visualising Mashing up Linking Contextualising Interpreting Analysing Re-purposing... Outputs ‘Human readable’ data Information Applications Analysis Share Dissemination Marketing Advertising Promotion Maintain Refresh Develop Update Primary activities

15. @janethughes March 2011