Canada: New Federal Budget Provides Funding to Create Open Data Institute at U. of Waterloo

UPDATE: The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) Comments on the New Federal Budget and the Open Data Institute
From the Canadian Digital Media Network:

The Canadian Digital Media Network, the University of Waterloo, Communitech, OpenText and Desire2Learn are proud to announce the creation of the Open Data Institute, which has received support from the Government of Canada in today’s budget.
The Open Data Institute will work with governments, academic institutions and the private sector to solve challenges facing Open Government efforts and realize the full potential of Open Data.
These partners will work on development of common standards, the integration of data from different levels of government and the commercialization of data, allowing Canadians to derive greater economic benefit from datasets that are made available by all levels of government.
“This is a strategic investment in Canada’s ability to lead the digital economy,” said Dr. Kevin Tuer, Managing Director of CDMN. “Similar to how a common system of telephone exchanges allowed world-wide communication, the Open Data Institute will help create a common platform to share and access datasets. This will allow the development of new applications and products, creating new business opportunities and jobs across the country.”
[Clip]
The Open Data Institute is a public-private partnership. The founding partners will contribute $3 million in cash and in-kind contributions over three years to establish the institute, which has been matched by the Government of Canada.

Read the Complete Announcement
Note: The University of Waterloo Library is a Member of CARL and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL).

Filed under: Academic Libraries, Associations and Organizations, Data Files, Funding, Jobs, Libraries, News