Green and Social Hours Latest Developments

In 2022, the Open Data Unit launched a framework for procurement of technical services for general data management and Open Data publishing. This technical framework is currently managed by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). Amongst the terms of the framework is that the winning tenderer, Derilinx in this case, provides a number of hours support under a ‘green and social’ provision of the contract. The number of hours is based on the amount of worked received via the framework. This means that they provide a number of hours free of charge advising, coaching, lecturing or mentoring organisations with a green, social or educational remit, as part of their contract with the OGP.  As their areas of expertise are data auditing, management and Open Data publishing, this means that they provide a number of hours free of charge on giving data advice, coaching, lecturing or mentoring organisations with a green, social or educational remit, as part of their contract with the OGP. The number of hours is based on the amount of worked received via the framework

There are many organisations that can avail of these hours. Some examples would be universities or colleges and their Data Societies, Open Data Engagement Fund winners or organisations with an environmental, community or social remit.The Open Data Unit will then liaise with the organisation and put them in contact with Derilinx and the OGP to come up with a tailored plan for each organisation. With Derilinx, the organisation will assess their data priorities. The organisation will then work closely with Derilinx to achieve such priorities. These pro bono hours could come in the form of helping the organisation conduct a data audit, clean their data, establish better data collection and management methods, or assist them in publishing their data.

Here are some examples of organisations who availed of such support from Derilinx:

Technological University of the Shannon – Bioeconomy Aquaculture Initiative (Circular IMTA Project)

CIRCULAR_IMTA_DEMO is a project in the midlands focusing on turning agricultural waste into valuable commercial products. It uses an innovative aquaculture system that combines fish farming with growing plants like duckweed and macroalgae. These plants feed on waste from the fish, creating a sustainable cycle.Under the technical framework, Derilinx has support this initiative in a number of ways such as developing an Open Data Portal for the project and creating a content website for them

Read more here!

Insight SFI Centre – Peatlands Team

Insight Centre have an objective to get Peatland Maps to be published as Open Data for as many European countries as
possible by the end of 2026. Derilinx is supporting the Peatlands Team at the Insight Centre, a previous Open Data Engagement Fund winner, in publishing Peatlands maps as Open Data, first in Ireland
and subsequently across Europe. Derilinx is actively collaborating with the Insight team to identify key stakeholders, establish the right connections, and develop documentation. Additionally, they are providing guidance on where and how these maps should be published. Equally, Derilinx is conducting research on relevant European portals and organizations and will assist the teamin promoting the work done in Ireland to inspire and support other countries in publishing their own Peatlands maps.

Read more here!

Innovation Value Institute, Maynooth

Winner of the Open Data Engagement Fund 2023/20024, this project was awarded funding for a research project ''Data Quality in Open Data Sources for Smart Mobility'', whose core objective is to address critical data quality challenges in open data sources with a specific focus on the smart mobility sector. This
endeavour goes beyond academic research—it's an engaging, co-creative initiative aimed at pioneering innovation in data quality, open data, and smart mobility.  Thus far, Derilinx have provided valuable expertise on best practices for measuring data quality, including methodologies for assessing accuracy, completeness, and consistency.

Read more here!

Smart Location Analysis

Another winner of the Open Data Engagement Fund 2023/2024, Smart Location Analysis is an application that can be used by businesses as well as private individuals to evaluate location in terms of specific parameters such as demographics, property information, amenities, types of businesses and brands. The project leverages a combination of open data and commercial datasets and could be particularly useful for SMEs. Trough the Green and Socila supports, Derilinx helped project owner David Graham on creating a process to find geospatial datasets on data.gov.ie that did not come from the census data that the Central Statistics Office released. Derilinx provided a detailed set of instructions and an API query to gather the data, as well as instructions on how to modify the query and automate its use.

Read more here!

Rethink Ireland

Rethink Ireland provides cash grants and business support to the social innovations who canmake a real difference. Their task is to support these innovations with the knowledge and the advice they’ll need to succeed on a nationally impactful scale. They’re here to open doors and give them access to the networks and connections who can help them spread their ideas throughout Ireland. They nurture communities of like-minded organisations who come together to share thoughts
and approaches. Derilinx helped them start a Data Maturity Assessment of their organisation. They also assisted in analysing their data and creating visualisations for their annual report.

Read more here!

eTownz

eTownz offer a range of services for people in the community development sector. Their four main functions are Community Dashboards,Training & Facilitation Programs, Community Websites and Research & Data. Derilinx provided advice on getting Company Registration Office data included in the community plans and on data architecture. They also provided engagement on their ongoing efforts to promote the “smart villages” concepts, including consultancy sessions and
participation in Webinars.

Read more here!

If you know any organisations or groups you believe could benefit from these hours please get in touch at opendata@per.gov.ie.