Open data could be "as powerful a tool to the voluntary sector as to any", according to the Minister for Civil Society.
Government officials, charity leaders and senior figures from the open data movement said on Monday that the UK must foster an environment of collaboration and transparency in order to share best practices from the public and private sectors with nonprofit organisations.
"Part of the value of civil society is holding power to account, and if this can be underpinned by good quality data, we will have a very powerful tool indeed", said Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society.
"The UK is absolutely at the vanguard of the global open data movement, and NGOs have a great sense that this is something they want to play a part in.
"There is potential to help them do more of what they do, and to do it better, but they're going to need a lot of help in terms of information and access to events where they can exchange ideas and best practice."
Third sector has for too long been misread as third place when it comes to nonprofits. Data has been widely touted as the future of the public and private sectors but when it comes to the adoption of big data initiatives, it is difficult to find a sector more ripe for revolution.
The opportunities offered by wider use of data in the third sector are many, from allowing individual organisations to provide donors and funding bodies with more tangible evidence of their successes, to opening up previously inaccessible datasets that could revolutionise their operations.
Source: https://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/apr/30/open-data-charities-perfect-fit