The European Commission's recent announcement on access to scientific data specifically mentions not only scientists and research institutions, but also members of the public as potential users of scientific data.
Jonathon Gray from the Open Knowledge Foundation writes: While the benefits of open scientific data for scientists and research institutions are reasonably well documented - the Human Genome Project is probably the best known exemplar - one wonders what innovations we might see from non-experts and non-scientists, and what more open policies might mean for the public understanding of science.
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