WhatDoTheyKnow
Encyclopedia
WhatDoTheyKnow.com is a website run by the registered UK Citizens Online Democracy
(under the MySociety
brand) which allows anyone to make a UK Freedom of Information
request in public. The site acts as a permanent public archive of FOI requests made through it.
Around 15% of requests to UK Central Government are made through WhatDoTheyKnow.com. Over 5,000 public bodies have been added to the site, mainly by volunteers. More than 80,000 requests have been made using the site.
The site has been described by the Guardian
as "an idiot's guide to making an freedom of information request." The Information Commissioner's Office has stated that it believes "the most up-to-date informal list of all public authorities is held on the website". Information released through the site has given rise to serious and less serious news stories. The site is used by a number of MPs.
The site's parent project Alavateli is "a project to create a free, standard, internationalised platform for making Freedom of Information (FOI) requests".
competition in 2006 for ideas for public interest websites to build. Both Phil Rodgers and Francis Irving
entered idea. Francis Irvings later became the main developer of the site. which was was launched in 2008.
The site was nominated for a number of awards:
UK Citizens Online Democracy
UK Citizens Online Democracy is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1076346.At present, UKCOD's main activity is running the mySociety project. mySociety builds websites which give people simple, tangible benefits in the civic and community aspects of their lives...
(under the MySociety
MySociety
mySociety is an e-democracy project of the UK-based registered charity named UK Citizens Online Democracy, that aims to build "socially focussed tools with offline impacts". It was founded by Tom Steinberg in September 2003, and started activity after receiving a £250,000 grant in September 2004...
brand) which allows anyone to make a UK Freedom of Information
Freedom of information in the United Kingdom
Freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom is controlled by two Acts of the United Kingdom and Scottish Parliaments respectively, which both came into force on 1 January 2005.* Freedom of Information Act 2000...
request in public. The site acts as a permanent public archive of FOI requests made through it.
Around 15% of requests to UK Central Government are made through WhatDoTheyKnow.com. Over 5,000 public bodies have been added to the site, mainly by volunteers. More than 80,000 requests have been made using the site.
The site has been described by the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
as "an idiot's guide to making an freedom of information request." The Information Commissioner's Office has stated that it believes "the most up-to-date informal list of all public authorities is held on the website". Information released through the site has given rise to serious and less serious news stories. The site is used by a number of MPs.
The site's parent project Alavateli is "a project to create a free, standard, internationalised platform for making Freedom of Information (FOI) requests".
History
WhatDoTheyKnow started life as the winning idea for mySocietyMySociety
mySociety is an e-democracy project of the UK-based registered charity named UK Citizens Online Democracy, that aims to build "socially focussed tools with offline impacts". It was founded by Tom Steinberg in September 2003, and started activity after receiving a £250,000 grant in September 2004...
competition in 2006 for ideas for public interest websites to build. Both Phil Rodgers and Francis Irving
Francis Irving
Francis Irving is a 36 year old British computer programmer and activist for freedom of information.Francis Irving developed TortoiseCVS.He co-founded Public Whip with Julian Todd and became a developer of the affiliated TheyWorkForYou website, a project which parses raw Hansard data to track how...
entered idea. Francis Irvings later became the main developer of the site. which was was launched in 2008.
The site was nominated for a number of awards:
- Daily Telegraph best green websites - ranked number 2
- New Media AwardsNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
- Democracy in Action Finalists 2008 - New Media AwardsNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
- Innovation Winner 2008