In 2021 the Census is working with the company Takin.solutions to make the Census data Linked Open Data.
Although the current Census database is an open access resource that is freely available online, its data cannot currently be linked to that of other research projects. The first step towards the transformation of the Census data into Linked Open Data was the project Kulturerbe als Linked Open Data — Pilotprojekt für den Census, funded by a grant from the Regierende Bürgermeister von Berlin — Senatskanzlei Wissenschaft und Forschung, which ran between February 2018, and December 2020 and was carried out by TELOTA – IT/DH at the Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Takin.solutions in 2021 and 2022 will be developing a semantic representation of the Census data using internationally-recognised standards. This will open up new possibilities for the Census database, not only by enabling new ways of querying and interacting with the data, but also by allowing the Census to intersect with other important datasets in the field.
The work with Takin.solutions is taking place at the same time as a complete upgrade of the EasyDB software by the Berlin software firm Programmfabrik. In the future, users of the Census database can expect to work with a new interface, and be offered new possibilities for searching and accessing the data.
