The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has awarded a contract for data sharing platform services worth an estimated £3.4 million in total.

Defra is the lead body on the EU INSPIRE Directive which aims to create a European Union spatial data infrastructure for the purposes of EU environmental policies and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment.

The department is the lead publisher of open data in government, having released over 8000 datasets in 2016 under an Open Government Licence (OGL).

As an evidence-led department, Defra collects a substantial amount of environmental data with a wealth of uses beyond those required internally. Working across Defra, the Department said its intention is to deliver services that will be world-leading in under-pinning environmental improvements. The Data Sharing Platform consists of two services (Spatial / Non-Spatial and Linked Data).

The initial contract is for 2 years, with options to extend up to a maximum duration of 5 years.

Exeter-based firm Landmark Information Group Ltd has been awarded the contract, one of two companies who bid for the work.