Last week I gave a presentation at the DCMS describing some hands-on tools for getting started with creating data powered visualisations (Visualisation Tools to Support Data Engagement) at the invitation of the Arts Council’s James Doeser from the Arts Council in the context of the DCMS CASE (Culture and Sport Evidence) Programme, #CASEprog:
I’ve also posted a resource list as a delicious stack: CASEprog – Visualisation Tools (Resource List).
Whilst preparing the presentation, I had a dig through the DCLG sponsored Improving Visualisation for the Public Sector site, which provides pathways for identifying appropriate visualisation types based on data type, policy objectives/communication goals and anticipated audience level. It struck me that being able to pick an appropriate visualisation type is one thing, but being able to create it is another.
My presentation, for example, was based very much around tools that could provide a way in to actually creating visualisations, as well as shaping and representing data so that it can be plugged straight in to particular visualisation views.
So I’m wondering, is there maybe an opportunity here for a practical programme of work that builds on the DCLG Improving Visulisation toolkit by providing worked, and maybe templated, examples, with access to code and recipes wherever possible, for actually creating examples of exemplar visualisation types from actual open/public data set that can be found on the web?
Could this even be the basis for a set of School of Data practical exercises, I wonder, to actual create some of these examples?
OUseful.Info, the blog... 
Sounds like you’ve got your Knights Foundation Data Challenge[1] entry ;)
Martin
[1] http://newschallenge.tumblr.com/post/24130238607/knight-news-challenge-data-is-now-open
@Martin You interested in pairing up on this?
Issue for me right now is time (childcare blah-dee-blah-dee-blah, .6 of my time is UKOER etcera, etcera), but sharing what I do, which like you, is often quick ways of unlocking something big with some very little know-how, is definitely appealing (also if we could somehow pull in some of @cogdog’s thinking half of the use case is perhaps written for us).
I’m also wondering if drawing on some of the wider talents of JISC CETIS will a) give some oomph b) levitate some of my time issues
M
I’m planning an open course at UMW for Spring 2013 that will include (borrow/steal) a lot of this, sort of “programming the web without programming” intended to give people the skills to stitch together web tools, data, JavaScript libraries to create visual content. I hope to be picking your brain and leaning on you to help ;-)