Exploring the data as a technical user
Overview
For most users, the best places to access and use 360Giving data are GrantNav and GrantVis. They allow you to download data as spreadsheets or JSON files suitable for most needs. However, technical users can access the data in a direct and programmatic way via the 360Giving API or from the 360Giving Datastore.
The 360Giving API and Datastore are convenient and streamlined ways for technical users such as developers, researchers, funders’ technical teams or partners, and others to access grants data published using the 360Giving Data Standard.
If you are interested in using the data, please read the ‘Before you start’ section to understand what’s included and its limitations.
How it works
360Giving Data Standard
The 360Giving Data Standard is a specification for sharing grants data. The Standard is applicable to two formats: tabular data (spreadsheets) and JSON. The JSON version is the canonical Data Standard, but the Standard operates the same across both formats.
Organisations publish data about grants they have made using this Standard. They can choose the file format they publish, either in Spreadsheets using Excel, CSV, OpenDocument Spreadsheet or using JSON.
The Standard is maintained by 360Giving, with oversight from a Stewardship Committee.
Data registry
360Giving maintains a register of data on our Data Registry. The Data Registry contains a list of the data known to have been published using the 360Giving Data Standard (that is both valid and licensed as open data), along with details of who has published it. All the files on the register should conform to the 360Giving Data Standard.
The majority of publishers (more than 90%) publish their data in Spreadsheet format – mostly using Excel. You can download files directly from the Registry if you wish to use them in their original format. The Registry sits within the Data Quality Dashboard, which also contains information about the quality of the data for each publisher and in aggregate.
360Giving Datastore
The 360Giving Datastore updates every night by fetching data from every file on the Data Registry and adds enhanced data from other official sources.
A number of checks are performed on the data before it is imported into the Datastore. These checks ensure that the data is:
- Openly licensed
- Valid according to the schema used for the 360Giving Data Standard
If a file linked from the 360Giving Data Registry becomes invalid according to the 360Giving Data Standard schema or temporarily unavailable, for example because the file’s location has changed, the Datastore will use the last valid downloaded version of the data from that file. The Datastore keeps a backup version of each file for 90 days. If a file remains invalid or unavailable, the data will disappear from the Datastore after 91 days. If a takedown request is received and acted upon, data may be removed before this date.
GrantNav, our free grants search engine, and the API run from this Datastore. Alternatively, individual files with the original data can be downloaded from the publishers’ website.
If a dataset linked from the 360Giving Data Registry becomes invalid according to the 360Giving Data Standard schema or temporarily unavailable, for example, because the location of the dataset has changed, the 360Giving Datastore will use the last valid downloaded version of the dataset. The 360Giving Datastore keeps a backup version of each dataset for 90 days. If a dataset remains invalid or unavailable the data will disappear from the 360Giving Datastore after 91 days. If a takedown request is received and acted upon, data may be removed before this date.
Find out more about what’s in the data.
Ways of accessing the data as a technical user
There are several different methods for accessing the data as a technical user. The best options will depend on your needs:
- GrantNav: GrantNav is our flagship tool. It is a free search engine that allows you to search, explore and download grants data published by UK funders using the 360Giving Data Standard. You can download the whole dataset as a CSV or JSON file for further analysis.
- 360Giving API: The 360Giving API makes it easier for developers, researchers and data scientists to build scripts and applications that analyse, visualise or extend 360Giving data. The API allows you to use the data in your software, create platforms and tools displaying the data, incorporate the data into your own database, and more. This is suitable for higher volumes of queries but not for accessing large amounts of data at once.
- 360Giving Datastore access: For users with complex data needs, it is possible to have direct read-only access to the Datastore and to run queries on it. This is ideal for accessing large amounts of data in one go but not for high volumes of repeated queries.
- Publishers’ files via the Data Registry: Most 360Giving Data Standard data files are published in XLSX format, with a small number published as CSV and OpenDocument Spreadsheet or JSON data. The 360Giving Data Quality Dashboard provides separate download links for each file in its original file format.
The following pages detail each method and why you might use it. If you’re unsure, we recommend booking a free 1-1 Data Support call so we can help you understand how to use the data and how 360Giving data can help answer your questions or develop your understanding of how to tackle a data project.