About the 360Giving
Data Standard
What is the 360Giving Data Standard?
For open data to be really useful, it has to follow an agreed format – a standard – so it can be easily collated and analysed with data from other organisations. We have developed the 360Giving Data Standard for this purpose: so that people can have a more informed understanding of the UK grantmaking picture.
The 360Giving Data Standard is a uniform and consistent way to describe grantmaking data. Essentially, it is a set of information fields funders use to publish their grants openly. It means this data can be ‘read’ easily by different applications and software.
Ultimately, this provides charities, grantmakers, researchers, and policymakers with a clearer view of the funding context in which they are operating so they can make informed decisions and plans, identify organisations to work with or learn from, and better support good causes and communities across the UK.
The 360Giving Data Standard is:
- Open data driven – providing a common way to share information on grantmaking that is shareable and accessible by anyone for any purpose.
- Easy to use – with a simple spreadsheet format for publishing and consuming data, backed up by a structured data model.
- Comprehensive – providing a 360 degree view of grantmaking and supporting in-depth analysis.
Explore the 360Giving Data Standard and relevant guidance.
How is it governed and kept up-to-date?
360Giving is the steward of the 360Giving Data Standard. Our CEO is responsible for its day-to-day management, supported by a Product Manager and an external specialist technical team, Open Data Services Coop.
The 360Giving Board of Trustees are responsible for setting the strategy of the charity and the Standard, and both the Board and CEO are supported in the maintenance and development of the Standard by the 360Giving Data Standard Stewardship Committee.
Read more about governance and revision control.
Guiding principles
Our principles for the 360Giving Data Standard are:
- Accessible – There are just 10 required fields in the 360Giving Data Standard, so that organisations can start publishing their data as easily as possible. It was designed so that people could publish their grants data in a simple spreadsheet format. Although the Standard itself is described in a technical format known as a JSON schema, most funders do publish using spreadsheets which we then convert.
- Flexible – It allows for the publication of non-Standard fields alongside the official fields, so individual funders, or groups of funders, can include additional data for their specific needs.
- Extendable – It can be extended for information to be shared in a consistent way by groups of funders, to provide support for collaborations and collective activities. For example, we have added the DEI Extension which allows funders who collected data using the DEI Data Standard to publish this information alongside their 360Giving data, supporting them to be transparent about the equity of their grantmaking.
- Interoperable – It uses internationally recognised standards in its data formatting and codelists. As far as is possible, it aims to enable links to other standards and registers. This allows different data to be brought together to provide context or collective analysis.
- Responsive – It is adaptable, allowing an element of continuous improvement to meet emerging needs. We regularly reflect on and invite feedback about how to ensure the Standard meets the needs of grantmakers, charities, researchers, and policymakers who use the data.
- Usable – The data published using the Standard should be relevant, understandable by others, and easy to use. We have developed a range of tools and analysis to support people to explore the data, whatever their expertise.
The Stewardship Committee
Our voluntary, multi-stakeholder Stewardship Committee includes representatives from grantmakers, data users, technical experts and the 360Giving team.
Their role is to oversee and account for the appropriate and timely maintenance of the Standard. They ensure that governance and revision processes are carried out properly. The Committee meets two to four times a year to discuss the Standard, look at how it is being used, and consider any proposed changes or upgrades.
Our current Committee members:
- Oliver Carrington, Imperial Health Charity (Chair)
- Linda Humphries, 360Giving Board representative
- David Kane, independent
- Faye Emery, Co-operative Group
- Katherine Duerden, 360Giving
- Kimberley Gregory, OCSI
- Lin Richardson, The Karlsson Játiva Charitable Foundation
- Nitya Teagarajan, Youth Investment Fund
- Steven Flower, Open Data Services
- James Miles, Church of England
Read the minutes and papers from past meetings.
Have your say
We welcome ideas or feedback on the 360Giving Data Standard, which you can share with us directly by using this form. All feedback and suggestions will be taken into consideration by the Stewardship Committee.