OpenCommunity is trialling the Open Referral UK data standard for the interchange of services information. Open Referral UK is compatible with the international Open Referral standard but it adds extra features to support UK requirements. These requirements were identified by the OpenCommunity Discovery report and by pilot council work on Loneliness coordinated by the Local Government Association on behalf of the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport.
The report Prototyping an OpenCommunity Data Service model describes Alpha development work led by Buckinghamshire Council in October and November 2019 to build on the Discovery work.
The Open Referral UK website provides guidance on the data standard and links to open API endpoints for live and service directories and ones currently under development. The contacts page lets you know where to go for more help and to provide feedback as the standard matures and we develop guidance for adopting it.