Welcome to Defra Data Services Forum

The latest instructions for publishing data onto the Defra Data Services Platform can be accessed here: https://environment.data.gov.uk/datafiles/c0fe96eb8b814ad99652d7e3d2ea2e0d. Steps for non-spatial publishing are available on page 11. 

If you are not a registered DSP user, please register for an account before requesting non-spatial publishing rights.

The Defra Data Services Platform can be used to share:

• Spatial data - these are files designed to be used in Geographic Information System (GIS) software. An example of a spatial dataset would be a dataset of flood risk areas, or one listing locations and attributes of England’s Local Nature Reserves. Spatial data can be made available on the DSP as web services (Web Map Service (WMS), Web Feature Service (WFS), ESRI REST Endpoints) or, where appropriate, as downloadable files in a number of common GIS formats.

• Non-spatial data - these are datasets that would be opened in other software such as Microsoft Access or Excel. For example, a database of pollution incidents or animal movement, import and export statistics.

• Linked data - this is a structured network of interlinked data which can be accessed through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) or semantic queries. For example, hydrometric monitoring sites and associated measurements and readings.

Defra Data Services Platform offers a mechanism for self-publishing of spatial and non-spatial data. Publishing rights for the DSP can only be granted to staff working for Defra bodies.

To become a publisher, you must have a genuine requirement to publish data and the authority to do so. Some Defra bodies may want all of their data publishing to be done by a single team. Prior to requesting publisher rights on the DSP please liaise with the relevant team for your organisation.