From the website:
This handbook discusses the legal, social and technical aspects of open data. It can be used by anyone but is especially designed for those seeking to open up data. It discusses the why, what and how of open data – why to go open, what open is, and the how to ‘open’ data.
To get started, you may wish to look at the Introduction. You can navigate through the report using the Table of Contents (see sidebar or below).
We warmly welcome comments on the text and will incorporate feedback as we go forward. We also welcome contributions or suggestions for additional sections and areas to examine.
The handbook provides more legal and social than technical guidance but there are other resources for the technical side of open data.
The Open Data Handbook provides a much needed comfort level for government and other data holders.
Open data isn’t something odd or to be feared. It will empower new services, even job creation. The more data that is available, the more connections creative people will find in that data.