Online Labour Index wins Oxford data visualisation prize

We are happy to announce that the Online Labour Index was awarded the first prize in the OxTALENT awards data visualisation category! The annual competition is organised by the University of Oxford IT services to recognize innovative uses of digital technology in learning, research, and public outreach.

The Online Labour Index (OLI) is the first economic indicator that provides an online gig economy equivalent of conventional labour market statistics. It measures the utilization of online labour across countries and occupations, and displays this information in an interactive web-based visualisation. Here is a quote from the OxTALENTS jury:

“The judges felt that the Online Labour Index perfectly demonstrates the power of interactive visualisations. They were impressed by the use of the fledgling Interactive Data Network service to build this interactive dashboard using R and Shiny, and by the commitment to making both the data behind the visualisation and the code for the dashboard itself open access. They particularly appreciated the cleanliness of the dashboard design and the slightly unsubtle prompts to the viewer of the interactivity available to them. It was also clear from the submission that the visualisation has helped significantly in getting this topic discussed within government bodies.”

OLI is produced by Otto Kässi and Vili Lehdonvirta as part of the iLabour project at the Oxford Internet Institute. The visualization is developed in collaboration with Martin Hadley from the University of Oxford Interactive Data Network. The project is funded by the European Research Council.