What is "ckan"

The Comprehensive Knowledge Archive Network (CKAN) is a web-based open source management system for the storage and distribution of open data. Being initially inspired by the package management capabilities of Linux, CKAN has developed into a powerful data catalogue system that is mainly used by public institutions to share their data with the general public.

CKAN`s code base is maintained by the Open Knowledge Foundation. The system is used both as a public platform on Datahub and in various government data catalogues, such as the UK's data.gov.uk, the Dutch National Data Register, the United States government's Data.gov and the Australian government's "Gov 2.0". The state government of South Australia also makes government data freely available to the public on the CKAN platform.