Getting data right? Or getting the right data?

Our project focus is displaying data to the public in the right way. In other words, we need to take appropriate spending data from Bristol Council and present it in a way that is both positive and engaging to the general public. So far though, we've been entrenched in a battle to get the right data in the first place. The problem has been thorny at best and so far it has gone something like this:

Note: Not genuine responses to data, but I feel they capture the emotional rollercoaster pretty well!

First we had promises
Before we even had our media sandbox project accepted, we had met with some folks from the council who had assured us that the information we needed was available… we were happy!

Then we had to wait
We waited and waited but had to chase for data, we were a bit baffled, and at the time I was quite sleep deprived…

Next we got data!
Well hello data! Much excitement all round and general feelings of "lets let this puppy off the leash"

Soon after came confusion
The data was not what we needed! CALAMITY! Well, it was part of what was needed, but not all of it. It was missing the part that is critical to our project: Location data. I.e. where, geographically, the money had been spent. Oh it contained all sorts of useful things, like descriptions (difficult to understand) and invoice references, but not what we actually needed!

Then we waited
Heather worked extremely hard trying to organise meetings with the right people about the right data. Eventually we got a meeting with the right people.

Then it all happened at once
We had a meeting at the Council House on Tuesday, then following that we had a meeting out in Henbury today to meet the finance people themselves! By the end of it we'd managed to explain our needs to the right people and will be able to (fingers crossed) get the right data! Happy faces all round.

So what happens next?
Well now we wait for the lovely people at Bristol Council to provide us with the data we need. I'm confident that this time we'll get it right. Both sides now understand what the other side has and needs, so the path should be smoother. After that I get to sink my teeth into the meaty business of normalising, keying and visualising said data in a pretty, simple manner. Should be fun!

Sum this long post up in 10 words please
Find the right people and you'll get the right answers.