Budgeting for the Opening of Data
Governing had an article recently about better aligning budget with IT innovations. I thought one portion was especially insightful about the need for data initiatives:
Budget for cross-program initiatives, especially sharing data with communities of interest and the public. Standardized data can allow agencies and the public to report once for many purposes, rather than suffering under requirements for multiple and repeated “single purpose” reports. For example, corporate financial reporting in the Netherlands is now considerably more efficient and effective because firms make available real-time data feeds to replace a series of required reports. Closer to home, the D.C. data feeds and federal Data.gov initiatives are releasing government data to encourage transparency and feedback for better productivity and civic trust. To find these cross-boundary opportunities, the budget process must search for them.
Design for America Contest for Data Accessibility
Sunlight Labs is opening up a contest called Design for America that encourages the public to create data visualizations with open government data. See news of the contest at Wired and govfresh.
Twitter Case Study of USGS
Twitter recently posted a case study of the U.S. Geological Survey’s use of Twitter for earthquake detection (which we recently covered here). The brief description:
One of the U.S. Geological Survey’s unique responsibilities is the monitoring and reporting of earthquakes, which affect the daily lives of people around the world. By mining real-time tweets, the USGS expands its suite of seismically derived information and obtains first-hand accounts of shaking seconds after an earthquake occurs.
Why the Need for Open Records
As part of Sunshine Week, the nation’s new Freedom of Information Act ombudsman, Miriam Nisbet, took part in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press. This question-and-answer really struck me:
Q: Why is this important to the average citizen, someone who doesn’t work for a newspaper?
A: “If people are going to know how their government is operating, what they are doing that affects them, what they are doing on behalf of the people, they have to be able to see the records that reflect that. The documents that are being created, the data that are being produced. Particularly, you look at huge government programs and all the data that come out of that. Those data belong to the people, and they should have a right to see them and then do with them what they want.”
This stuck out to me because we as public administrators often think of only the media, local newspaper, or kooky citizen as requesters of open records. In reality, “Those data belong to the people.”
Public Data and Google’s Explorer
Governing has a short piece on using Google’s great new Public Data Explorer.
Newmark Link about Gov 2.0
Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, links to a great CNN article about mobile apps and gov 2.0.
Gov 2.0 Predictions for Next 3 Years
Five predictions for government 2.0 in the next three years, including innovation coming from local governments, rise of Citizen 2.0, more video, and always on the record.
Gov 2.0 Predictions for 2010
Social Computing Journal has 7 government 2.0 predictions for 2010, which include: self-service integration (and mashups), increased transparency and citizen involvement (due to apps), and incorporating more social media.
White House Wants to Release More Data
The White House has asked agencies to publish data (to Data.gov) within 45 days, and:
Following the three-data-set action, each branch has to create an Open Government Webpage at http://www.[agency].gov/open to function as the “gateway” to activities in that area. The site must also include a mechanism for public feedback about the process, and government agencies must respond to the comments they receive. And within 120 days they have to publish comments on how they plan to improve their openness policies.
That’s good work!
NYTimes on Local Government Data
The New York Times has a great article today on local governments that are opening up their data to be used in mashups, apps, and mobile apps (think iPhone apps).