Articles on Open Government Data (87)
The transparency push is a year old and working, but you can't call it wide open, yet.
With Ottawa nearing a May council vote that could release masses of public city data in computer-friendly formats, nearly 100 people flocked to City Hall on Saturday to demonstrate the app-potential that would result if the City adopts an open-data policy.
Many of the data sets on data.uk.gov are, in fact, PDF files. A citizen activist creates a crowd-sourcing tool to help identify them.
The World Bank Group said today it will offer free access to more than 2,000 financial, business, health, economic and human development statistics that had mostly been available only to paying subscribers.
Lack of resources is causing enormous damage to information rights
First discovered via: Ontario Public Service Web
The computer geeks who manage all the information that flows through Parliament Hill every day are working quickly to make that data more accessible to everyday Canadians.
Unbeknownst to most Canadians, some interesting experiments in democracy are taking place in the shadows of the Internet. Across the country, a generation of democratic activists who know how to create webpages and write computer code are pushing to make government more open, accessible and transparent.
Canada's Information Commissioner calls on the federal government to follow the lead of the US, UK, and Australia in embracing open government.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will create a Web site that compares 92 federal agencies' compliance with the Freedom of Information Act -- in hopes that the virtual "report card" will encourage them to up their game in responding to the public.
WaPo's review of TransparencyCamp: "There's no reason why keeping tabs on your member of Congress shouldn't be as easy as seeing what your friends are posting on a Facebook wall,"
UK government's move to publish ordnance survey maps for free marks radical departure from previous OS financial model under which every piece of map data had to be paid for.
Gordon Brown makes speech: “Building Britain’s Digital Future”, promises entrepreneurs access to greater government data for new services.
Calgary's announces plans for an open data catalogue.
3 examples of how Vancouver's open data catalog has been used since launch.
A behind the scenes look at Calgary's open data motion.
On March 15, 2010, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law SSB 6367, encouraging online responses to public information requests of state government. The text of the bill states that if commonly requested records were made available on the Internet there could be significantly reduced costs to the public and the state.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation wants to see more mayors put expenses online, the way Toronto has done.
First discovered via: Ontario Public Service Web
Countries should be judged on their willingness to open up public data to their citizens, the inventor of the world wide web has told the BBC.
Edmonton's Open City Workshop webcast, available in French and English. Includes 1) a panel discussion on citizen engagement and open data, and 2) (in the closing remarks at 6:46) a call to help design apps4edmonton, an open data application contest with prize pool of $50,000.
Taking advantage of technology and preemptively posting frequently requested information online could help agencies address new Freedom of Information Act queries and tackle backlogs, FOIA officials told lawmakers on Thursday.
First discovered via: Ontario Public Service Web
YouTube video showcasing recent Vancouver applications built with open source products from Microsoft's Open Government Data Initiative.
The City of Portland today announced the launch of CivicApps for Greater Portland.
First discovered via: Ontario Public Service Web
The City of Ottawa says it is looking at the benefits of an open data policy. Perhaps city staff can accelerate this file. It's long past time to get with the program.
Open government advocate at O'Reilly suggests governments should adopt an open-source approach to their open data projects.
Experts in open government and social media discussed everything from government-as-a-platform to app stores to the creation of a MuniForge during a panel discussion at the Open City Workshop in Edmonton. Plus, CIO Chris Moore’s take on the risks of open government.
If government data is untrustworthy, the government defaults on its backstop role in society.
First discovered via: Richard Fahey
David Eaves on Canada's open government success stories and the folly of non-beta thinking.
Advocates of open data say making city info readily available in a format programmers can use would help citizens navigate services and save the city money.
Edward Tufte, a leading voice on how you can display quantitative information in ways that are both beautiful and edifying, joins the panel advising the US Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.
At TED2009, Tim Berners-Lee called for "raw data now" -- for governments, scientists and institutions to make their data openly available on the web. At TED University in 2010, he shows a few of the interesting results when the data gets linked up.
Edmonton is the fourth municipality in Canada moving ahead with open government initiatives. The challenge is helping people understand 'we are like the new city,' says CIO Chris Moore, who made five major announcements at the Open City Workshop.
Highlights from Edmonton's Open City Workshop (with pictures).
Vancouver's mayor says he doesn't know where his city's open-data policy will lead. He expects you and your fellow citizens to help show the way.
Sixty city of Seattle datasets are now accessible online at http://data.seattle.gov, which is part of Seattle's municipal web site. The new site holds significant amounts of information about operations and infrastructure, such as locations of city facilities, schools, and food banks.
A special report on managing information. Governments are letting in the light.
The Norwegian digital press, digi.no has published an article entitled: Norge får egen «data.gov» (Norway gets its own "data.gov"). The article, by Marius Jørgenrud, published on the 24th February 2010 describes Norwegian political support for beginning focused work on a Norwegian.data.gov.
Tips on bringing open data to your area.
Describing the launch of the UK Government's Research Funding Explorer project, which uses linked open data to demonstrate the UK’s investment in leading technologies such as RFID, Advanced Composites, Regenerative Medicine, and Plastic Electronics.
First discovered via: Richard Fahey
ReadWriteWeb uncovers a few intriguing mobile government apps (and apps using open government data).
Federal CIO Vivek Kundra outlines plans to offer mobile applications from an iPhone-like 'store' that will give the public access to new capabilities developed by both the government and third-party developers.
Tips for governments and citizen groups interested in starting a developer outreach program.
The open government movement has spurred lots of interest in agencies becoming more transparent to citizens. As a result, most federal agencies have launched "open" pages that allow anyone to submit ideas for their agencies. While we laud these efforts as a good first step, there is more that needs to be done in order for these initiatives to reach their full potential.
Quick intro for governments on how to start publishing data.
First discovered via: Richard Fahey
Aggregating and exposing information is the initial hurdle to compliance with the Open Government Directive, and is the basic prerequisite for everything else. But the Open Government Directive isn't just an exercise in publishing data - the intent, and expectation, is that the data will be an enabler for a new dimension of Government service and citizen participation.
First discovered via: Ontario Public Service Web
Agencies must increase transparency and engage the public in new ways. Here's how they're doing it. (Registration required)
In several countries more official data are being issued in raw form so that anybody can use them. This forces bureaucrats and creative types to interact in new ways
Victoria's IT innovators will be invited to take part in a $100,000 online competition to create new applications to be formally launched later this month, as mentioned in the statement of government intentions released this week.
Lessons learned from the Open Data front lines.
Prospect magazine profile of Tim Berners-Lee: "Opening up public sector data is an old geek hobbyhorse. But could the man who invented the web reinvent British government?"
Football banning orders, UK air quality and museum visits among the first data released at launch of data.gov.uk website.
City of Edmonton publishes Open Data Catalouge.
In-depth description of Edmonton's data catalouge.
Web mashups -- sites that present data from multiple sources in one place -- are expected to become a valuable tool for sharing and analyzing government data.
First discovered via: Ontario Public Service Web
5 minute DC Ignite talk on the issues of subjective messaging through visualization, the emergence of open data, some ideal data visualization tools, a set of quick lessons in graphic literacy, and a short list of recommended visualization books.
Fund of up to £200,000 will help developers to create innovative use of 200 datasets in new free data initiative.
Story on opposition to UK open data policy from groups who may lose jobs.
GIS mapping technology is helping underprivileged communities get better services -- from education and transportation to health care and law enforcement -- by showing exactly what discrimination looks like.
The Energy Department is making its energy data widely available to the public via a Linked Open Data platform to enable broader access to data and encourage greater collaboration and transparency.
Winners of Australia's Government 2.0 Taskforce 'Mashup Australia' contest announced.
Revaluation of data 'should be cue for fresh thinking' including making the archive largely free
Open government pioneer Carl Malamud draws on his own experience changing the way numerous government agencies-including the SEC, Patent Office, Smithsonian, and our federal courts-publish their information on the Internet. He puts the changes we are witnessing today into perspective, drawing on 200 years of American history and showing why access to the working of government by private citizens is crucial for our economy and for our democracy.
Chris Vein discusses San Francisco's open data initiative.
The City of Vancouver has led the way with the adoption of a resolution in May that endorsed open and accessible data, open standards, and open source software.
Edmonton is about to join a growing number of Canadian cities looking to follow the District of Columbia's example and make more information accessible online.
The Rise of the Open City: the current state of affairs
by David Eaves
Open Data at the City of Vancouver - Progress around the Open Motion (or Open3 as city staff have started to call it)
Tim Berners-Lee has agreed to help the UK government make our information more open and accessible on the web - part of a drive towards letting the data about public services be public and open.
Saying 'the fog is thickening' in Canada, Information Commissioner pounces on U.S. President's decision to have more official documents released to the public
After weeks of speculation it was formally announced today that President Obama has appointed Kundra, who had previously been serving as the CTO for Washington D.C...
In the nick of time, the digital revolution comes to democracy's rescue. And, perhaps, journalism's.
With so many organizations publishing geospatial datasets using standards based web services, a raft of new opportunities for large scale data analysis are presenting themselves.
Launch of USASpending.gov, a Web site that shows taxpayers where their dollars go and which legislators, contractors and regions get the most.
A sweeping new study on IP rights in the UK concludes that knowledge should first be seen as a public resource and only secondarily as a private asset. And these aren't communists talking - the report was funded by the British Library and the BBC.
