Open Government Philadelphia

Public Sector Improvements +

Private Sector Opportunities =
Transparency, Accountability, Innovation

Councilman Bill Green

Philadelphia City Council
April 2011
What does “Open Government” mean?
• Government transparency and
accountability

• Participation from public and

private sectors

• Collaboration in the public

sector and with the private
sector

• Innovation, new businesses,

and economic development

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 The 3 “Laws” of Open Government

Law 1: Access to searchable/indexed government information

Law 2: Information can be manipulated

Law 3: Information can be re-purposed

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 What is Open Government Philadelphia
and what will it do?
• A public sector open government initiative launched through new
legislation from City Council, as well as City policies and
incentives, with a significant role for the private sector.

• Open Government Philadelphia will leverage existing information

and systems, with minimal additional investment, to:

9 improve City services and accountability

9 spur innovation from City departments

9 tap private sector creativity and entrepreneurship

9 create opportunities for new businesses

9 improve the City’s reputation and enhance existing

partnerships
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 Are there existing models to learn from?

• Yes!

• Open government initiatives are in place in many of

Philadelphia’s peer cities, including San Francisco, New
York, and Washington D.C.

• The following slides provide overviews of these existing

city-level initiatives.

• They also include concrete examples of innovations,

improvements, and business applications.

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 Existing Open Government Examples

San Francisco
• Created by Mayor Newsom in 2009

• Private sector “technical visionary”

partners added credibility

• Project goals:
¾ Drive innovation inside and outside
government
¾ Increase accountability inside
government

• City departments challenged/directed to

use open source software; department
heads review progress quarterly

• Outward oriented

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See http://datasf.org/ & http://www.sfmayor.org/press-room/press-releases/opendata/
 Existing Open Government Examples
New York City
• Created by Mayor Bloomberg in 2009

• Project goals:

¾ Improve accessibility,
transparency, and accountability
of government

¾ Generate cultural and systems

change in city government

• Individual NYC departments are

responsible for generating and
updating their data sets

• Principally a data website, rather than

one having a business orientation

7
See http://www.nyc.gov/html/datamine/html/home/home.shtml.
 Existing Open Government Examples
Washington, D.C.
• Created by then-Mayor Fenty and
Cabinet level officials beginning in 2008

• Project goals:

¾ Serve as catalyst for better agency

performance

¾ Make government more responsive

• Central technical hub that works with

individual departments

• Data-oriented but excellent examples

and Google maps

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See http://data.octo.dc.gov.
 Existing Open Government Examples
Vancouver
• Created by City Council to be implemented by
City Manger.

• Project goals:

¾ Improve government services

¾ Create economic activity and partnership

with the creative tech sector

¾ Build Vancouver’s brand

¾ Host community engagement activities

• Well organized, data-only website.

• Uniquely, site hosts links to a non-city-

maintained wiki for ongoing, and affiliated,
dialogue by the external community.

9
See http://data.vancouver.ca.
 Summary of Existing Open Gov Examples

• Key metrics we can use to assess existing open government initiatives

include quality of information, search-ability, ease of interacting, and
feedback loops. These metrics can inform our efforts in Philadelphia.

Quality of Information
Variety of types Showcase good 'use' Public can suggest Embedded
of info? Good metadata? examples? needs? survey?
NYC Y ok N Y N
San Fran Y Y Y Y N
Vancouver Y Y N Y Y
Washington DC Y Y Y ok N

Ease of use & search-ability

Searchable by Organized by Organized by

Still beta? Searchable? keywo rd? To pic? agency
NYC N Y Y Y Y
San Fran Y Y Y Y ok
Vanco uver Y ok N Y ok
Washingto n DC N Y Y Y N 10
 Summary of Existing Open Gov Examples

Educable & easy-to-talk-to

Clo ud tag Sho ws views A gency participatio n Registratio n Will update "Co ntact us"
(frequency)? (frequency)? (sco recard)? required? users? fo rm/email? Co ntact us # ?
NYC N N N N N Y N
San Fran Y Y Y N ok Y N
Vanco uver N N N N Y Y N
Washingto n DC N N N N Y Y N

Approach & Outreach

Go o d Go v. B usiness develo pment
o riented? o riented? Linked to co mmunity? Co mmunity o pinio n o f?
NYC Y N N thinks co ntest is weak
San Fran Y Y Y unkno wn
Vanco uver Y Y Y suppo rtive
Washingto n DC Y Y Y suppo rtive

• These metrics should help guide the development of Open

Government Philadelphia.
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 Examples of Open Government Successes

Apps for Democracy

• Competition to develop apps out of
Washington, D.C. open government
information

• Cost to city was $50K

• Marketable technology products with

an estimated value of $2.4 million
emerged

• ROI of 4,000%!

• Significant press and PR benefit for the

city

See http://www.appsfordemocracy.org/about. 12
 Examples of Open Government Successes

dc BIKES
• Developed via the
Washington DC Apps for
Democracy contest

• Online map that

combines information
about bike lanes, Metro
stops, and recent bike
thefts

• Hosts an online
community listing bikes
for sale on Craigslist

• Helps furthers city’s

environmental goals

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See http://outsideindc.com/bikes/theft.
 Examples of Open Government Successes

New York City

“The NYC DOT
needs your help!

We know we’ve got

a lot of the raw data,
we need your help
to separate the
wheat from the
chaff…

There are many

reasons why you
(outside the wall of
government
bureaucracy) will be
able to build better
apps, at ten times
the speed…..”

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See http://diycity.org/diy-new-york-city/nycs-dot-looking-developers-diy-ideas
 Open Government Business Examples

Are You Safe (D.C.)

• Combines crime-mapping
with subscriber’s location,
gathered via smart phone

• Also functions as a
“safety” map of the city

• Costs $.99 via iTunes

15
See http://???
 Open Government Business Examples

Routesy Bay Area (SF)

• Combines real-time transit
locations and geography in
the Bay Area with
subscriber’s location

• Also helps user find the

nearest stop given user’s
location

• Costs $3.99 via iTunes

• Ultimately improves
utilization and efficiency of
public transit system,
stations, and infrastructure

See http://www.routesy.com/ 16
 Open Government Business Examples

ecofindeRRR (SF)
• Combines recycling
information and geography
with subscriber’s location

• Multiple potential income

streams

• Offers social networking

opportunities for finding
“re-useables”

• Free for users, certain

types of customers
required to pay

See http://www.ecofinderapp.com/ 17
 Local Open Government Business Opportunities

Tapping Philadelphia’s Potential

• Open Gov app contests in NYC and D.C. yielded apps focused in sectors including
quality of life, crime, neighborhoods, tourism, and good government.

• The composition of Philadelphia’s Phila. Region Employment

regional economy suggests

opportunities in additional areas
4%
14%
including: 8%

4% Construction, NR & Mining

Manufacturing
¾ Clean tech & energy 8%
19% Transportation, Trade & U
Information
Financial Activities

¾ IT sector and business Professional & Business S

Ed / Med
incubation 2%
Leisure & Hospitality
Other Services
18% Government
8%
¾ Business travel, conventions, 15%
and tourism

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 Local Open Government Business Opportunities

Cleantech and Energy Sectors

• Significant economic growth is projected for the
cleantech and energy (both generation and
management) sectors in the coming decades.

• Public infrastructure and public/private

partnerships offer business opportunities in
these sectors.

• The public sector and its facilities

also are a potential customer for
these services and products.

• Varied tiers of government (federal,

state, and local) are engaged in the
regulatory systems that determine
opportunities in these sectors.

• Better information exchange is

needed to make energy
management work – the private
sector can help with this, if given
access to data.
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 Local Open Government Business Opportunities

Water Department’s New Stormwater Fee System

• The new public sector regulations/billing
approach is creating pressure for new
solutions.

• The private sector is needed to create

solutions, but may need public sector
information and collaboration.

• Public infrastructure and public/private

partnerships also offer business
opportunities.

• The public sector and its facilities are also

significant potential customers of related
private sector innovations.

• Communications and public information about

the fee system are needs that should utilize an
Open Gov. approach.

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 Local Open Government Business Opportunities

Tech & Start-up Sectors (“anti-brain-drain”)

• Open Gov. can help stimulate the
tech/start-up sectors – aiding both student
retention and business/resident attraction.

• In turn, the tech/start-up sector can

provide insight on how government could
work better.

• For example, the well known, well

regarded Indy Hall co-working space is the
sort of local laboratory that is an ideal
partner for Philly’s Open Gov. initiative.

• Indy Hall’s co-working model lends itself

to exploring how Open Gov. and web and
mobile technology can flourish together.

• Furthermore, the public sector is a

significant potential customer for these
companies. For example, web-software
firm Azavea recently developed the
LandStat system for the Dept. of Records. 21
 Local Open Government Business Opportunities

Business Travel, Conventions, and Tourism

• Public investments help facilitate,
coordinate, and guide the tourism and
convention sectors.

• Private sector business opportunities

could be improved by more effective
information sharing by affiliated public
sectors.

• An open government clearinghouse of

confirmed and potential future
convention business, collaborative
attraction efforts, and a robust
marketplace of relevant service
providers could allow for synergistic
information-sharing.

• This information-sharing and related

feedback loops will help the city identify
new opportunities and drive new
businesses.

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 Booting-up Open Government Philadelphia
Main Components of Initiative
“Open Government Philadelphia” consists of 10 interrelated action items –
described in a related policy paper – that will help city government be more
transparent, accountable, innovative, and successful. In addition to the smart
implementation of technology, which is a key component, Open Government
includes improved decision-making, budgeting, citizen engagement, and more.

1. Enhancing Transparency
¾ Enact a comprehensive open data policy
¾ Post the city’s check registry online
¾ Enhance the functionality and substance of the city’s contracts-related websites
¾ Post financial disclosure statements online
¾ Create an online directory of boards and commissions

2. Ensuring Accountability
¾ Provide easy access to legislative voting records
¾ Adopt outcome-based budgeting
¾ Improve public access to budget information

3. Facilitating Engagement and Sustaining Innovation

¾ Increase access to public alerts
¾ Sponsor an annual apps competition
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