Open Data Presentation

by
Elaine Gamble

Board of Control Meeting

July 21, 2010
 What is it?
Open data is a philosophy and practice
requiring that certain data are made
available to the public, without restrictions
from copyright, patents or other
mechanisms of control, for free and in a
machine readable format.
 Why do it?

The goal of open data is to make

government open, accessible and
transparent and encourage more
participation in government.
 Benefi ts of Open Data
• Demonstrates commitment to transparency,
accountability, innovation
• Provides developers and others with free access
to data in a usable/re-usable format
• Creates opportunity to use data in new and
innovative ways that government may not have
considered or have the expertise or time to
create
• Contributes to the strength and vibrancy of the
digital media economy within the City
 What happens with Open Data?

From demographic information by

neighborhood to the best towns to fi nd a
job to seeing the environmental health of
your community–these applications
provide citizens with the information they
need to make decisions every day.
 Challenges for Government
• Corporate culture – from control to open
government concept
• Policy – from a “fee for data” to a “free data”
policy
• Legal considerations – privacy, intellectual
property, liability
• Resources – scope, managing expectations
and sustainability
• Branding and accuracy – potential confusion
of who’s responsible
 Next Steps
• ‘Beta’ website launch in September 2010
• Internal consultation – inform, educate
• Working group to monitor and advise on
criteria for future releases
• Continue to evaluate human resources and
costs associated with expanding the initiative
• Continue to liaise with members of the
community and explore use of
www.dataldn.org site to solicit ideas for future
releases and feedback