I don’t agree with everything he says but, to paraphrase his thinking, “Let’s get real about what really matters.”
All in Transparency
Making Open Data Accessible Inside the Firewall
Balance between control and autonomy will be critical and will vary by program size, complexity, structure, and maturity. Also critical will be how external and internal users of related data resources are supported when important distinctions related to privacy and security need to be maintained.
There is obviously a need for transparency about this problem; it’s too serious not to discuss openly but we need to do so in a mature and fact based way.
Given the increasing importance of localization and access via mobile platforms it makes sense for Google to extend its reach for data to index into the potential treasure trove of local governments.
AGA’s Citizen Centric Reporting and Government Transparency
The idea behind AGA’s citizen centric reporting initiative is straightforward: give citizens numbers about the government they can understand.
A Project Manager's Perspective on the GAO’s Federal Data Transparency Report
While improving data transparency for both financial and non-financial data is an important goal, any effort requiring an enterprise level shift in data formats or associated business processes can also require a substantial early peak in required resources. If in fact we need to delay implementing data transparency programs, perhaps we can use our time wisely by doing a more detailed job of research and planning.
Understanding How Open Data Reaches the Public
In the long run, traditional top-down efforts at management control may be insufficient to ensure that both agency goals and the potential benefits of open data access — including unanticipated cponsequences — are realized in an efficient and cost effective manner. While leadership by the Federal government’s IT infrastructure will be necessary, it will also be necessary to ensure that ongoing efforts to advance open data access are managed efficiently both across agencies and in accordance with individual agency and program priorities; IT staff cannot do this on their own and will have to work closely with agency management.
When Does a Public Data Good Become a Private Data Resource?
It may be that the greatest challenge facing private entrepreneurs in developing new and valuable information products and services based at least partially on public data will be public resistance to paying for information, no matter how new, innovative, or unique these producrts or services are.
The State of Government Data Transparency, 2013
What I found most interesting and useful about the Data Transparency 2013 conference held September 10 in Washington DC was the diversity. The ability of Hudson Hollister’s Data Transparency Coalition to bring together such a high-quality group of speakers and attendees representing so many different perspectives was quite an accomplishment.
Meetings and the Limits of Government Transparency
The title of this article is “Meetings and the Limits of Government Transparency.” No, I’m not writing about NSA, Snowden, or national security. I’m writing about some government staff meetings and how open they should be to the public.
The bottom line: in a post-smartphone era, the more we know where our data are and how they are used the better off we are. Network companies — or governments — that resist making such data more accessible will be disadvantaged in the marketplace. Users of networks that ignore the interests of their customers will likewise be disadvantaged.
Perspectives on the NSA and PRISM: What Dyson Missed
In NSA: The Decision Problem George Dyson lays out a credible historical view on why he thinks what Snowden revealed about the NSA and PRISM was inevitable. While it’s certainly a pleasure to read a discussion of these issues that is so thoughtful, I think he misses one major theme that helps us understand our current predicament over what to do about Snowden.
Facing Reality and the Need to Recalibrate Sequester-Impacted IT Projects
In some ways this looks like a standard IT strategy alignment project where a small team helps gather and present data to enable a client to see a path forward whereby technology resources are defined and managed to improve support for accomplishment of a set of defined objectives. But…
Should your child's vaccination history be a matter of public record?
This is a tough one. Should a child’s vaccination history be a matter of public record?
Transparency Is Not An End In Itself
While data generated by a government program should be readily available and shareable among its target constituencies and members of the public, I also believe that resources devoted to improving the transparency of a government program should also promote the accomplishment of that program’s goals.
In a vain attempt to locate on the role .pdf files will be playing in this I performed a quick and dirty Wordle analysis:
How Our Increasing Digital Connectedness Improves Government Program Evaluation
There will always be a need to conduct formal evaluations of how well government programs perform. Such evaluations must take into account the complexity of programs and the need to distinguish among short term and long term impacts and the intervening conditions that also impact program effectiveness.
Robert Scoble’s explanation of why his employer is paying him to fly around promoting Google Glass makes perfect sense, especially this point:
Just Measuring Government Performance Is Not Enough
The Washington Post article this past week “Why not measure how well government works?” asks the reasonable question, “Why aren’t more government programs evaluated?” Also asked, is “Why aren’t government programs that are evaluated and found wanting just canceled?”
Am I being overly sensitive since I gave up using Facebook myself and don’t recommend it to others? Or should the fact that so many people use Facebook be the real deciding factor?