Sometimes it makes sense to consider open data programs and cloud infrastructure transformation at the same time.
All in Open Data
Do People Really Understand What “Open Data” Means?
Ultimately the most important issue has to come down to deciding what level of data literacy citizens need. As the production and consumption of goods and services become more data-dependent in both developed and developing countries, it is reasonable to ask how much understanding of data and data related decisions people really need. I’ve referred to this elsewhere as data management literacy. Maybe we also need to consider data consumption literacy. After all, if people don’t understand or appreciate the services we’re providing, no amount of standardization, interoperability, or transparency is going to make any difference.
NOAA’s Big Data Project Comes Into Focus
What’s different about this newly announced NOAA program is not just the potential “big data” scope of the program but the way in which private sector cloud vendors are involved as intermediaries not only to the public but also to potential data vendors and resellers.
Is Your Organization Ready for the Third Age of Open Data?
Because of this my advice to anyone contemplating an open data program is to start not with what data are available but with what programs are trying to accomplish, then work on how open data can contribute to the success of those programs.
Is Making the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database More "Open" Good Or Bad?
Realistically it’s also impossible to control what people say online about companies. Just type the name of any large company into the Google search engine followed by the word “sucks” and you’ll see what I mean.
USAID’s “Frequently Asked Questions” and the Management of Open Data Programs
By itself, just documenting a process is never enough. Also needed is a sufficiently-resourced governance structure that supports program management in how systems and processes are changed and in how they operate.
Will NOAA’s “Big Data Partnership” be a Model for Other Government Agencies?
One thing that’s different with the NOAA data partnership program is not just its focus on making data available for access and exploitation via the cloud but the changing market environment in which it will be operating.
Observations and Questions about Open Data Program Governance
After this week’s call with Socrata’s Health Data Publishers Roundtable about working with data owners I put together a few thoughts to share with the group. Here are some observations along with a list of questions that I think deserve further discussion.
A sudden turn-off of digital access to government services — as might be required by the agency shutdown — must at minimum be figured into the risk management planning of any organization planning to offer or use products or services that are dependent on government-sourced open data.
Still, knowing that data exist – which is what the inventories will tell us — is not the same as accessing and interpreting the data. Even assuming the public eventually gains access to the inventoried data, we’ll still need contextual information about the programs described by the data and measurement of the impacts these programs have.
Knowing An Organization’s Data Management Maturity Helps Promote Effective Open Data Program Planning
Each data element in a data asset inventory has its own “lifecycle” that when properly managed provides a framework for tracking and optimizing how data are used from creation through obsolescence.
Open Data Management at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Much of what the EPA staff talked about involved processes and activities that are necessarily associated not only with “open data” but with any data intensive business process. Data must be managed. Systems that share data need to be coordinated. Resources need to be allocated and shared. Such requirements are not unique to “open data” but are universally relevant.
What’s going to happen to the “open data” movement in 2015? Here are my predictions:
Using Internet Related Economic Development Goals to Drive Open Data Strategy
While there may be significant capacity issues related to Internet and data access in developing countries, it’s impossible to ignore the disruptive and competitive landscape changes the growing Internet use offers wherever existing industries are adopting — or are being threatened by — web based developments. It make sense for at least some of open data program planning to reflect those realities.
How Are Open Data Programs Related to Investment Flows in Developing Countries?
Once data resources are digitized and made available for access and use, restricting or limiting their use can become difficult, complex, and expensive. Traditional and private sector institutions that rely too heavily on such distinctions for controlling social and business activities may find it difficult to adjust to and take advantage of such trends.
Looking Beyond Open Data Availability to Managing Open Data Value
Policy and theory are great but only usefulness and impact lead to real sustainability.
Don’t Just Make Data Open, Make Open Data Useful!
In this post we dive a little deeper into the topic of “open data usefulness.”
USAID’s Evolving Open Data Culture
I learned last night at the latest Open Data Leaders Meetup in Washington D.C. that they really are serious about “open data” at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
CityGram NYC: A Model for Open Data Efforts
At last night’s Open Data Enthusiasts meeting in Washington DC, Chris Whong of Socrata talked about the CityGram NYC system.
While it is true that a platform such as GitHub is not really designed to be as user friendly as, say, Facebook, the fact is that the sharing of technical expertise among mid-level IT staff and data administrators in different governmental agencies has probably been at least as important to open data progress as the Administration’s top down support.