These recommendations were provided to the administration on 1 Dec 2011 and are expected to form the basis of the evaluation OTG is administering. Please add your comments to them below.
Black are the commitments from the US NAP.
- Green are the CSO recommendations.
3.5 Publish Data to Help Consumers and Scientists
In many cases, the government has information that can be leveraged to help consumers make better decisions and to aid scientific research. To unlock the potential of this data, the U.S. will:
• Promote Smart Disclosure. The government already discloses data to inform decision-making in many areas by, for example, providing access to comprehensive tools to facilitate the search for insurance options best suited to an individual’s specific needs. To build on this work, OMB recently issued guidance to Federal agencies on “smart disclosure.” We have also established a task force dedicated to promoting better disclosure policies. In response to this guidance, agencies and departments will work over the next year to ensure the timely release of complex information in standardized, machine-readable formats that enable consumers to make informed decisions in numerous domains.
- Require agencies to develop, commission, and improve user-friendly interfaces and visualizations to help Americans understand the releases of raw data in open, machine-readable formats. This will make the information useful to and usable by the public and better inform decision-making.
• Publish Guidelines on Scientific Data. We will develop Federal guidelines to promote the preservation, accessibility, and interoperability of scientific digital data produced through unclassified research supported wholly or in part by funding from the Federal science agencies.
- Issue specific guidance to agencies that makes it clear scientists may speak to the media.
- Through federal guidelines, direct agencies to require research grantees to submit data management plans, similar to those at the National Science Foundation.
- Encourage grantees to make data openly accessible to the greatest extent possible.