Open data fuels innovation, improves transparency and enables better decision-making in government. No matter what your level of experience with open data, these 15 lessons and interactive exercises will help you appreciate the impact and importance of open data. Specifically, this course is designed to:
- Define the term open data and highlight its history in the United States
- Explain the motivations and unique contributions of civic hackers
- Help you get started in starting or growing the open data movement in your community
With special funding from the Knight Foundation, we created this course by conducting interviews with dozens of experts across the country, including:
- Catherine Bracy, Code for America
- Nick Doran, Civic Analytics
- Derek Eder, DataMade
- John Farmer, Microsoft Technology and Civic Innovation
- Mike Flowers, NYU Center for Urban Science and Policy
- Matthew Gee, Center for Data Science and Public Policy, University of Chicago
- Noel Hidalgo, BETA NYC
- Nigel Jacob, Living Cities
- Waldo Jacquith, U.S. Open Data
- Tom Lee, Mapbox and former Director, Sunlight Labs, Sunlight Foundation
- Dan Melton, Granicus
- Sharon Paley, Hack Baltimore
- Harlan Weber, Code for Boston
- Chris Whitaker, CivicWhitaker
- Tim Wisniewski, City of Philadelphia Office of Innovation and Technology
After completing this course, be sure to access the second course in this learning series, Government Data Influencers in Action.
