Written with guest blogger Matt Roberts, Informatics Project Manager Inadequate information management leads to incomplete decision-making. Public health and healthcare decision-makers’ eyes routinely glaze over once information technology is mentioned. Return on investment is difficult to pinpoint, and millions of dollars appear to fall into IT black holes as the proposed product often arrives behindRead… Read more »
Big data has revolutionized the way government agencies store, manage and collect data. Agencies can no longer rely on stable and structured data as a means to meet mission need. The way citizens engage with government has evolved, and the kinds of data processing services available have changed. Today, agencies must be able to quicklyRead… Read more »
Photo Credit: U.S. Census Bureau, Public Information Office Although the 2020 Census is about 6 years away, preparations are well underway. The Census Bureau has designated today as Census Day 2014, as the Bureau is conducting its first significant test of the methods and technologies it’s considering for the 2020 Census. We have often reportedRead… Read more »
Republished with permission from the International Budget Partnership blog This post was written by Rosie Williams of InfoAus. Unlocking Budget Data in Australia: the BudgetAus Collaboration Budget transparency in Australia has recently taken a big step forward with the first ever release of federal budget data in machine readable format. Prior to this year, budgetRead… Read more »
There is a big push on Open Data initiatives since this enables organizations to share data with partners and also build new innovative solutions. Open data maximizes value creation built on structured and unstructured data. Open Data initiatives should be based on technologies that can collect and cleanse data in a standardized manner so thatRead… Read more »
There has been no shortage of natural disasters in the past decade, all of which have devastated communities and torn lives and hearts apart. In January 2010, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake shattered the small Caribbean country of Haiti. The tremor killed more than 220,000 and left hundreds of thousands more displaced. Six months following thisRead… Read more »
This is the second blog in a three-part series exploring smarter counter fraud. “Fraud and falsehood only dread examination. Truth invites it.” This quixotic statement from American economist and political philosopher Thomas Cooper praises honesty and fair play, while promising that the system will catch those who try to manipulate it. But in reality, Cooper’sRead… Read more »
One of the best things I’ve read recently is Grant Vergottini’s Imagining Government Data in the 21st Century where he lists and then explains seven characteristics of “data transparency”: The data must be available. The data must be provided in such a way that it is accessible and understandable by the widest possible audience. TheRead… Read more »
The next time you ride your bicycle around town, you may be providing a public service. Wired magazine recently posted an article about the use of private sector data to power public sector service delivery improvements. According to the piece, the Oregon Department of Transportation is buying data from the cycling and running social mediaRead… Read more »
Understanding how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars is a daunting task. In fiscal year 2013 alone, the federal government spent $3.5 trillion. In May, Congress unanimously passed and the President signed the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA), which increases accountability and transparency of federal spending. The act requires several changes that will shedRead… Read more »