Open data is probably more interesting to GovLoopers than the average citizen. That’s understandable; most data-sets aren’t helpful to everybody. For instance, checking out Data.gov, I see raw data-sets concerning the marital status of active-duty forces, the location and characteristics of the worlds copper smelters, and data regarding the surface-temperature of land at night. ForRead… Read more »
Open data is a huge step towards open government, but it isn’t so easy. There are problems with the decision making process in what becomes public information. John Wonderlich, Policy Director for the Sunlight Foundation spoke with Chris Dorobek of the DorobekINSIDER about the missing link in the open data decision making process. Decisions aboutRead… Read more »
If you are a public agency or work for city government at any level, this video is a must see! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9UpKsNJeqI I welcome any sort of feedback. -Robert
Recently, the European Commission initiated the process of revision of the European Directive on Re-use of Public Sector Information. One of its main objectives is to provide a general authorisation to re-use to citizens and businesses who want to make use of public sector information for the creation of new services, generating economic activity andRead… Read more »
From the article: Transparency advocates claimed a partial victory in the inclusion of $12.4 million for the flagship Electronic Government Fund in the omnibus spending package that is going before Congress for a vote on Dec. 16. The eGov fund pays for high-profile open government and innovation initiatives including Data.gov, Federal IT Dashboard, Challenge.gov andRead… Read more »
Round II: Apps for Metro Chicago Community Round App contest produces more civic minded apps For those of you who may not have heard, Chicago is hosting an application contest using open data produced by the city, counties, and the state. The contest is three rounds each with a different focus. The first round winnerRead… Read more »
A couple of days ago we featured an interview with Bristol City Council on their B-Open Competition. From the South West we move to the Midlands where we ask one of the pioneers in local government of hack competitions, Warwickshire County Council. Check out our interview with Jim Morton, an Applications Architect there who blogsRead… Read more »
When we talk about the benefits of open data, people describe how opening up information can help the public become “armchair auditors” as well as enable developers to use the data to build new applications. But what about people who work for those public services, could they benefit too? Creating relationships between types of dataRead… Read more »
Yesterday, we talked about how you could find information on all the different activities and events taking place across the county and use the API to re-use the data itself. Today, we’re going to cover the information we have on where local services are based. You might be enjoying yourself taking part in an activityRead… Read more »
From the moment the Rahm Administration entered office, it was obvious that big changes were on the way. For years, the Tax Increment Development Fund was an object of contention and the data was kept under as much under wraps as possible. The very first week that the new administration was in place – ChicagoRead… Read more »