It wasn't too long ago that governments remained pretty guarded with their data. It really did not matter who the data steward was, as each discipline had its “reasons” for keeping data out of the hands of others.  Just a few years ago you would be hard pressed to find an open website with crime data, which is in direct contrast with today’s open data movement.  The arguments ranged from not letting criminal elements know where police were focused, to not allowing the public to be armed with incorrect data interpretations that they could use to argue with the city council on any subject.  Fast forward to today where up-to-the minute crime stats are readily available.  Websites with crime stats can depict the difficult job law enforcement has on a daily basis, why increased funding and resources may be necessary in certain neighborhoods, or why a neighborhood watch program would be beneficial to a community. 

The mapping and GIS industry was no stranger to the resistance to open data.  However the concerns were slightly different than the governments’ concerns.  Perhaps this was due to the time, effort, and money required to develop the data by staff.  Mapping and GIS fought a valiant battle that this data was not information subject to the Freedom of Information Act, but rather an asset subject to different rules of funding and cost recovery. 

Recently, attitudes have been changing as mapping and GIS data are being looked at as more of an infrastructure, because governments now see the importance of including it as part of their daily operation. Extending this mapping and GIS infrastructure to our constituents has become a new service and we get to witness this new infrastructure grow each day.  By opening up mapping and GIS data we can aid scientists and researchers, provide innovation through startup businesses, and enable apps to be developed by civic minded hackers.   

So what's different today? Well, governments can avoid data dumps that leave important members of your team wondering how the data is being used.  Or better yet, wondering how many times your old data has been exchanged and used without new or updated data being considered. You later learn that someone has used your old data on a project that has come back to haunt you.  The major difference today is that there is an ability to extend this infrastructure as a web service.  If you publish current data on websites or portals, data can now be downloaded for use in various products or connected to apps. As Mark Head, chief data officer for the city of Philadelphia puts it, "web services are the ‘secret sauce’ to open data." Governments can simply extend map and GIS data for adoption by business startups and civic hackers, for example, with the confidence that current data is being used.

 

The #LocalGov Technology Alliance is an Esri-ICMA initiative to explore the world of big data, open data, apps and dashboards, and what it all means for local governments. For more resources to help navigate the complex world of technology, go to icma.org/localgovtechalliance.