[okfn-discuss] Fwd: States urged to create data catalogs

[Jonathan Gray]

This is interesting! I hope they make the metadata about datasets open, as per:

  http://blog.okfn.org/2009/07/23/what-features-should-be-included-in-a-catalogue-of-open-government-data/

Jonathan


---------- Forwarded message ----------

States urged to create data catalogs

NASCIO calls for state versions of the federal Data.Gov portal

By Joab Jackson
Oct 07, 2009

Federal agencies shouldn't be the only ones to open their data for the
public — states and local governments should also be ramping up
efforts to become more transparent, the National Association of State
Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) contends in a newly published
report.

The first thing a state should do is create a one-stop portal, or data
catalog, for all its publicly-accessible data, along the lines of the
White House's Data.Gov , the report states.

“State government has already made much of its data public. We’re
providing guidance on how to make this data more accessible and
available through a single state data portal,” Dugan Petty, Oregon
chief CIO and co-chair of the NASCIO enterprise architecture and
governance committee, said in a statement.

By having data in one location, end users and third-party developers
will be more inclined to build applications that can reuse the data in
innovative ways. "The full universe of outcomes is not fully
understood, but it is certainly anticipated that the availability of
government datasets will lead to more citizen engagement, the
potential to spawn new economic opportunities, efficiencies in the
creation and use of data, and greater accountability on the part of
government," states the report titled “A Call to Action for State
Government – Guidance for Opening the Doors to State Data.”

The report suggests a few additional steps should also be carried out
to encourage data reuse, including:

Creating a single portal from which all data can be accessed.
Joining with other states to create a unified naming scheme for Web addresses.
Deploying a common meta-data model, based on the federal Data.Gov model.
Not using proprietary data formats or other technologies that could
hinder access. .

The District of Columbia, and Utah have already created online data
catalogs, though most states have not done so.

"We’d like to see a common approach across all states and more state
data sites featured on the federal Data.Gov site," said Steve
Fletcher, Utah's CIO and co-chair of the NASCIO enterprise
architecture and governance committee. We’re looking forward to seeing
what the public does with this data.”


-- 
Jonathan Gray

Community Coordinator
The Open Knowledge Foundation
http://www.okfn.org