Jason Hare's Data Management Blog

In my previous blog posting I discussed some of the problems with accountability data schools generate and the accessibility of that data by parents, business people and tax payers. The accountability portals and school websites do not speak to the issues that these groups of citizens are seeking. Parents in particular are looking for ways to engage with the district and that want that engagement to be data driven. That is, decisions by school administrators, parents, voters on referendums should be based on data rather than Colbert's brilliant fake word "Truthiness". Apples2Apples: The Good Stuff What could a data driven school portal look like? It could be a Socrata or CKAN instance run by the district or parents. One does not have to imagine what a school open data portal would like. +Jeanne Marie Olson pointed me to CPS Apples2Apples . This is an excellent example of open data using open source tools and crowd-sourcing the effort to create an engaging data experienc

  The School District Data Deluge I can think of two good reasons why the K-12 vertical is a natural fit for an open data initiative. School performance data: School performance data directly affects the economy through home sales the vitality of a neighborhood community centered around a school. Open data needs to start early as part of the class curriculum and be blended with STEM subjects. Students will need to understand data, how it is consumed and how it can be effectively produced and accessed. Most school districts across North Carolina and elsewhere are still in the process of building their data system technology capacity. An examination of district and state level capacity with respect to data systems needs to take into account the multiple types of systems containing data concerning students and other aspects of the education system. Data is not just generated around student performance and accountability. Public safety, transportation, spending per capita on students, spec

  Morrisville Demo Portal from + Socrata An Evening with Morrisville City Council The evening ended with my discussion on Open Data and my desire to have Council adopt an Open Data policy. I presented to Council, on the benefits of Open Data to the citizens, with the primary benefit, being that open data in machine readable format will enable citizens to create apps, which can bring efficiency to the Town, make our lives easier. Also, open data can fuel economic growth with a few projects, getting off the ground, by venture funding, creating jobs, and opportunities. Morrisville Open Data Portal With our focus on Morrisiville, I presented what a Morrisville Open DataPortal would look like, presented open data sets with CAMPO Data and also presented the City of Chicago open data sets for transportation. I cannot think of a better way for us to lead with a Transportation Task Force, if we can have an Open Data pilot, where citizens can use this type of data to provide feedback, arrive

  Raleigh, NC - Story by guest blogger +Ian Henshaw Public Technology Institute (PTI) supports local government executives and elected officials through research, education, executive-level consulting services and national recognition programs. Web 2.0 and civic/social media technologies are dynamic tools for informing citizens, encouraging collaboration and engaging the public in government decision making. To recognize best practices in the use of these technologies, PTI has launched the Web 2.0 State and Local Government Awards and Recognition Program. Recently PTI Named Raleigh as one of the 2013 Web 2.0 Winning Jurisdictions. Raleigh was recognized for their Open Data Portal (see Press Release ). Raleigh Open has previously received a significant achievement award from PTI in the 2012-2013 Technology Solutions Awards Open Raleigh History On February 7, 2012, the Raleigh City Council unanimously adopted an Open Source Resolution . In March 2013, the Raleigh Open Data Portal was l

  Just 12 months ago the Data Jam facilitators got together with +Todd Park and +Nick Sinai to discuss the nations first ever regional Data Jam. In December, I had the pleasure of meeting these gentleman and  +Ian Kalin  at the USAID Data Jam at the Whitehouse in December of 2012.  The US Department of State posted about the USAID Data Jam here. After a year of planning, attending meetings and kicking off with a Data Jam on April 22nd 2013 we are ready to announce the winner at Datapalooza on September 12, 2013.  Details on When and Where Time and location is September 12, 2013 at the  NC Museum of Natural Sciences Phone the HUB at 919-300-6917 Email DataPalooza Registration Page What happened because of DataJam? The timing of the beta launch of the Open Raleigh data portal was in part to support the Data Jam Launch of Wake County's Open Data Portal Open data initiatives in almost every major metropolitan area within the Triangle The NC Governor's Office of Innovation will kick

  Ireland by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Are clouds lifting from Ireland's reluctance to participate in releasing open data to the public? Given the glowing report by the OGP one would think that open data is about to become mainstream within the Irish National Government. In a June 17th OGP blog posting http://blog.opengovpartnership.org/2013/06/3354/ +Denis Parfenov expresses optimism on the following announcement: On May 20, 2013, the Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Brendan Howlin, announced that Ireland has sent its Letter of Intent to join the Open Government Partnership. "I look forward to working with citizens, civil society interests and business on the development of Ireland’s first National Action Plan of commitment required for full OGP participation”, Mr Howlin said. “I hope that civil society and citizens at large will use the OGP as an opportunity not only to encourage greater transparency and to open the doors of government to greater

Something I could not say 9 months ago is how to take an open data resolution and turn it into a strategy. Since that time until late last week I have been thinking about two basic approaches for open data: Data as infrastructure Open Government Data as a platform for innovation and economic impact Data toward transparency and accountability Open Government Data made available to the public as machine readable requests for information I am about to make some broad generalizations so feel free to violently disagree with me. I am reporting what I have read, seen and experienced after nearly a year in the trenches watching the open data world mature and unfold. The Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN), based in Berlin and London, is concerned with open machine readable data. In fact the City of Raleigh has based their open data resolution on the list OKFN open data principles and the Open Data Handbook. Open Raleigh, however, does not use transparency as the primary driver for its open data