Agenda Information Sheet
DEPARTMENT: Technology Services
CM/ ACM: Bryan Langley
Date: February 21, 2017
SUBJECT
Title
Receive a report and hold a discussion regarding Open Data initiatives.
Body
BACKGROUND
Open Data is commonly understood to mean data produced or commissioned by a government entity that may be made available for use, reuse or redistribution by individuals or organizations outside of the government entity. Key aspects of Open Data are:
Public Good - Data is a valuable societal asset whose value is multiplied when it is made easily accessible to the public.
Catalyst for Economic Development - In a digital age, data is a key resource for social and commercial activities.
Means of Facilitating Transparency - Data can inform the community about government activities. Ease of access to data can facilitate the communication.
Enable Participatory Governance - By opening data, the community is enabled to be more directly informed and involved in government activities.
Staff considers Open Data to be an asset to the community and the City of Denton. The open data portal has been available since January, 2014 with a recent update in August, 2016.
To achieve a broad and robust Open Data program we have required the production of new data and new formats not presently created by staff. Since August, 2016 staff has added 87 new datasets for a total 157 data sets. Additional data sets will continue to be investigated and provided in the future.
In partnership with UNT, we held our first open data portal event on February 4, 2017 called Denton Bedouins. The purpose of this event was to assess the current data sets, determine if they are valid to use, and if not, what needs to be fixed in preparation for Open Data Day on March 4, 2017.
Additionally, staff has created a performance dashboard that will aggregate data from various sources on the open data portal. This will enable the public to discover, analyze, collaborate and get insights. This will also easily identify patterns in data.
The purpose of this item it to update the committee on the status of the City’s open data program. The attached presentation will be used to facilitate this discussion.
EXHIBITS
Exhibit 1 - Open Data Presentation
Respectfully submitted:
Melissa Kraft
Chief Technology Officer