Beyond Transparency — 2013 Code for America
What is needed to take the open data movement even further? What obstacles, challenges, and concerns remain to be addressed? This section is devoted to identifying those issues, and envisioning a future of civic innovation powered by open data.
First, Greg Bloom, a long-time advocate for better social services data in Washington, D.C., explores the idea of open data as a common good. In Chapter 19, he outlines a vision for a future of “data cooperatives” to ensure better management and maintenance of this public resource.
In Chapter 20, we take a step back with John Bracken, Director of Media and Innovation for the Knight Foundation, one of the biggest philanthropic funders of open government initiatives. Based on his experience running the Knight News Challenge, he shares observations of ten key lessons the community needs to embrace to take the open government movement to the next level and better enable the potential of open data to be fully realized.
Next, Mark Headd, the first Chief Data Officer for Philadelphia, proposes that open data is an important first step to spurring new approaches to government service delivery in Chapter 21. He outlines why changing the way government procures technology is needed to enable more far-reaching change—both cultural and operational—within city hall.
And finally, in Chapter 22, open government advocate Tim O’Reilly concludes by outlining his vision of algorithmic regulation. How can government take advantage of innovations like advances in sensor technology and the emergence of the sharing economy to inform more effective regulation and governance? He argues that open data—when combined with clear desired outcomes and smart analysis—can be a key enabler to ensure accountability and continuous improvement in twenty-first century government.