Building a government data strategy: aligning open data and advanced research with the public and open science principles

Abstract

Summary form only given. Governments have initiated and expanded open data policies at the municipal, state, and national levels. While these policies spark the promise of transparency, an open data program is an effective gateway to a larger data and technology strategy. Governments can use portals to convene a tech community consisting of entrepreneurs, professionals in information technology from large enterprises, and civic activists. The blend of the technology components and grassroots culture is necessary for governments to function as a platform. Yet, open data can achieve more than transparency and GaaP services. By leveraging open data and applying the principles of open access and open science, governments can collaborate with external researchers to implement analytic, stochastic research models that improve the efficiency of city operations and help advise on data-driven policy. Governments can leverage technologies such as open source software and distributed version control to share research with others, inviting review through reproducible research and also inviting improvements. In order to be successful, there must be a alignment between the governments internal technology stack and it's edifice to the public. We will discuss lessons from building a broad data strategy inclusive of open data, advanced analytics a la open science, internal technology systems, and necessary culture to iterate toward an collaboration between governments, the public, researchers, and private enterprise.?