A Presidential Priority: Unleashing Open Data; Huffington Post, 7/21/16

Joel Gurin, Huffington Post; A Presidential Priority: Unleashing Open Data:

"The Center for Open Data Enterprise has received support from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation to publish a nonpartisan informational Open Data Transition Report, which will be made public in October. The report will draw on experts from business, the public sector, and civil society to provide an action plan for continuity and further improvements in open government data — free government data released for public use. It will show how open data can fuel national initiatives in healthcare, medical research, energy, criminal justice reform, education, labor, veterans’ benefits, and many other critical areas...

The next president will have an unprecedented opportunity to lead a truly data-driven government, working with federal agencies and the U.S. Congress. By providing high-quality, usable data about everything from satellite observations to local neighborhood resources, the government can open new opportunities for scientific research, economic growth, and citizen engagement. The next administration’s task will be to solidify the gains that have already been made, shape a new vision for a data-driven democracy, and ensure that the leadership and resources are there to make that vision a reality.

The Open Data Transition Report will be designed to help the next administration identify and pursue the most compelling open data opportunities."

Open Data Roundtables: Using Government Data as a National Resource; Huffington Post, 3/24/16

Joel Gurin, Huffington Post; Open Data Roundtables: Using Government Data as a National Resource:

"Open government data - free, publicly available data that anyone can use, reuse, and republish - is being recognized as a resource with great social and economic value. But a number of challenges still need to be solved if this resource is to realize its full potential. Today, March 24, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Center for Open Data Enterprise are co-hosting the first of four Open Data Roundtables to make open government data more accessible and usable.

These Roundtables are being held at a time when new uses for government data are being developed almost daily. New and established businesses are finding novel ways to use data on weather, finance, demographics, energy, and more. The Obama Administration has launched programs using open data in education (the College Scorecard), criminal justice ( Police Data Initiative), urban neighborhoods (the Opportunity Project), health (Open FDA), and other areas that are critical to citizens.

The 2016 Open Data Roundtables will address four major issues that relate to federal data..."