Last week we released our Open Data Policy Hub, a one-stop shop for learning how to write an open data policy and getting started. This week, we want to highlight one feature in particular: matching policy text to our Open Data Policy Guidelines.

From the Open Data Policy Guidelines page, you can select any guideline and view examples of matching language from various open data policies. You can then click on any policy to see that matching text highlighted, to help you better understand the context in which the guideline has been applied.

From the Open Data Policy Collection page, you can select any policy, and if we have tagged any policy language as matching one or more of the guidelines, you’ll see a drop-down menu that allows you to select a guideline and see that guideline text highlighted, and a link to read more about that guideline and see matching language from other policies.

We should note that some policies with language meeting various guidelines have not been tagged, so some policies may not display matches. Additionally, there may be occasional issues with the exact range of text marked as meeting a guideline; please reach out to us at opencities@sunlightfoundation.com if you notice any issues.

We’ve had a set of Open Data Policy Guidelines for almost as long as we’ve worked on open data. As more open data policies were passed, we wanted to see which policies were meeting which guidelines, and provide examples of policy language for specific guidelines for those looking to write their own policy. To do this, we created a Google Sheet showing each policy and the matching language for various guidelines. But as time went on, this sheet grew enormous, and information was spread across three websites — our guidelines, our spreadsheet, and our site with policy text.

Our new Open Data Policy Hub provides an all-in-one experience. We hope it simplifies the process of determining how language from open data policies can meet our guidelines.