The New York state Senate rolled out a new website last week that will please members of the chamber and the citizens who elect them.
Continue readingReasons to Not Release Data, Part 1: Apathy
As many open access advocates, journalists, and government employees will tell you, broaching the subject of data disclosure can raise a lot of concerns for government data providers. Pioneers looking to move their government toward exploring information release have already come up with rebuttals to many of these challenges, but the collective knowledge is hard to share, usually trapped in email groups, discussion boards, blogs, and the memories and experiences of individuals. In the wake of re-releasing our Open Data Policy Guidelines, we wanted to probe these concerns and see what information we could share that data advocates could keep in their back pocket. So, earlier this month, we shared a crowdsourced collection of the top concerns data advocates have heard when they’ve raised an open data project with government officials at the federal, state, and local level, and we asked for you to share how you’ve responded. Dozens of you contributed to this project, sharing your thoughts on social media, our public Google doc, and even on the Open Data Stack Exchange, where 8 threads were opened to dive deeper into specific subjects. We also learned about resources akin to this one from our peers at the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership and this awesome, bingo-card inspired round-up from the UK made by Christopher Gutteridge and Alexander Dutton. (The latter has even been translated into German!) Drawing from your input, these materials, and our own experience, we’ve compiled a number of answers -- discussion points, if you will -- to help unpack and respond to some of the most commonly cited open data concerns. This is mash-up of expertise is a work in progress, but we bet you’ll find it a useful conversation starter (or continuer) for your own data advocacy efforts. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing challenges and responses from our list that correspond to different themes. You can follow along on our blog and on Twitter via #WhyOpenData. Today’s theme is Apathy.
Continue reading(Just Over) One Year Later: Philly’s Open Data Policy
Just over a year ago, Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania signed an executive order creating an open data policy... View Article
Continue readingMontgomery County’s New Open Data Bill
This afternoon, the Montgomery County Council voted unamimously in favor Bill 23-12, the Mongtomery County Open Data Act of 2012.... View Article
Continue readingCuomo’s “Leave No Trace” Administration Casts Shadows Over NY Government
“Create Open NY” is the fourth item on a list of prominent issues New York Governor Andrew Cuomo highlighted as... View Article
Continue readingNews Without Transparency: Albany Lobbying is Recession Proof
News Without Transparency- Albany Lobbying is Recession Proof Lobbying is big business in New York. Earlier this year, the Legislative... View Article
Continue readingHelp Us Plan TransparencyCamp 2013
Even though TransparencyCamp 2013 is roughly 12 months away, we’re already thinking ahead to how we can make next year’s... View Article
Continue readingTransparencyCamp 2012: Reflections, Next Steps, and Thanks
Sunlight closed its doors today to take a rest after last weekend, but still I find myself pouring over Twitter... View Article
Continue readingDC’s ANCs should put their financial reports online
This post was written by Policy Fellow Matt Rumsey. A version was cross-posted on Greater Greater Washington where Matt is a contributor. ... View Article
Continue readingSupport Budget Transparency in DC Tomorrow!
Last week, I blogged about a somewhat unusual event going down this Wednesday: DC Arts Advocacy Day. It’s an event... View Article
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