It’s Time the District Opens Its Doors to Open Data

Long before President Barack Obama issued the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, the District was among the earliest jurisdictions to establish criteria for the online publication of high-value data sets, creating in 2006 an online data portal of not all, but some, District agency data.  The posting of the data evolved into a catalog of nearly 460 data sets from multiple District agencies. It was a laudable and innovative effort, but it’s time the District set the default to open so that the public may access data that is current and useful. 

Recently, Mayor Gray sought comment from the public on the city’s Transparency and Open Government Initiative.  The announcement of the yet to be realized initiative come years after the mayor issued his memo on “Transparency and Open Government Policy” in 2011.  The memo directed the city administrator, in coordination with the chief technology officer to develop agency recommendations on improving transparency participation. No policy or plan was ever created.  The memo amounted to nothing more than rhetoric. 

Any open government and transparency policy adopted by District leaders must be memorialized in the form of legislation directing implementation, compliance processes, and enforcement. Otherwise, relegating transparency to mayoral memorandums and orders will mean the District’s obligation to transparency will be as fleeting as political winds.

An open data and transparency policy must mandate open formats for government data, ongoing data publication updates, code sharing or publication in open source, and establish independent oversight authority to ensure compliance with new open data measures. 

The District is in a prime position to establish a transparency and open data policy which contemplates not only proactive disclosure of agency operations, but disclosure of data in a manner that will improve city services, lead to greater government accountability, and promote civic innovation.  Setting the default to open will make government more efficient and responsive to the needs of District residents.