Public Information about Government Data Will Improve With New Obama Policy
The Obama Administration released an Executive Order and a Policy Directive that move the federal government forward in a significant direction — officially requiring that, going forward, data generated by the government be made available in open, machine-readable formats (with appropriate protections). Most notably, it requires that agencies create and maintain an “enterprise data inventory, if it does not already exist, that accounts for datasets used in the agency’s information systems” — with the ultimate goal of including all agency datasets, and with indications whether the agency has determined that the individual datasets may be made publicly available and whether these are currently available to the public. Here’s what you need to know:
The Executive Order declares that information is a valuable resource and strategic asset for the nation.
Newly generated government data will be required to be made available in open, machine-readable format by default — enhancing their accessibility and usefulness, and ensuring privacy and security.
These executive actions will allow entrepreneurs and companies to take advantage of this information — fueling economic growth in communities across the Nation.
Watch a short video and find out more about the announcement here. Read more here.
Open Data for Climate and Health Insights
In conjunction with a series of landmark steps announced by the Obama Administration to unleash troves of useful data from the vaults of government, the interagency US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) launched a new online tool that promises to accelerate research relating to climate change and human health—the Metadata Access Tool for Climate and Health, or “MATCH.” MATCH is a tool, driven by open data, which could open the door for new scientific insights in the public health and climate science communities. It is a publicly accessible digital platform for searching and integrating metadata—standardized contextual information—extracted from more than 9,000 health, environment, and climate-science datasets held by six Federal agencies. Read more here.
H.R. 1949: The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act
The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act, introduced by Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN), will help Congress better understand the kind of information students have, want, and need when researching their postsecondary education options. This information will be critical to informing the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s efforts to improve students’ access to relevant and helpful information about higher education institutions in the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act – without overburdening institutions with more red tape and redundant requirements. Read more here.
Cities Ramp Up Data Projects
State and local governments will spend $58 billion on information technology in 2013, according to the market analyst firm Gartner. And while the ongoing fiscal problems have slowed IT investments, the use of technology and automation in states and localities will continue to grow, particularly where big data and analytics are concerned. Read more here.
Supreme Court Ruling Hurts Open Government
On April 29 the Supreme Court unanimously decided that that Virginia, and by extension any state, is not obligated to honor or respond to FOIA requests from people not residing in the state. OpenTheGovernment.org and several of their partners signed onto an amicus brief authored by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) that urged the Court to rule that the Constitution does not permit a state’s open records law to discriminate against citizens of other states. Read more here.
Notable Data Publications
Each week, the APDU Data Update identifies recent statistical data releases of interest to APDU members.
Did you work on a great report that you want your colleagues to know about? Just email us and we’ll include it here.
Calls for Comment
APDU maintains a list of open calls for comment on proposed federal data collections. We periodically alert APDU members to newly added calls for comment. Over the last several weeks, calls for comment on the following proposed data collections were published in the Federal Register (with due date):
Census Bureau
2014 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (June 13, 2013)
Energy Information Administration
Proposed Change to Data Protection (June 10, 2013)
National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA
Nursery and Christmas Tree Production Survey and Nursery and Floriculture Chemical Use Survey (June 12, 2013)
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The Update staff will be in Nashville next week attending the C2ER Annual Conference and LMI Institute Annual Form. The APDU Data Update will return on Thursday, May 30th.
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