Open Data and Good Government

If Int 0991-2009 (http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Int%200991-2009.htm) becomes law in New York City, the city will become a pioneer in giving the population some tools for a truly participatory democracy as well as access to the information and data that they have paid for and that can be used in so many ways, from the trivial to the truly important.

Just about all the of the people testifying at the hearing (myself included) repeatedly stressed the potential benefits to such a bill. The key piece of it is not just providing packaged reports, or even responses by individual agencies to FOIL requests, but rather that in addition to the reports and summaries, the raw data that these summaries are based on should be easily accessible to the public.

The potential uses for this data range very widely, in scope and importance. The examples were based on real life attempts of the past, as well as questions that people ask on a regular basis. Whether it's an easy way to see how well a nearby eatery complies with health regulations, to research which looks at enforcement of those regulations, or information on patterns of behavior or illness, the uses are really only limited by human imagination, and it was fascinating, and very hopeful, to listen to all of these ideas, as well as the conviction inherent in most of the testimonies that "regular" people are intelligent enough to figure out what they need and how the data can be used and useful without total guidance from government bureaucrats.