Government Technology

[Commentary] Though the debate about open data in government is an evolving one, it is indisputably here to stay -- it can be heard in both houses of Congress, in state legislatures, and in city halls around the nation.

Already, 39 states and 46 localities provide data sets to data.gov, the federal government's online open data repository. And 30 jurisdictions, including the federal government, have taken the additional step of institutionalizing their practices in formal open data policies.

Though the term "open data" is spoken of frequently -- and has been since President Barack Obama took office in 2009 -- what it is and why it's important isn't always clear.

“People tend to conflate it with big data," said Emily Shaw, the national policy manager at the Sunlight Foundation, "and I think it’s useful to think about how it’s different from big data in the sense that open data is the idea that public information should be accessible to the public online."

Among the benefits of open data are improved measurement of policies, better government efficiency, deeper analytical insights, greater citizen participation, and a boost to local companies by way of products and services that use government data. “The way I personally think of open data,” Shaw said, “is that it is a manifestation of the idea of open government."

[Commentary] The First Responder Network Authority is now two years into its ten-year life. But it appears to be going through a reboot.

Are its efforts stalled? The short answer is no. The longer answer: maybe. My take on what’s going on:

• I suspect there is an epic struggle going on within the Beltway for the control of FirstNet and its $7 billion in funding.
• FirstNet’s already had a hiring scandal.
• I think FirstNet has about 25 federal employees working for it. Their goal, I believe, is to have 100 or more full-time staff to do the work.
• Eight cities, regions and states around the country were funded for about $400 million under the federal stimulus (technically the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, ARRA/BTOP, a mouthful) or similar grants to build public safety LTE networks compatible with FirstNet. Many of these networks were well along. But when FirstNet was created in 2012, NTIA abruptly stopped seven of these projects, restricting their construction until FirstNet could review them and authorize them to be completed.
• In the fall of 2013 we in the states were hoping to have a lot of specifics in terms of materials and data requirements to conduct outreach and education for potential users in our states. We’re still waiting.

[Bill Schrier is senior policy advisor in the Office of the Chief Information Officer at the State of Washington]