Cincy Open Data Motion

MOTION

WE MOVE that City Council supports the Open Data initiative; and

WE MOVE further that the Administration develop a plan for evaluating and disseminating data sets generated within all city departments at "Open Data" in accessible raw formats that will be made available to the public through departmental websites as well as accessible in the aggregate through Open Data Cincy; and

WE MOVE further that the Administration develop a comprehensive Open Data policy for Cincinnati; and

WE MOVE further the following regarding the plan that:

• the plan require that the data be made available on the Internet through a single web portal, formatted to enable viewing by web browsers and mobile devices and also in their raw or unprocessed format;
• in developing rules and standards for the Open Data Policy and plan, the City Administration utilize the assistance of Open Data Cincy to provide guidance for entities implementing open data policies;
• The City Administration shall ensure that each department, board, commission and agency makes reasonable efforts to make available all data sets under the Department's control, provided that such disclosure be consistent with applicable laws and policies, including laws related to privacy and security;
• The City Administration will ensure that data supplied by third parties (e.g., developers, contractors, consultants) are unlicensed, in a prevailing open standard format, and not copyrighted except if otherwise prevented by legal or policy considerations;
• All public data sets shall be updated as often as necessary to preserve the integrity and usefulness of the data sets;
• The web portal hosting the public data sets shall make use of web syndication technology to notify the public of all updates;
• The portal shall utilize a web application programming interface that shall permit application programs to request and receive public data sets directly to/from Open Data Cincy; and

WE MOVE further that the Administration report back regarding the plan and policies within four months of the date hereof.

Statement

Open Data Cincy is an aggregate repository incorporating municipal and other data to more completely and accurately capture quality of life data and information about our community. OpenDataCincy.org features data sets, applications and APIs that provide access to useful and significant regional data and is searchable, allowing free downloads to encourage more engaged and knowledgeable consumer citizens.

In order to show its commitment to using technology to foster open, transparent, and accessible government, the City of Cincinnati desires to participate in this initiative, joining cities like Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco. The goal of free sharing of data is more than transparency, however, but also fostering economic development opportunities, increased investment and civic engagement for citizens. The adoption of open standards further improves transparency, access to public information, and improved coordination and efficiencies among bureaus and partner organizations across the public, non-profit and private sectors.

Publishing structured standardized data in machine readable formats creates new opportunities for information from different sources to be combined and visualized in new and unexpected ways, for niche markets to be identified and developed and for citizens to browse, interpret and draw attention to trends or issues with greater efficiency. Specifically, Cincinnati’s local software community, including its educational partners, can develop software applications and tools to collect, organize, and share public data in new and innovative ways.