By Trisha Adamus, Data, Network, and Translational Research Librarian at Ebling Library
In June 2015, I attended the International Association for Social Science Information Services and Technology (IASSIST) annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As you can imagine from the theme of the conference, “Bridging the Data Divide: Data in the International Context” many speakers and presentations provided valuable information useful in managing data. Andrew Johnson, elected to the City Council of Minneapolis in 2013, ran on a platform of Open Data Policy and implemented that policy in July of 2014. His plenary talk at the IASSIST conference focused on the dynamics and challenges of policy creation and passage, along with a discussion of next steps for Open Data in Minneapolis.
To start, let’s define open data. Open data is defined as “data that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone – subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and sharealike.” The two dimensions of data openness are:
- The data must be legally open, which means they must be placed in the public domain or under liberal terms of use with minimal restrictions.
- The data must be technically open, which means they must be published in electronic formats that are machine readable and preferably non-proprietary, so that anyone can access and use the data using common, freely available software tools. Data must also be publicly available and accessible on a public server, without password or firewall restrictions.
As you might imagine, creating policy to allow Minneapolis city data to be open represents a significant step forward in the accessibility of Minneapolis city government. The City Council of Minneapolis, including Andrew Johnson, and other supporters of the Open Data Policy consider the policy a necessary evolution of the city’s work via innovation, engagement, trust, and collaboration in the 21st century.
The purpose of the policy is to set guidelines for incorporating an open data framework into existing and future systems and procedures, and aid in determining what data sets should be made public, how to make the data sets public, and how to maintain the existing published data sets. To highlight a few of the Open Data Policy objectives; the policy requires the creation of a city Open Data Portal within 120 days of passage, establishes an Open Data Advisory Group to coordinate open data activities, requires an annual Open Data Compliance Report and provides a set of guidelines for IT and other city department responsibilities pertaining to open data.
I have to say that I was surprised and intrigued at the notion of a politician speaking at a data-centric conference. As it so happens, I found Andrew Johnson’s plenary talk to be extremely relevant to the data community gathered at IASSIST. The Minneapolis Open Data Policy creates awareness of the possibilities and successes of open and transparent government, and provides a model for other government entities to create their own more open and transparent governments. Minneapolis was the 16th city in the United States to implement an open data policy.
References and Related Links
Open Data Definitions
http://opendatahandbook.org/guide/en/what-is-open-data/
http://opendatatoolkit.worldbank.org/en/essentials.html#benefits
Minneapolis Open Data Policy
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/groups/public/@clerk/documents/webcontent/wcms1p-128978.pdf
Minneapolis Open Data Portal
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/opendata/
Andrew Johnson’s Blog post on Open Data and Open Government
http://andrewjohnsonmpls.tumblr.com/tagged/Open%20Data
Open Twin Cities blog post on the Minneapolis Open Data Policy
http://opentwincities.org/2014/07/31/minneapolis-passes-open-data-policy/