This is part 1 of a recurring series regarding frequently asked questions on procuring open source software in government. Check back weekly for new installments here at civiccommons.org. At the Code for America Summit last week, I introduced to the assembled community of civic technologists and supporters the Civic Commons Legal and Procurement Issues Guide as [...]
This morning the New America Foundation released a comprehensive Gov 2.0 report about how California’s local governments are using technology to connect with the public and improve services. “Hear Us Now? A California Survey of Digital Technology’s Role in Civic Engagement and Local Government” is a survey of 41 different innovations from across the state, [...]
The following guest post is from Jonathan Gray, Community Coordinator for our friends at the Open Knowledge Foundation. The world’s biggest open data event to date, Open Government Data Camp 2011, is taking place in Warsaw this week. Our dedicated team of organisers has been busy working around the clock to prepare a veritable feast [...]
Standing amidst the gilded geometries of the Netherland Plaza for the National Association of Government Webmasters (NAGW) 2011 conference held in Cincinnati, some vicarious nostalgia set in for halcyon days of bygone eras. But this French Art Deco plaza, constructed in 1931, was actually a relic of the Great Depression. And yet, here we are [...]
I feel like I just came back from a journey to the secret nerve center of local government IT: the 2011 national conference of NAGW, the National Association of Government Webmasters, held in Cincinnati, Ohio last week. There’s some wonderful stuff happening there — I’ll give you an example in a moment. I attended the conference together [...]
New York City is launching a new option for transportation: Bike Share. Instead of hopping into a cab or jumping on the subway, you’ll soon be able to grab a bike from one of the self-service bike docking stations around town. It’s a system that’s gaining increasing popularity in metropolitan areas including Boston, Washington, and [...]
As we’ve previously written, there are many advantages for governments if they open up their data, ranging from visualizations and better decision-making to citizen engagement and broader awareness. A challenge, however, lies in the process of opening it up — and not just technically. As has been pointed out, a difficult question is, “Where to [...]
Civic Commons exists to help governments share technology, and over the next few months, we’re in the process of building a literal “Commons” — an online marketplace to connect government officials with the knowledge about the civic technology they need. We believe a robust marketplace can disrupt the way governments are currently using technology, making [...]
The Open311 platform is one of Civic Commons’ core initiatives; it’s an Application Programming Interface (API) and a growing set of software tools that help cities manage service and information requests from citizens. We see it as a core element of an “open” city IT backbone. Open311 is also a rapidly growing, collaborative, open source project [...]
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Open Data: Bringing Down the Barriers to Innovation
Posted on September 20, 2011 by Abhi Nemani in Commentary
Today, representatives from dozens of countries are coming together at the United Nations in New York for the Open Government Partnership. They will discuss shared commitments to making government more accountable, efficient, and participatory. (See their lovely overview video below.) As I believe open data will need to be a centerpiece of that effort and [...]