Open Data
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Hearts and Minds and Open Data
Some people are taking a rather pessimistic view – or at least a “glass half full” view – of a recent study from the Pew Research Center. A new study from Pew – entitled “American’s Views on Open Government Data” – looks at the general public’s perception of open data efforts at all levels of… Continue reading
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I Hate Open Data Portals
Well, not really – But I do dislike certain things about most open data portals. Even the ones that I work with every day or that I have been involved with in the past. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a true believer in the power of open data. I love that every day there… Continue reading
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Enabling the Enterprise
Its not often that I run across posts about enterprise architecture that get me excited. This one – by Tariq Rashid – did. Very much so. This issue interests me because its one that, as a former state IT executive and policy advisor, I have personal history with. I also believe its an issue that… Continue reading
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Civic Tech Fundamentals
If you want to learn more about how design thinking is changing the way that digital public services are being built, you’d be wise to check out the latest issue of Civic Quarterly. It’s full of great insights from some of the best thinkers on this topic. The idea of building civic technology “with, not… Continue reading
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Altitude Training for Data
The benefits of treating data like an operational asset are real, and governments that fully embrace open data stand to benefit the most. When governments open up data that they make use of themselves to improve revenue collections and other aspects of their operations, its like training at altitude. Continue reading
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Data is Law
“…[U]nless we understand how cyberspace can embed, or displace, values from our constitutional tradition, we will lose control over those values. The law in cyberspace – code – will displace them.” — Lawrence Lessig (Code is Law) In his famous essay on the importance of the technological underpinnings of the Internet, Lawrence Lessig described the… Continue reading
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Unexpected Satisfaction from Falling Short
When 2013 closed out, I made a bold prediction. As it turned out, I came nowhere near writing and publishing my targeted number of blog posts, though I did write more on this site in 2014 than the year before (17 posts in 2013 vs. 25 in 2014). Adding up the number of posts for… Continue reading
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Realtime Open Data
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about data being collected about cities through remote sensor networks. It’s never been easier to build DIY sensors, and some cities are starting to look seriously at how sensor data can inform better policy decisions and better investment of public resources. It strikes me that this is a very… Continue reading
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The Collaborative State
“Civic Hacking” is the awareness of a condition that is suboptimal in a neighborhood, community or place and the perception of one’s own ability to effect change on that condition. The apps are incidental. In 2008, civic hacking was the furthest thing from my mind. Continue reading
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Open Data Beyond the Big City
This is an expanded version of a talk I gave last week at the Code for America Summit. An uneven future “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.” William Gibson. The Economist, December 4, 2003 The last time I herd Tim O’Reilly speak was at the Accela Engage conference in San… Continue reading
About Me
I am the former Chief Data Officer for the City of Philadelphia. I also served as Director of Government Relations at Code for America, and as Director of the State of Delaware’s Government Information Center. For about six years, I served in the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS), and helped pioneer their work with state and local governments. I also led platform evangelism efforts for TTS’ cloud platform, which supports over 30 critical federal agency systems.
Civic Innovations 