Technology Trend: Data.gov

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Government data are easier to come by now, thanks to a White House initiative to put the vast majority of federal government data online. Researchers will find it easier to find information from the census bureau, Health and Human Services, USDA and all other government agencies starting this summer.

This initiative represents a paradigm shift. Since the range of information collected by the government is so broad and so deep, the opening of the files will make data about disease, economy, government spending and taxation and much more available for the first time.

But because of the vastness of data stored, the rollout of datasets will take time. The White House is encouraging all government agencies and departments to upload, but first priority is to post budget numbers, including procurement and contracts awarded. This is meant to encourage efficiencies of spending that will save the government money in the medium-term. It will bring badly run contracts into the light of day. For example, change orders - usually costly - will be noted, as will the name and photograph of the government employee in charge of the contract. In all cases, according to US Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, datasets will be taken as close to the source as possible, with as little interpretation as possible.

The roll-out of data.gov started in June, and the first datasets to go online were budgets and information technology contracts. As of the end of June, there are thousands of datasets from agencies including NASA, the National Parks Service, the FBI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Housing and Urban Development and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to Kundra, the Obama administration's view is that all government information should be open by default, with classified status applied only in cases of national security or personal data privacy. (Datasets contain nothing to identify individuals.)

Data come in three forms:

  • raw data;
  • data presented in searchable tools, such as widgets and data mining tools. As an example, the National Cancer Institute has its own searchable database of survey statistics.
  • Geodata, such as the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's map showing incidence of West Nile Disease.

It takes a bit of technical know-how to access and analyze the raw data. The tools data and geodata are more accessible to casual visitors. Within CYFAR, researchers accustomed to analyzing will probably be the most immediate beneficiaries. But CYFAR contracts are government contracts, there may eventually be greater speed and transparency of process for CYFAR awardees, as well. One of the aims of this initiative is innovation and efficiency, the hope is that as systems improve, the government contracts system will become faster.

In the past, Google has offered a US Government search, which searched all Web addresses ending in .gov, .mil and other known government agencies such as usps.com. But data.gov is something more: it is the online presence of a government effort to make agency information public and government officials accountable for their actions and their spending. With both raw and formatted data available, people outside the government will be able to compare patterns between and within agencies and create more efficient solutions that they can use for their own purposes, sell, or even build businesses upon.

The data.gov site requests users to name datasets they desire to see, and even asks visitors to rate the usefulness of the datasets offered. Kundra said in a Wired magazine interview that he hopes this site will encourage agencies to compete against each other for openness and service delivery, and cooperate with each other in purchasing.

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