Value Proposition

Resources

Participation

Context

Problem: Critics claim that open data is complicated and expensive.
Goal Statement: Provide an argument with case studies for why closed data is more expensive and the cost savings and added value of open data:

Efficient and Effective Governance

Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of inter-agency processes and increased access and participation for citizens.

Application development

4,000% - 5,000% ROI for App Contests? http://collectiveinsight.net/2009/01/roi-on-apps-for-democracy/

HR and Management Savings

Cost savings by not requiring by-request specialized management and processing of data requests and reports:

As far as pure data costs savings, that would likely be associated with no longer needing to staff a FOIA officer and not necessarily needing to spend as much money on producing reports or applications that generate reports and analysis on datasets. That is of course assuming the app developer community does that on their own or for small investment as exemplified by app contests or simply better facilitating the developer community. There are also lots of costs associated with internal integration between silos that could be significantly mitigated with a more comprehensive approach to open data or a web services approach.

Legal costs

If you think this is a small issue – note that Americans spend some $10 billion a year just to access legal documents, everything from local building codes to Supreme Court records. The Executive Branch alone pays $50 million to access district court records. Some cash-strapped law schools ration students’ access to per-page charging services for legal records. And journalists, non-profits, and average citizens interested in legal research are feeling just as nickeled-and-dimed by fees.

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mediaberkman/2010/02/25/radio-berkman-144-this-law-is-my-law/

Economic contribution

Then of course there are all sorts of unforeseen ways that open data could contribute to the local economy. This is much much more difficult to calculate or project, but I doubt the government had any realistic projections for economic development associated with things like GPS, or NOAA, or the internet.

Washington D.C. Case Study

The following makes case for open data/transparency based on benefits the municipality can gain using program for internal purposes. I believe for many this will drive adoption. DC Case Study - 2004/05

554,000 residents
770,000 people work in DC
Nearly 20 million visitors per year
A city, county and state
62 city agencies (lines of business)

Fighting Crime the Traditional Way

Top citizen issues: crimes, drugs, and city services
Administration “knew” of several high crime areas
Most evidence about crime was anecdotal
Police chief identified 14 areas (Hot Spots) and formulated plan to combat crime

Results:

Reported crime declined 23%
Violent crime down 34%

However:

No statistics to support quantitative identification of hot spots
No understanding when/which actions abate situation
No quantifiable methods to sustain improvements
Were these even the high crime areas?

Business Case It’s all about what’s important to citizens and how fast and effectively government can respond to them

What are citizens’ key issues?
What services are most important to them?
How can resources be moved where needed?
How can decisions be made based on multi-agency, quantifiable data?
How can course changes be made when needed?
How can internal government accountability and productivity be established and maintained?
How can services to citizens be sustained?

Challenge: Anecdotal Decision-making

Much needed data doesn’t exist
Agencies and departments are unable to properly share and leverage each others’ data
Data is locked away in single-agency silos
Cannot track dynamic conditions in real time
Cannot access or visualize information effectively, nor anticipatively see patterns
Lack of “closed loop” systems reduces correct decisions, data accuracy, accountability
Key decisions on citizen services are based on incomplete information

The dirty secret is many municipalities fly blind Civic Commons Data Program

Organize municipal information and make it accessible to leadership and staff in timely and useful form
Reengineer business processes misaligned with customers
Provide via targeted applications that leverage search, computer mapping, business intelligence
Recognize citizen-priority emergent issues & trends and deal with them immediately and effectively
See the whole: Visualize hidden patterns, measure performance, support strategic decision-making

Program is a catalyst for organization transformation, improving operation productivity and effectiveness Public Safety Business Case A Georgetown student died in an apartment fire. Fire inspectors noted that metal bars were welded to the basement window frames, there was no smoke detector and the exit doors were blocked.

Business Licensing of Rental Properties: Would higher landlord compliance with business license and inspection regulations improve safety for District renters?

Key Findings:

An estimated 94% of residential single-family rental properties are not licensed
$3.4 million or more in revenue related to Business Licensing of rental properties is uncollected

Recommendations:

Monitor classified ads for rental properties
Cross-reference Basic Business License and Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) databases
Require realtors, agents and property managers to verify that properties are properly licensed

Benefits Top Line

Recognize and effectively deal with citizen-priority emergent issues & trends
Raise customer service expectations of both residents and workers
Support initiatives to protect, assist and create new opportunities for society’s most vulnerable
Better understand persistent urban problems and approaches that work
Extend management reach of leaders and hold managers accountable

Bottom Line

Establish quantifiable relationship between activity’s cost and outcome
Reduce cost by aligning business process with customer
Expose waste, fraud and abuse
Identify new and uncollected revenue
Demonstrable ROI

Civic Commons Wiki

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