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President Obama issues executive order to make government data open and machine readable
Remember Data.gov? The President does, and he has issued an executive order that should give the information portal a shot in the arm. Starting this week, new and modernized Government information systems should use open and machine readable formats by default, adhering to the guidelines of a new Open Data Policy. The policy requires agencies to use open, machine readable formats that are non-proprietary, publicly available and unrestricted, and aims to put useful data in the hands of US companies while increasing privacy and security. According to the White House blog, this means new data will be served in CSV, XML, JSON and other machine readable formats, and will even be accessible via API in some situations. The White House hopes the new policy will help foster innovation. "There are private companies using open data to fight credit card fraud; consumers using open data to save on their energy bills; families leveraging open data to compare health care options; and a host of new apps and tools in areas ranging from public safety, to financial planning, to education, and more," the blog explains. "We are very excited about the path ahead and can't wait to see what new ideas and yet to be imagined innovations can be unlocked by increased access to open data." Head past the break to read the executive order for yourself, and check out the source PDF for a peek at the new Open Data Policy.
EU countries to allow reuse of public data, including from libraries and museums
Believe it or not, the European Union's public data hasn't been very public: despite a 2003 directive, there wasn't a clear right to reuse weather or other vital data, whether it's for an app or a service. Logic is taking hold now that 27 countries on an EU Council committee have endorsed a European Commission revision opening the floodgates. The new rules would require that EU countries explicitly permit citizens and companies to reuse public information, either for free or no more than the basic cost of sending it out. The revamp would also push availability in open formats, along with expanding the directive's coverage to archives, libraries and museums -- you know, repositories of nothing but public knowledge. Both the European Parliament and individual governments will have to sign the changes into law sometime in the (likely not-so-near) future, but the shift could lead to a sudden wealth of data for Euro-centric hardware and software.
White House unveils National Day of Civic Hacking to solve problems with open data
Sure, the freshly announced National Day of Civic Hacking may sound like it'll occupy a single square on your calendar, but the White House wants folks to get together on June 1st and 2nd to solve problems with a bit of coding and info from Uncle Sam. Government agencies including the Census Bureau, NASA and the Department of Labor are set to serve up publicly available data for developers and entrepreneurs to concoct solutions for problems affecting cities, states and the country. In addition to government support, the effort is being organized by outfits including Code for America, Random Hacks of Kindness and Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors. Currently, 27 cities have events scheduled during the weekend in question, but the initiative's coordinators are looking to spawn even more powwows throughout the US. If you'd like to pitch in or submit ideas for challenges participants should tackle, hit the source links below.
