City Council today made a bold move in support of opening City data not protected by privacy laws to the public to encourage innovative new uses.
“I am proud that Ottawa has embraced the rapidly growing open data movement,” said Mayor Larry O’Brien. “Open data will give free access to machine-readable information that will leverage the City’s data to improve community experience and stimulate economic growth.”
Nearly two dozen data sets - including information on basketball courts, pathways and sports fields - are now available at Ottawa.ca/opendata. More will be added soon. People can use this data for any number of reasons, including mobile device applications. To that end, Council today approved an ‘Open App’ development contest to run this fall. Prize money and incentives will total $50,000.
“The Mayor’s Task Force on eGovernment and now City Council have recognized the value and importance of being open to the public in this way,” said Councillor Rob Jellett, Chair of the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee. “We are pleased to launch the Open Data Ottawa site and we are confident that a growing bank of open datasets will encourage innovation, economic growth and improved service delivery.”
The initial release of data focuses primarily on datasets including Parks and Recreation information, such as recreational facilities, skating rinks and parks data, that is some of the most popular at ottawa.ca but that until now has not existed in reusable formats.
“Through user feedback and consultations planned in the coming months, Open Data Ottawa will continue to evolve as we gain insight into where to focus our efforts,” said Councillor Marianne Wilkinson, Chair of the Information Technology Subcommittee. “Adopting an open data approach will ultimately provide improved information and services for our clients and all residents.”
Ottawa.ca/opendata presents information in a machine-readable format, effectively unlocking the data and allowing it to be more easily repurposed for mapping or other applications.
Tell us what you would like to see from Open Data Ottawa and watch for details of the open data contest this fall.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): steve
Quelle/Source: Ottawa Start, 12.05.2010
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