ITDashboard Blog Feed

They Gave Us The Beatles, We Gave Them Data.gov

2010-01-21T17:26:00Z

Taking a page from our efforts here in the Obama Administration, the United Kingdom today launched data.gov.uk - a site to aggregate datasets from the UK government. It is exciting to see the seeds of openness, accountability, and transparency taking root around the world.

When we launched Data.gov here at the White House website in May 2009, we had just 47 datasets online. It was a modest start, but the growth we’ve seen has been phenomenal. Today, there are more than 168,000 datasets online, and federal agencies are poised to publish new high-value information this week as the next step in Administration’s Open Government Initiative.

But the U.S. and UK governments aren’t alone in data sites. There is a nationwide movement to unlock public data. Governments of all sizes are unlocking the value of data for their constituents. Washington, D.C., San Francisco, the City of New York, the State of California, the State of Utah, the State of Michigan, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have launched data.gov-type sites, as have cities in Canada and the UK. All of these sites are dedicated to breaking down longstanding barriers between governments and the people they serve -- facilitating collaboration and transforming dry data into tools that can improve people’s lives.

As we grow Data.gov across the Administration, we are focused on releasing high-value datasets to increase agency accountability and responsiveness; improve public knowledge of the agency and its operations; create economic opportunity; or respond to need and demand as identified through public consultation.

For instance, when the Department of Agriculture makes nutrition information available, families can make smarter eating choices; when the Department of Education makes key information available about colleges and universities, students can make better-informed choices about the quality and cost of education; and when the Department of Labor makes safety information available, employers can better protect workers.

The Federal Government does not have a monopoly on the best ideas. We are all part of an increasingly complex network of communities, ideas, and information. We applaud today’s launch of data.gov.uk and look forward to working with the international community to ensure that people across the world are actively engaged in helping find the most innovative paths to solve some of the toughest problems we face. Moreover, we are pleased to see that other governments share the Administration's philosophy that data availability will help change how government operates and empower citizens to participate in making government services more effective, accessible, and transparent.

Vivek Kundra is the Federal Chief Information Officer

Changing the Way Washington Works

2009-12-16T15:03:00Z

In order to democratize data and advance the President’s agenda of an open, transparent and participatory government, the Data.gov platform was launched on May 21, 2009, with 47 datasets. Today, we have over 118,000 datasets and have received more than 47 million hits. Since the launch, many state, local and international governments have followed the path to democratize data through their own platforms. From San Francisco to the United Kingdom, there is a global movement to share public sector data to unleash the creativity of citizens, drive transparency and ensure accountability. Data transparency can spur economic, scientific, and educational innovation by making it easier to build applications, conduct analysis, and perform research.

The current version of Data.gov platform is just the beginning. We’ve developed a Data.gov Concept of Operations and would appreciate your input. Following are the key principles as we continue to evolve Data.gov:

Focus on Access
Data.gov is designed to increase access to government data as close to the authoritative source as possible. The goal is to strengthen our democratic institutions through a transparent, collaborative and participatory platform while fostering development of innovative applications (e.g. visualizations, mash-ups) and analysis by third parties. Policy analysts, researchers, application developers, non-profit organizations, entrepreneurs and the general public should have numerous resources for accessing, understanding and using the vast array of government datasets.
Open Platform
Data.gov will use a modular architecture with application programming interfaces (API) to facilitate shared services for agencies and enable the development of third party tools. The architecture, APIs and services will evolve based on public and agency input.
Disaggregation of Data
Data should be disaggregated from agency reports, tools or visualizations to enable direct access to the underlying data.
Grow and Improve Through User Feedback
Feedback should be used to identify high-value datasets, help set priorities for integration of new and existing datasets and improve the usability of data and applications.
Program Responsibility
Agency program executives and data stewards are responsible for ensuring information quality, providing context and meaning for data, protecting privacy and assuring information security.
Rapid Integration
Agencies should rapidly integrate current and new data into Data.gov with sufficient documentation to allow the public to determine fitness for use in the targeted context.
Embrace, Scale and Drive Best Practices
Data.gov will implement, enhance and propagate best practices for data and information management, sharing and dissemination across agencies, with our state, local and tribal partners as well as internationally.

The Administration is making available high-value data that helps promote national priorities and improve the everyday lives of Americans through Data.gov. When the Department of Agriculture makes nutrition information available, families can make smarter eating choices. When the Department of Education makes key information available about colleges and universities, students can make better-informed decisions about the quality and cost of their education. When the Department of Labor makes safety information available, employers can better protect workers.

We’ve posted the Concept of Operations and invite you to join the dialogue on Data.gov. Through initiatives like Data.gov, we are laying a new foundation that changes the default setting of government from closed, opaque and secretive to open, transparent and participatory.

Vivek Kundra is the Federal Chief Information Officer

Moving Beyond Compliance: The Status Quo Is No Longer Acceptable

2009-09-28T23:03:00Z

The threats to our nations information security continue to evolve and therefore our approach to cybersecurity must confront these new realities. In order to meet the evolving challenges we now face, Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) metrics need to be rationalized to focus on outcomes over compliance. Doing so will enable new and actionable insight into agencies' information and network security postures, possible vulnerabilities and the ability to better protect our federal systems.

With this in mind, we have established a taskforce to develop new metrics for information security performance for Federal agencies that are focused on outcomes. To solicit the best ideas, OMB has reached out across the Federal community, as well as to the private sector.

Participants in the taskforce include: the Federal CIO Council, the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the Government Accountability Office and the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board.

The participants in the Security Metrics Taskforce held their inaugural meeting on September 17, 2009. OMB plans to have the taskforce develop a draft set of metrics for comment by the end of November.

The participants agreed that a new set of security metrics could move the agencies forward in securing their systems as "what gets measured, gets done." They discussed the various factors that will impact the development of new metrics, including:

A trust but verify approach
Fulfilling statutory requirements
Real-time awareness security posture

At the next meeting, the taskforce will begin developing potential metrics and we look forward to your input.

Learning from best practices

2009-08-14T20:20:00Z

On August 7, CIOs from across the Federal government gathered to share their experiences using the IT Dashboard and to discuss how to effectively manage their agency portfolios. There was vigorous debate and lots of energy in the room – and a clear message emerged: the IT Dashboard provides a powerful new tool for agency CIOs to use. However, no tool can replace good management. Ultimately, accountability for the performance of agency IT investments rests with agency CIOs.

This perspective was echoed by speakers from the Office of Management & Budget, Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Inspector General communities.

Looking ahead, the CIO Council is sharing best practices that enable the effective management of our IT portfolio. Recommendations will be developed in key areas such as:

Risk Management
Requirements Management
Contractor Oversight
Historical Performance

CIO evaluations are in

2009-08-05T13:21:00Z

We just reached an important milestone with respect to the Agency CIOs completing their reviews of the federal government’s major IT investments. On June 30, when we launched the IT Dashboard, just 20 percent of investments were evaluated. Today, 100 percent of the government’s IT investments have been evaluated.

In 1996, the Clinger-Cohen Act established agency CIOs and called on them to “monitor the performance of information technology programs of the agency, evaluate the performance of those programs on the basis of the applicable performance measurements.” The completion of these evaluations is a significant step towards fulfilling these duties. As a result, CIOs are now better poised to advise the head of the agency regarding whether to continue, modify, or terminate a program or project.

The IT Dashboard is a powerful platform for delivering insights, but it is not a substitute for good management. On August 7, we will convene the CIO Council to share best practices and apply management approaches to improve data quality, increase transparency, and enhance project performance across the federal government. We need to adopt an evidence based approach to governance by employing platforms like the IT dashboard so we can report, analyze, monitor, and predict performance.

Evidence-based decisions

2009-07-17T20:32:00Z

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), under the leadership of Secretary Shinseki and VA CIO Roger Baker, announced that it will temporarily halt 45 IT projects which are either behind schedule or over budget and work to determine whether these programs should be continued. We’re not talking about a trivial sum here—the Fiscal Year 2009 combined budget for the 45 projects is approximately $200 million. The worst offender of the bunch was 110% over budget and 17 months behind schedule.

We were able to catch these contracts, in part, thanks to our new tool, the "IT Dashboard” which helped shed light on the performance of projects across the federal government.

During the next few weeks, the VA will audit these 45 projects to determine whether additional resources or new management teams can get them back on schedule. If they can’t be fixed, the projects will be canceled.

If you are just hearing about the IT Dashboard for the first time, it allows you to see which IT projects are working and on-schedule (and which are not), offer alternative approaches, and provide direct feedback to the chief information officers at federal agencies.

Given the size and complexity of the federal IT portfolio, the challenges we face are substantial and persistent. The dashboard is not a substitute for good management. Its value comes from leaders who use the information to make tough, evidence-based decisions on the future of IT investments.

The VA’s announcement is part of a broader effort by the Administration to make the federal government more transparent and to boost accountability and drive better performance. From IT accountability to personnel and contracting reforms, the administration is committed to providing better value, efficiency, and effectiveness for taxpayers’ dollars.

Welcome to IT Dashboard – The Blog!

2009-07-13T22:30:00Z

It has been an exciting time since we launched the IT Dashboard. There have been more than 20 million hits so far, and we’ve received an encouraging response from members of Congress and the public in support of our efforts to increase transparency. One of those 20 million hits was from a prominent IT user; you see for yourself here:

For anybody just joining us, the“IT Dashboard” is a new, one-stop clearinghouse of information that allows anyone with a web browser to track federal IT initiatives and hold the government accountable for progress and results. A part of USASpending.gov, the dashboard allows you to see what IT projects are working and on-schedule (and which are not), offer alternative approaches, and provide direct feedback to the chief information officers at federal agencies – in effect, keeping tabs on the people who are responsible for taxpayer dollars for technology.

Leading up to the launch, we tapped the brightest and most innovative minds from Federal agencies, Congress, independent oversight organizations, and the private sector as we built the IT Dashboard. Over 400 federal employees joined our daily open house sessions for a hands-on opportunity to try the Dashboard, check their data, and suggest improvements. Until July 31, CIOs can submit investment evaluations and update other investment data. During this time, you will notice that the site will continue to be in “beta” as we deliver additional key features.

But we can’t simply make this an exercise in federal agency reporting. That is why we started this blog. We want to hear from you about what works and what doesn’t with the site. Is there a more innovative approach that an investment should consider? Does the contract data look incorrect to you? Is there an application that we should add? This is a site to serve you, and to do that, we need to hear from you.

So bookmark this blog, and come back to us often. There is a lot happening over the next few weeks as we review the entire federal IT portfolio, assess the performance of investments, identify areas to save money, improve performance, and share best practices.