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