Liz Hodes testifies at NYC Council Tech Committee on Open Data

Introduction 029-2010, seeking to establish open data standards for all city agencies. Int. 029-2010 (formerly Intro. 991-2009) aims to increase government transparency and facilitate easier access to public data.

Beyond the ‘good government’ benefits of this legislation, the bill will also unlock City data to enable web developers and entrepreneurs to interact with City government in new and unforeseen ways. Data published under this legislation will be readable by any computer device, including laptops and phones, for innovative developments. This Gov 2.0 inspired transparency legislation targets application developers, startups, small businesses, and academics with the ultimate goal of strengthening the connection between government and the public, while re-energizing the small business-tech sectors and highlighting New York’s digital future.

You can read her entire testimony below. Please let us know your thoughts and ideas as we continue to push for open data as a crucial part of digital literacy in our schools and of democracy in the 21st century. For more information, please visit the New York Council Committee on Technology Blog or watch the video (Liz’s presentation begins at the 1:06:40 minute mark).

Digital Democracy’s NYC City Council Testimony – Council Tech Committee – Open Data / Int. 029-2010

Mark will lead a session on the OpenMyCity project. The goal of OpenMyCity is to find the best ideas about how to make use of municipal open data by asking citizens and organizations to answer a simple fill-in-the-blank question: “If I knew ___, I could do ___.”

OpenMyCity is backed by a coalition that formed around the Pioneers conference that took place recently in New York and Amsterdam. At PCamp, Mark will lead a workshop to build a plan for capturing as many stories as possible. This effort provides a human component to the technological and legislative efforts already happening around municipal data.

Digital Democracy is proud to sponsor this conference. The conversations that will happen here are at the forefront of considering how to use new technology to stimulate civic participation in the United States and abroad.