David Herzog Reynolds Journalism Institute 2010-2011 Donald W. Reynolds Fellow @OpenMissouri
Connecting to state data using OpenMissouri.org
May 11, 2015
OpenMissouri.org is a platform that helps journalists and citizens find data that's held offline by state and and local government agencies.
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David HerzogReynolds Journalism Institute
2010-2011 Donald W. Reynolds Fellow@OpenMissouri
Inform Missourians about public data held by government agencies
Inspire journalists, citizens, web developers, entrepreneurs, businesses and non-profits to access and use public data in ways that enhance their civic, professional and personal lives
Serve as a platform that connects people who are using data from state and local government agencies
Educate Missourians about how they can access and use public data
U.S. government transparency
Culture of sharing
How do we use simple, freely available technology to connect people with state and local data?
Catalog: More than 250 data sets listed
Department listing: 20 state agencies
User community: 105 registered users
Sunshine request generator
Suggest a data set
Sample data
Commenting
Social-media sharing tools
Built in Rails, an open-source web framework
Other open-source or Web 2.0 components◦ WordPress for blogging◦ MailChimp for email campaigns◦ Disqus for commenting◦ AddThis social bookmarking
Pilot with Spring 2010 computer-assisted reporting class
Two master’s graduate research assistants canvassed top-level state agencies 2010-2011 school year for offline database inventories
Agencies
Sunshine contact info
Data sets
Database name
Description
Format in which data is stored
Time span covered by data
Update frequency
Cost
Before posting◦ Verified all information about agencies◦ Reviewed information about databases
After posting◦ Sent links to agency staff after data sets listed◦ Work in progress. Update as needed to maintain
accuracy and timeliness
Generate Sunshine request letters
Suggest data that we should add
Add cities and counties
Add links to data◦ Files◦ Live feeds (XML, APIs)
Made platform available open source
Initiatives in other state
Software as a service (SAAS) model
Exploring funding to grow
Contact David Herzog
◦ [email protected]◦ Twitter: @davidherzog◦ Twitter: @openmissouri◦ (573) 882-2127
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