Today the Seattle Open Data Program has published its 2016 Annual Report as well as its 2017 Open Data Plan. As this is the first time the City has released either of these publications, it marks an important step forward in the maturation of our Open Data Program.
The Open Data Program makes the data generated by the City of Seattle openly available to the public for the purpose of increasing the quality of life for our residents; increasing transparency, accountability and comparability; promoting economic development and research; and improving internal performance management.
Seattle is home to an engaged, innovative public that wants to make the city a better place to live. As a City, we strive to make our data open to the public, enabling those outside of government to find solutions to our most pressing civic challenges.
The 2016 Annual Report highlights the significant progress made in embedding the Open Data Program within the City of Seattle since the signing of the Mayor’s “Open by Preference” Executive Order (2016-01). Currently 33 City departments have designated an Open Data Champion who is responsible for facilitating the release of datasets deemed valuable to the community. In 2016, the Program published 146 new datasets — far exceeding the program’s initial goal of 50 new datasets.
The 2017 Open Data Plan identifies the key priorities that will build on that success, increasing the data made publicly available to encourage development of innovative solutions that improve our quality of life, while also increasing the ability of City departments to use those data to make informed decisions. The priorities outlined in Seattle’s 2017 Open Data Plan align closely with Mayor Murray’s vision to make 2017 the year of good governance.
Both the 2016 Annual Report and 2017 Open Data Plan can be found via http://seattle.gov/opendata.