With so much focus on information-based transparency, Sunshine Week is a reminder that many forms of public access to government information are good for democracy.
Data.gov, the public catalog of diverse, high value, machine readable US government datasets is perhaps the best current example of information-based transparency. Recovery.gov has a similar transparency goal, but a different approach. It focuses on one topic, accounting for $787 billion in stimulus funding, by presenting summary level analysis of thousands of quarterly reports from the organizations that received funding.
There is a lot to like about these programs. They are easy to find and they offer a lot of valuable information. They are supported from the very top of the government and were implemented quickly. All executive departments participate. Still, they are far from perfect.
In concept, data.gov is great for expert data analysts, but not so for most people who lack the tools or expertise to use raw data. Moreover, many of the datasets lack standardized (or any) metadata, vary widely in the quality of data presentation and organization, and have data accuracy and consistency problems. Recovery.gov has similar weaknesses, especially when aggregating across time and many data sources.
Remember, though, that much of this data was not originally intended for public use. Making it all public automatically invites criticism. But criticism can lead to significant quality improvements, especially if direct feedback mechanisms are added. In addition, these initiatives represent an opportunity to adopt good transparency practices regarding collection, validation, analysis and presentation of information for public use. These are at least as important as technical standards for data organization and management for achieving the transparency goals of open government.
