Open Data

Improving Availability of Open Data

The Data Coalition was initially created to support the government's need for improved open data for transparency and accountability, and this remains a core pillar of the initiative. In society, there are constant informational demands and needs for more open data, such as bolstering public accountability and transparency of government. While open data is now the legal default for federal government agencies to publish information, much work remains for the federal government to realize the vision and benefits of open government data. 

The Data Coalition advocates for policies that promote open data when possible, including as much openness as possible in considering the need to protect individual or organizational privacy in some data assets. The Data Coalition continues to work towards integrating data-driven processes into government management, connecting federal spending data to programmatic outcomes, as well as transparency and accountability. Activities include: 

• Help federal agencies develop and deliver on their open data plans, including cross-agency data governance processes
  
• Leverage cross sector expertise to improve public access to government information, documents and reports
  
• Integrate and improve open data capabilities in Congress
  
• Implementation Priority: Work with OMB to issue clear, effective guidance required by the OPEN Government Data Act (Title II of the Foundations for Evidence-based Policymaking Act) 
  

Key Laws

Open Government Data Act

Pending Legislation 

Congressional Mandated Reports Act

Blogs

• As Congress Tackles the COVID-19 Pandemic, Open Spending Data Remains Essential 
• What's Next for Open Data in the U.S.: A Look Ahead Following the Passage of the OPEN Government Data Act 
• Automatic Redlining for Legislation? Rep. Elise Stefanik Wants to Make it Happen

Press Releases and Statements

• Data Coalition Celebrates Open Data Prioritization in US-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal, January 29, 2020
• Data Coalition Supports the Latest Iteration of Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act, July 18, 2019
• House Modernization Committee Takes Crucial Steps to Modernize Congress, May 23, 2019
• New Bill Would Bring Transparency and Openness for Federal Laws, March 28, 2017

Resources

• A Form That Functions, December 5, 2019, Aspen Institute
• OPEN Government Data Act: Section-by-Section Summary, December 22, 2018, Christian Hoehner
• Envisioning Comprehensive Entity Identification for the U.S. Federal Government, September 12, 2018, Matt Rumsey
• Re: Transforming GPO for the 21st Century and Beyond: Part 3 – Federal Depository Library Program, October 13, 2017, Christian Hoehner
• Who is Who and What is What? The Need for Universal Entity Identification in the United States, September 11, 2017, Scott M. Straub and Matt Rumsey
• Written Testimony to the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, United States Senate Committee on Appropriations: Recommendation for Congress to Leverage USAspending.gov by Supporting a Congressional Research Service DATA Act Information System, April 27, 2017, Christian Hoehner
• Written Testimony to the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, United States Senate Committee on Appropriations: Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations and Recommendation for Congress to Leverage the DATA Act’s USAspending.gov Federal Spending Information Resource, April 17, 2017, Christian Hoehner
• OPEN Government Data Act Support Letter, April 5, 2017, Multiple Organizations (incl. Data Coalition)
• Testimony Before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform: Data Coalition Empowering Transparency through the OPEN Government Data Act, March 23, 2017, Hudson Hollister
• Collective Action: Toward Solving a Vexing Problem to Build a Global Infrastructure for Financial Information, February 2, 2017, Bertrand Couillault, Jun Mizuguchi, and Matthew Reed (OFR)
• Joint CSO Letter Re: Alternative Identifier Analysis, October 28, 2016, Multiple Authors (incl. Data Coalition)