Vein: Data.gov to spin off cities.data.gov

The federal government wants to connect more with state and local governments on open government projects, said Chris Vein, deputy federal chief technology officer. To that end, data.gov will soon launch a spin-off platform called cities.data.gov.

"We're trying to normalize and standardize [city] data in such a way that they too can present their data in community fashion," said Vein at an event hosted by the MIT Center for Civic Media and the Knight Foundation in Cambridge, Mass. June 19.

In many ways, cities have the potential to achieve more around open government than has been achievable at the federal level, he said.

"Cities are such engines for innovation because they're so close to what's happening. But the further you move away from the citizen and cities and you get to federal and international organizations, it's just much easier to lose contact," said Vein.

"Some of the reasons we're criticized--and sometimes rightly--for giving really horrible public service, customer service is that we just never get the immediate feedback that we need," he added.

By opening city data sets on the federal government's data.gov hub, cities can better provide assets and assistance but also enable entrepreneurs to use the data as an economic engine for the community, said Vein.

For more:
- watch an archived webcast of the event

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