Strengthen City Capacity
Supporting City agencies and other publishers to NYC Open Data with better tools, more resources, clearer standards, and stronger connections with existing Open Data operations.
Improve Open Data Coordinator (ODC) Support
| Strategic Initiative | Notes | Timeline | 2024 Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. Guide Open Data Coordinators through regular training sessions for those new to the role and “office hours” for veterans. | Since 2020, the Open Data Team has conducted training sessions, held virtual Q&As, and offered online office hours. These will continue to be a central feature of our work to empower Open Data Coordinators. In the coming years, the process for onboarding new Open Data Coordinators will continue to be formalized, with more tracking of the training each Coordinator has received and the public release of our onboarding documents. | Complete | Complete |
10. Build internal understanding of and support for open data use across Agency leadership and key internal teams (including legal, communications, and information technology) through education and training. | In 2024, we collaborated with civic technology non-profit BetaNYC and the City Council's Data Team to hold an introductory Open Data course for City Council staffers. | Medium-term | In Progress |
11. Create case studies and presentations to share how Open Data can improve service delivery, promote equity, and increase efficiency. | In 2023, the Open Data Team updated the process for agencies to log when they've completed an Open Data civic engagement -- sharing more guidance on how to do this work effectively and simplifying the logging process. These improvements should result in more accurate reporting and higher-quality engagements. | Long-term | In Progress |
Streamline Dataset Publishing
| Strategic Initiative | Notes | Timeline | 2024 Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. Improve dataset automation process and technology support, making it easier for agencies to keep their datasets up to date. | In 2020, we piloted new technology to streamline the dataset automation process. This has continued to be used to make dataset automations easier to create and maintain. In 2022, a move to a cloud-based automation tool has continued to improve the ease and speed at which datasets are automatically updated. In 2023, we released a draft policy for agencies interested in publishing their own data, and began a pilot including the Buildings, Parks, Planning, Transportation Departments to allow agencies to maintain their datasets independently. In the coming year, we'll be refining this pilot and evaluating where and how it can next expand. | Ongoing | Core Principle |
13. Redesign how we identify new data for publication so that more public datasets are being shared. | The Open Data team continues to provide additional guidance to agency Open Data Coordinators (ODCs) to identify new information that should be posted on NYC Open Data. This information is conveyed during onboarding sessions with ODCs and reinforced in office hours or reporting discussions with our team. ODCs are guided to actively seek out new sources of public data – reviewing the datasets already published on their agency’s website, evaluating underlying data for their Mayor's Management Report indicators and other public-facing reporting requirements, and actively engaging with their agencies’ data owners and program managers. | Ongoing | Core Principle |
Develop NYC Open Data Policies and Measures
| Strategic Initiative | Notes | Timeline | 2024 Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. In collaboration with the City’s Chief Privacy Officer and Mayor’s Office of Information Privacy, develop and implement clear privacy policies and guidelines on the responsible release of open data. | Vetting of datasets by Agency Privacy Officers is included in our new data quality standards, and guidance from the citywide Office of Information Privacy (formerly the Mayor's Office of Information Privacy) is incorporated in the updated Technical Standards Manual. | Complete | Complete |
15. Share best practices for open data interoperability and access that can be incorporated when new technology systems are procured. | Guidance on identifying and publishing datasets from agency systems will be included in the upcoming improvements to the Technical Standards Manual. | Medium-term | Planning |
| 16. Update open data policy guidance in the Technical Standards Manual to better address internal data coordination, data quality standards, and self-publishing processes. | The format of the Technical Standards Manual now mirrors the dataset lifecycle, and continues to be updated to reflect the latest guidance to agencies. | Complete | Complete |
| 17. Create a new quality assurance system to check how published datasets comply with updated standards. | Since the start of this effort, all new datasets have been vetted by both the agency that owns them and the Open Data team against the Data Quality Standards and Review Process. Over the past year, this review has been similarly applied to existing datasets as they are being updated or where someone writes into the Open Data Help Desk. Working in tandem, our team and agency Open Data Coordinators have consolidated fragmented datasets, replaced aggregate reports with underlying granular data, archived datasets with outdated or inaccurate information, migrated data dictionaries to the current template, and improved the quality of dataset documentation. In the future, our team will be working on a more comprehensive review of every existing dataset to prioritize similar improvements across the entire NYC Open Data inventory. | Complete | Complete |
| 18. Collaborate with NYC’s Records Access Officers and the OpenRecords team to align NYC Open Data with FOIL practices and resources across the City. | In March 2022, the Department of Records and Information Services updated the process for determining whether Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) responses contained data. As a result of this work, every FOIL request where data is shared is tagged with the data source as part of the FOIL process, making the discovery of potential Open Data datasets more efficient. | Ongoing | Core Principle |
| 19. Introduce and track Open Data Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to show the health of the program at a glance | In 2021, we published an Open Data dashboard which enables anyone to look at NYC Open Data at a citywide, agency or dataset level. This tool has proven to be particularly useful for Open Data Coordinators who want to ensure that their agency's published data stays up-to-date. In the coming years, this dashboard will continue to be updated, including interface improvements and more granular information about out-of-date datasets. | Complete | Complete |