Open Government Data: The Book

<!DOCTYPE html>     <html class="no-js">  <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"> <title>Open Government Data: The Book</title> <meta name="description" content=""> <meta name="twitter:creator" content="" />  <meta property="og:type" content="book"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/static/libs/bootstrap/css/bootstrap.min.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/static/libs/bootstrap/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css"> <script type="text/javascript" src="//use.typekit.net/eau1gtt.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript">try{Typekit.load();}catch(e){}</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/static/css/main.css"> <script src="/static/libs/modernizr-2.6.2-respond-1.1.0.min.js"></script> </head> <body lang="en">  <header> <div class="container"> <h1> <a href="/"> <img id="logo" src="/cover_small.jpeg"> Open Government Data: The Book </a> </h1> <div id="author">By <a href="http://razor.occams.info/">Joshua Tauberer</a>. Second Edition: 2014.</div> </div> <div id="also_as" class="hidden-print"> <div class="container"> Also available as a <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/joshua-tauberer/open-government-data-the-book-2nd-edition/paperback/product-21774352.html">Paperback</a> and for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007U69DKU">Kindle</a>. Tweet me at <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshData">@JoshData</a>. </div> </div> </header> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div id="content" class="col-sm-9 col-lg-8 col-sm-push-3 col-lg-push-4"> <div id="index_page"> <h1>Open Government Data<br>(The Book)</h1> <div class="subtitle">The principles, practices, and a history of the open government data movement.</div> <a class="begin-reading" href="/2014/civic-hacking">Begin Reading ></a> <p>Open government data has changed the way we understand civics. This book is about the principles behind that movement — yes, it is a movement — and its development in the United States. Topics include principles of open government data, the history of the movement, applications to transparency and civic engagement, a brief legal history, data quality, APIs, prioritization, civic hacking, case studies, and paradoxes in transparency.</p> <p>I should note several limitations of this book. First, it is from a distinctly United States perspective both in terms of the history of the movement and in the expectations for government data given by the principles. Second, open government data is only a small part of the broader open government movement which encompasses classic open government (such as the Freedom of Information Act) as well as the newer fields of citizen participation and citizen experience. Finally, a disproportionate number of examples in this book are taken from projects related to transparency for the U.S. Congress. These limitations can all be explained by “write what you know.”</p> <p>I would like to acknowledge Justin Grimes, John Wonderlich, Jim Harper, Carl Malamud, David Robinson, Harlan Yu, Gunnar Hellekson, Alexander Howard, and Eric Mill for their contributions to my thinking about our field. In addition, I thank the Transparency Camp organizers over the years, where much thought on this crystallized. And I thank my mom for her help editing.</p> <p style="text-align: center">* * *</p> <p>This is the second edition of the book (2014). The <a href="/2012">first version</a> was posted in 2012.</p> <p style="text-align: center">* * *</p> <p><a href="http://razor.occams.info">Joshua Tauberer</a> (<a href="http://twitter.com/JoshData">@JoshData</a>) is an open government advocate, entrepreneur, and software developer. He is the creator of <a href="https://www.govtrack.us">GovTrack.us</a>, which launched in 2004 and spurred the national open government data community.</p> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3 col-lg-4 col-sm-pull-9 col-lg-pull-8"> <div id="toc"> <div class="toc-heading">Chapters</div> <ul> <li class='level-0 '> <a href="/2014/introduction/"> Civic Hacking and Government Data </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/civic-hacking/"> Civic Hacking </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/history-the-movement/"> History of the Movement </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/open-government-big-data-mediators/"> Open Government, Big Data, and Mediators </a> </li> <li class='level-0 '> <a href="/2014/civic-hacking-by-example/"> Civic Hacking By Example </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/visualizing-metro-ridership/"> Visualizing Metro Ridership </a> </li> <li class='level-0 '> <a href="/2014/why-i-built-govtrackus/"> Why I Built GovTrack.us </a> </li> <li class='level-0 '> <a href="/2014/applications/"> Applications for Open Government </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/sunlight-as-disinfectant/"> Sunlight as a Disinfectant </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/democratizing-legal-information/"> Democratizing Legal Information </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/informing-policy-decisions/"> Informing Policy Decisions </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/consumer-products/"> Consumer Products </a> </li> <li class='level-0 '> <a href="/2014/legal-history/"> A Brief Legal History of Open Government Data </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/ancient-origins-open-access-to-law/"> Ancient Origins of Open Access to Law </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/the-us-freedom-information-act/"> The U.S. Freedom of Information Act </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/the-21st-century-data-policy/"> The 21st Century: Data Policy </a> </li> <li class='level-0 '> <a href="/2014/principles/"> 14 Principles of Open Government Data </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/online-free-primary-timely-accessible/"> Online and Free, Primary, Timely, Accessible (Principles 1--4) </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/analyzable-data-in-open-formats/"> Analyzable Data in Open Formats (Principles 5 and 7) </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/no-discrimination-license-free/"> No Discrimination and License-Free (Principles 6 and 8) </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/permanence-trust-provenance/"> Publishing Data with Permanence, Trust, and Provenance (Principles 9--11) </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/public-input-public-review-coordination/"> On The Openness Process (Public Input, Public Review, and Coordination; Principles 12--14) </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/data-quality/"> Data Quality: Precision, Accuracy, and Cost </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/bulk-data-an-api/"> Bulk Data or an API? </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/maturity-model-for-prioritization/"> A Maturity Model for Prioritizing Open Government Data </a> </li> <li class='level-0 '> <a href="/2014/case-studies/"> Case Studies </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/us-federal-open-data-policy/"> U.S. Federal Open Data Policy </a> </li> <li class='level-2 '> <a href="/2014/transparency-participation-collaboration/"> Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration </a> </li> <li class='level-2 '> <a href="/2014/the-later-memorandums/"> The Later Memorandums </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/house-disbursements/"> House Disbursements </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/state-laws-the-district-columbia-code/"> State Laws and the District of Columbia Code </a> </li> <li class='level-0 '> <a href="/2014/paradoxes/"> Paradoxes in Open Government </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/the-bhoomi-program-digital-divides/"> The Bhoomi Program and Digital Divides </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/unintended-consequences/"> Unintended Consequences and the Limits of Transparency </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/corruption/"> Looking for Corruption in All the Wrong Places </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/conclusion/"> Conclusion </a> </li> <li class='level-0 '> <a href="/2014/example-language/"> Example Policy Language </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/8-principles/"> Open Government Data Definition: The 8 Principles of Open Government Data </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/open-knowledge-definition/"> OKF's Open Knowledge Definition </a> </li> <li class='level-1 '> <a href="/2014/new-hampshire-hb-418/"> New Hampshire HB 418 </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div>  </div> <hr> <footer> <div class="container"> <p>© 2012–2014 <a href="http://razor.occams.info/">Joshua Tauberer</a></p> </div> </footer> </div>  <div id="error_modal" class="modal fade" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="errorModalTitle" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="modal-dialog modal-sm"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="modal-header"> <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-hidden="true">×</button> <h4 class="modal-title" id="errorModalTitle"> </h4> </div> <div class="modal-body"> <p> </p> </div> <div class="modal-footer"> <button type="button" class="btn btn-default" data-dismiss="modal">OK</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <script>window.jQuery || document.write('<script src="/static/libs/jquery-1.10.1.min.js"><\/script>')</script> <script src="/static/libs/bootstrap/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script> <script src="/static/js/main.js"></script> <script> var ga_account_id = 'UA-1190841-3'; if (/^UA-\d+/.test(ga_account_id)) { var _gaq=[['_setAccount',ga_account_id],['_trackPageview']]; (function(d,t){var g=d.createElement(t),s=d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0]; g.src='//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s)}(document,'script')); } </script> </body> </html>

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Open Government Data: The Book