What is Open Data, and how do I use it? | GeoNet

"This is a great question that we're seeing a lot in disaster response.  Today, there are so many federal, state and local agencies that are already making their data publicly accessible through Open Data Portals.  There are a variety of reasons why Open Data is a growing trend for government agencies, but you need to know which federal agencies are providing GIS services relevant to disasters, how to use those services for your own web maps, and how to share your own organization's data through open data."