Driving Innovation in Government & Public Sector using Open Data

"Most of the useful data that governments access is impressive by standards. What is more praiseworthy is the data’s potential to improve the way governments operate and use them. Trends show that GovTech sector off-late is pushing for open data. The channelizing of open data in the public sector is primarily noteworthy. While transparency has made it possible for the general public to know about the data the governments possess and how they are potentially using it to hold the right people accountable. Whereas, on the other hand, the open data helps the governments by promo  ting greater collaboration within departments thereby driving innovation by sharing the data with third parties.  The data transparency and analytics scenario in the public sector is evolving rapidly on the state, local, and federal levels further accelerating innovation and creating citizen-friendly ways of operations. The evolving data transparency is a benefit for both governments and citizens. With the emergence and benefits of open data and improved services with analytics, the data transparency landscape has evolved over the years, and there has been an increase in the use of open data and analytics in the public sector. Data transparency in the contemporary world got a kick-start in 2013 when the first Open Data Policy was issued in the US. This policy opened up various types of government data for those people who owned data outside any particular agency or department. An initiative called Project Open Data was launched that provided a toolkit for governments to use which makes the existing data more transparent. These initiatives helped in facilitating collaboration and meeting increased accountability. It is getting a boost from newer projects like Data Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA). ..."