Open Source Software & Usability: The next step in open data is open source

"Governments at all levels are moving to embrace open data, where governments share public data proactively with citizens. Open data can be used, reused, mixed, and shared by anyone. For example, The US Government has an open data portal that publishes data on various topics, including agriculture, education, energy, finance, and other public data sets. Where I work (Ramsey County, Minn.) we established an open data portal that shares expenses and other public data about the county that users can access in different views.

Through open data, governments become more transparent. We have seen this in several instances. The Oakland Police Department used a 2016 open data study from Stanford University to address racial bias in how officers behave towards African Americans versus Caucasians during routine traffic stops. In 2017, Steve Ballmer launched the USAFacts website that uses open data to reveal how governments spend tax dollars to benefit citizens. Also from 2017, Los Angeles, California’s comprehensive “Clean Streets LA” initiative uses open data to assess and improve the cleanliness of public streets...."