open data response

gistfile1.txt

to - to http://smathermather.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/architecture-of-an-open-data-initiative-fed-style/

great approach, and thanks for writing down the longer thread.  i think these kinds of things are great and one benefit is that you didn't take the normal tact of suggesting things outside the limits of what govt. can really do.  nicely done.  if i could offer a few responses they would be respectively below;

1) is size really scale?  not in the mapping sense, but more in the demand aggregation sense.  i think generally what i want is to have folks see their data as an asset, like common infrastructure (roads etc) which have a high degree of pubic funding and a high degree of multi-use for public and private benefit

2) humbled; was not originally thinking of hierarchy in the federal, regional, state, local government sense, just in the logical sense (e.g. <doman>.gov/<topic area #1>/<sub-topic n...>.  what if govt. gave some common tools that fostered a common approach, something like <doman>.n/data/<description>?  might this not make everything descoverable well?

3) couldn't agree more, not sure how to do this though.  i also think procurement in general is an issue with barriers (sometimes for very good reasons, but nonetheless)

4) again totally agree, with a small caveat.  sometimes lean startups are so far right on the adoption curve that their ability to create new platforms for use far exceeds anything that govt. could ever do.  perhaps a private public partnership to create these are beneficial.

1. This is where a bit of creativity comes in for funding. The OSIP example continues to be apropos here. I forget the full narrative here, but Dave Blackstone of Ohio DOT was Mr. MoneyBags. ODOT needed imagery and DTM for road inventory work. Stu Davis (now State CIO) was the visionary with respect for applying that need to a wider statewide opportunity, and Jeff Smith (now OSDI Manager at State of Ohio) was the implementer/CO.

2. :) A link is adequate, and provides both navigable hierarchy and long-term SEO needs (hat tip, Bill Morris here).

3. Not sure either, as I don't understand what procurement mechanisms currently discourage this. I know from my own experiences outside the Federal sphere, the biggest reason for not paying attention to OSS and IP in the procurement process is a skewed perception of risk, in the vein of "No one every got fired for buying a *** database", inserting in the place of *** your favorite proprietary database solution.

That said, there may be some models applicable from our friends in the EU which translate appropriately (thinking German romance with OSS here-- how did they get there?).

4. Agreed.