Open Data in California

Open Data Definition

Open data requires more than just transparency. The general consensus is that—at minimum—it must be published without constraints to further public use. This means that open data is:

• Machine readable,
• Formatted according to widely-used, open standards,
• Includes descriptive metadata,
• Free from licensing restrictions.

Agencies can do more, however, to make their data as inclusive as possible. Open data is often published under the assumption that the users are mostly made up of outside experts, such as private businesses, researchers, or members of the civic tech community. But, this can make it difficult for non-technical users to leverage the benefits of open data. Agencies can make their data more accessible and inclusive by:

• Building APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that allow developers to efficiently build applications and tools with the data,
• Including analysis and visualization tools, so non-experts can interact with the data in a meaningful way,
• Publishing the data and associated metadata in languages other than English, so non-native speakers can fully utilize the data as well.

Open data does not have a one-size-fits-all definition. As agencies consider publishing open data, it is important to adopt a definition that meets their needs and those of their audiences.