OPEN DATA

Esri and the geographic information system (GIS) commu-

nity are no strangers to open data. We've been advocating

the sharing of data for decades because we had a firm be-

lief that people should be exchanging data to gain more

insight, have access to the most up-to-date information,

and work to solve problems as a community. Esri founder

and president Jack Dangermond coined this approach soci-

etal GIS and foresaw a global network of information that

could be used by GIS professionals and society in general

to transform our world.

With time, the rest of the technology-savvy civic leaders

and government community came to understand the im-

portance of open data. The discussion was open to all, not

just GIS professionals, and we began to use open data to

increase transparency between citizens and the govern-

ments that served them. We used open data to meet the

demands of constituents wanting to hold officials more

accountable and establish a line of communication be-

tween agencies, businesses, and the public.

But are transparency and accountability the only reasons

we use open data? Open data is not a means to an end. It

is so much more than just a tool to meet expectations. We

have entered a new phase in the open data movement. It

is time to reflect on the lessons learned and look to lever-

age new technology for the next generation of open data

users. Esri has played a pivotal role in the open data move-

ment, and we are committed to continuing its advance-

ment. This paper will explore how open data is quickly be-

coming a business intelligence tool for making data-driven

decisions as well as the following:

Supporting accountability and transparency

Building business relationships

Feeding mainstream applications

Creating jobs and revenue

Stimulating collaboration with nongovernmental or-

ganizations (NGOs) and government agencies

Improving staff productivity

Driving economies

Informing policy

Establishing a hub of innovation

What’s Next for Open Data 1

Open data is a balancing act. A successful open data strat-

egy should work to share information equally, both inter-

nally and externally. The first half of the movement is shar-

ing data outside the organization. Outside sharing can be

from government to community, government to govern-

ment, or government to NGO/academia. Pushing data out-

side an organization can lead to innovation and economic

growth. When the United States Census Bureau began re-

leasing its data for the first time, this stimulated an infor-

mation economy, which allowed governments to use the

data as a foundation for more data-driven decisions and

work. This has also led to academic and institutional re-

search as well as the creation of firms specializing in mar-

ket research, polling, and analysis. We are seeing a resur-

gence of this, but this time in communities big and small,

all across the nation.

The other half of the movement recognizes that sharing

data internally is just as important. Departments need to

share information. Too often, data is kept in silos with no

centralized access point. There are multiple datasets of the

same information being managed by multiple depart-

ments. Government employees, other agencies, and deci-

sion-makers need access to the same information in a cen-

tralized location and in a common format. Organizations

sharing their data internally are seeing increased collabo-

ration among departments, a reduction in work since little

to no time has to be spent looking for the data, and de-

creased duplication of effort.

Open data is not just about sharing data; it is also about

using it in innovative ways, such as creating apps and solu-

tions with it and helping stakeholders make data-driven

decisions. Setting up an open data site allows citizens, gov-

ernment employees, developers, startups, and more, to

launch new solutions and applications almost immediately.

What’s Next for Open Data 2

Are we seeing real benefits from open data? The answer

to that question is yes. There are currently more than

40,000 open data sites across the United States, and that

number is growing every day. Departments, organizations,

cities, counties, states, and regions are seeing great bene-

fits from sharing their data and are starting to run metrics

to quantify their success. When a trend starts, there is

often not enough data to understand its full impact, but

now that open data has been around for some time, we

are starting to see the return on investment hit critical

mass.

Open data sites provide a format for transparency,

accountability, and communication. These initial ben-

efits helped governments justify their investment in

open data to their citizens. Law enforcement was the

first group to really leverage open data to increase

transparency and build public trust. By being given

access to information on vehicle stops, police use of

force, and crime analysis, citizens can start to under-

stand the decisions that government officials and law

enforcement agencies make within a community.

One agency, the Philadelphia Police Department,

made an effort to establish communication with its

citizens by leveraging the city's open data site

OpenDataPhilly. To ensure that citizens had access to

critical information about public safety and their com-

munity, the department started publishing crime data

in 2009, and it has been expanding the collection as

part of its Open Government Initiative ever since.

One of the department's major goals was to com-

municate the meaning of terry stops, which are pe-

destrian investigations where an officer carries out a

cursory search of a person for weapons if the officer

has reason to believe that the person is armed. To

explain the strategy behind the policing technique,

the department published a story map sharing the

data and the staff's findings. The data showed that

stops weren't actually random nor were they focused

only on certain groups, as the public once believed,

and that there were more terry stops in certain areas

because crime and violent activities were more preva-

lent in those neighborhoods.

The department also sought to show that the alloca-

tion of police resources was based on information

and analysis, not random guesswork. The data and

public maps showed that neighborhoods with higher

victimization and criminal activity had a higher police

presence. Publishing the department's data and re-

ports showed that Philadelphia's police activity and

efforts directly corresponded with the volume of

crime.

Philadelphia Police Department analyzes crime v. police activity

to better protect citizens and allocate resources.

What’s Next for Open Data 3

Open data can also have real economic benefits for organi-

zations, governments, and communities. It can stimulate

an information economy and promote investment and

new businesses. Setting up an open data site can give com-

panies the opportunity to understand the market potential

in a region or the optimal location to open their business.

This also levels the playing field between smaller, local-run

shops and larger corporations who can afford to pay a con-

sultant for this type of information. Open data provides

equal opportunity to leverage information and make more

data-driven decisions, regardless of the size of a company.

The city of Johns Creek, Georgia, with a population of

around 82,000, is using open data to drive entrepreneur-

ship and commercial growth. Its open data site provides

interactive maps and datasets about address points, par-

cels, zoning, and public safety. City staff enrich the site

with Esri income, lifestyle, and spending data, which can

help inform businesses of opportunities and market poten-

tial. Everything on the site is courtesy of the Johns Creek

government, saving entrepreneurs and business owners a

lot of money and consulting time. To ensure the data is

found and used, the city has partnered with its economic

development organization, Johns Creek Advantage.

"Having access to free, trustworthy, and

useful information substantially lowers

one of the risks [that] startups and small

businesses face," said Courtney Bernardi, CEO of

Johns Creek Advantage. The city even offers instructional

videos to help people learn how to use the site and carry

out relevant workflows like locating vacant commercial

sites or finding potential customers. Providing this type of

data to new businesses or investors can encourage busi-

ness expansion and attraction in a region. And regardless

of whether it is a large, well-known retailer or a mom-and-

pop store, all entrepreneurs and prospective businesses

will have access to the same data that can make them

more successful and promote economic growth for the

community.

What’s Next for Open Data 4

Johns Creek’s open data portal provides how-to vide-

os to ensure the entire community is able to under-

stand and leverage the data and analysis they have

provided.

With open data, communities and organizations can pro-

mote the development of new applications and solutions

that leverage available information to provide new ser-

vices or improve the lives of citizens. Governments are

expected to build certain solutions for their citizens like

road closure apps or polling place locators. Although gov-

ernments will continue to create these applications, as

expected, the benefit of open data is that mainstream ap-

plications can also be created that leverage this readily

available data. Startups and developers can create solu-

tions that support government workflows and citizen en-

gagement.

Once again, we can draw from the example at the city of

Johns Creek. After pushing out data like road closures and

road construction, Waze, the very popular crowdsourcing

traffic navigation app, partnered with Johns Creek in a two

-way data exchange program. Paige Fitzgerald, program

manager of the Connected Citizens Program at Waze, ex-

plains the benefits of the public-private partnership: "We

are helping to improve mobility, improve communities, by

providing a platform for governments to get out critical

information both in real time—about crashes, about

storms or other crises, and planned events such as major

closures, a parade, a festival. So by providing a platform to

get that information out to users, we reduce congestion

overall because we reroute users around those closures,

that congestion, in real time." This mutually beneficial re-

lationship is all due to open data. Waze gets more accu-

rate local traffic and construction data, as well as points of

interest data from the city, while Johns Creek can use

Waze data to better understand traffic through the com-

munity and get

local businesses

added exposure

on a mainstream

application.

What’s Next for Open Data 5

A new revelation in economic development is the need to

incubate growth through startups. In the tech world, this

oftentimes refers to companies that build apps—solutions

for pothole reporting, graffiti abatement, election polling

locators, and road closures. What drives these applications

is the availability of a large amount of framework data and

authoritative information through open data sites. What

we are beginning to see is the realization that open data is

becoming a foundation for economic development

through tech and software startups.

Esri initiated a startup program providing software, devel-

opment code, and marketing support to help jump-start

businesses. Companies that have come to the forefront

are all leveraging open data. Fishidy, an app used by fish-ing enthusiasts, provides interactive fishing maps, visual-

izes and analyzes social media feeds, and provides infor-

mation on thousands of waterways across the country to

find the best fishing spots for its users. Echosec software

combines social media posts with Esri data to display real-

time information about natural disasters, wars, and other

global events, providing intelligence to law enforcement,

security, marketing, and journalism professionals for

greater insight and better decision-making. Snaptrends,

another Esri startup, also mines social media feeds and

runs analysis to provide insight into business, brand man-

agement and marketing, health care, public safety,

sporting events, and utility strategies. These companies

have produced more than 50 jobs, and they continue to

grow. They are contributing valuable tax revenue for the

jurisdictions they reside in. This is the new small business

model taking the world by storm. Data drives business by

providing startups with the information and tools they

need to be successful. Open data should be a part of every

community's economic gardening strategy to support local

business, create jobs, and drive revenue.

Fishidy provides a platform for fishing enthusiasts to connect,

share catches, and find the latest fishing reports.

Echosec allows for more informed decision making for public

safety, health, marketing, and more by visualizing social media

feeds.

Snaptrends empowers organizations to better understand

patterns, trends, and location based on social media feeds.

What’s Next for Open Data 6

When the open data movement started, it was focused on

outward facing data distribution, not inward. What many

organizations came to realize was that there was an im-

mense benefit on opening information for their own em-

ployees. Having a single site promotes inter-agency collab-

oration, a greater understanding of patterns across re-

gions, as well as a decrease in the time spent collecting

data that someone else already has.

In New Mexico, there was a need to create a centralized,

collaborative data service that would support health advo-

cacy efforts covering the entire state. The New Mexico

Community Data Collaborative (NMCDC) was created to

have a central data warehouse that could provide open

data of all types to help inform resource allocation, local

services, as well as identify health disparities. The NMCDC

is a network of 50+ active public health advocates and an-

alysts from more than three dozen state agencies and non-

governmental organizations. The collaborative provides

not only health data but other datasets such as income,

crime, education, and service data that are essential com-

ponents in understanding health patterns and making

more informed decisions about health advocacy.

After the site went live:

The NMCDC organized more than 80 work-

shops that have helped them increase collab-

oration among agencies and more strategically

plan interventions, target limited resources,

and change policy

Their site hosts more than 75 maps and apps

Some of their maps have been opened more

than 100 times a day

The New Mexico Community Data Collaborative used the

open data site to launch collaborative maps and workshops.

What’s Next for Open Data 7

Hoarding data does not help anyone. Oftentimes people

will maintain their own datasets that they are unwilling to

share. As we know, keeping data siloed not only fails to

promote collaboration, but it also puts more pressure on

those maintaining the data. Data managers can become

inundated with data requests as well as struggle to keep a

single dataset updated and in a common format. With an

open data site, many organizations have seen a decrease

in time spent gathering data and responding to data re-

quests from internal sources, decision-makers, and the

public.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is a perfect

example of an organization struggling to stay ahead of the

data requests. It decided to create an open data site

where people could find the data themselves, in a com-

mon format that they could understand. Before the site

went live, the commission typically received about 200

requests per year. Now, the number of requests has

dropped by over 70 percent, and by utilizing the data, the

commission is seeing the creation of private sector and

commercial products for the hunting and fishing market.

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of open data is that it

can be used to drive the economy of an entire nation.

Sharing data has many economic benefits. It creates jobs,

cuts cost, and exposes new opportunities for developers

and entrepreneurs. In the case of the Republic of Ireland,

open data was used to help stimulate many aspects of the

Irish economy, and the nation is still reaping the benefits

of open data today.

Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi), the national mapping agen-

cy for the Republic of Ireland, already had a web-based

map viewer, but to keep up with the demand of the more

than 1.5 million unique visitors a year, OSi decided it need-

ed to redevelop and modernize its online mapping pres-

ence. The agency created GeoHive, a free web service and

open data site that combines its mapping data with data

from a wide range of public sector partners to create an

authoritative, national data network.

The commission shares trail, and

game data with the public.

What’s Next for Open Data 8

Built on the ArcGIS platform, GeoHive allows users to ac-

cess datasets that help them gain insight into various situa-

tions and easily share their findings via mobile devices. This

was created to encourage new investments in Ireland to

support the recovery of the nation's economy. As part of

the project, OSi, using the public data, has also published

web maps and story maps that provide context for the data

and the issues the nation faces. One example is a story map

that OSi created to show workforce, skills, infrastructure,

and transportation data across Ireland. Hugh Mangan, gen-

eral manager of business and marketing for OSi, said, "If a

business owner is considering opening a new office or fac-

tory in Galway, GeoHive presents all the information that

they need to help them understand the area and make in-

formed decisions." Providing real-world solutions and sce-

narios gives businesses and investors all the information

they need. "ArcGIS has enabled OSi to deliver a service that

has the potential to really boost the value of geospatial da-

ta to the Irish economy," said OSi chief executive Colin

Bray.

"By making location-based data more ac-

cessible, usable, and meaningful for eve-

ryone, GeoHive will help public and pri-

vate sector organizations to reduce costs,

save time, and capitalize on new busi-

ness opportunities."

Irish citizens also benefit from GeoHive. They have easy

access to public information, which allows them to leverage

applications that assist in things like buying residential

properties. For instance, OSi published a story map that

shows nearby schools, transportation networks, employ-

ment opportunities, local hospitals, and crime data, which

can help potential homeowners make better-informed de-

cisions when purchasing a home.

OSi recently commissioned a report from an independent

economic research organization, Indecon, to quantify the

benefits of its GeoHive site.

Enables the public sector to

annually save an estimated

Frees up enough time to

equal an estimated

Provides in competition benefits

across the nation an estimated

What’s Next for Open Data 9

(€82 million) (€279 million) (€104 million)

Governments are oftentimes reactive rather than proac-

tive. They usually know when there is a problem, but they

don't know when to focus on it or how much effort to

spend on it. How do governments know if they're truly

being affected by a trend or not? Would they want to pass

laws and organize around a problem or concern that may

not be there in a few months? This not only costs taxpay-

ers money, but it prevents governments from being able

to mobilize around another problem that could be even

more dire. Should the threat of an aging workforce actual-

ly draw concern? Is the West Nile or Zika virus something

that needs to be addressed? Open data can be a system of

insight that provides definitive proof of an issue and helps

organizations understand a problem at local and regional

levels. Above all, open data can influence and drive policy.

With access to more information, governments can make

better-informed decisions on issues affecting their com-

munity.

In the United States, we are seeing the rise of opioid and

heroin abuse. By aggregating open data from various

sources, like the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-

tion (CDC) and the Department of Justice, we can begin to

visualize this problem and see how we can work to stop

this epidemic. By gathering data from various sources, or-

ganizations can begin to run analysis and discover patterns

to better understand next steps. This information can then

be put into context through storytelling to communicate

recommendations and identify consequences to stake-

holders if nothing is done. Most importantly, we can move

from analysis to action by turning data and analytics into

programs, applications, and policy to address the problem.

A number of communities have already published web

maps of locations where citizens can drop off unused pre-

scriptions, a simple way to try to remove temptation and a

step toward changing behavior. Seeing overwhelming

proof of the nationwide epidemic through mapping and

analysis, the federal government signed the Comprehen-

sive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) in July 2016 to

award grants to address "the national epidemics of pre-

scription opioid abuse and heroin use." This is a prime ex-

ample of taking open data and turning it into action to in-

fluence policy.

Provide an application of prescription drop-off locations to

change behavior.

Discover and analyze trends of opioid prescription claims or drug

poisoning deaths, like the map above.

What’s Next for Open Data 10

Use story maps to present analysis and findings in order to

influence and change policy.

The ultimate goal of any organization leveraging open data

should be to create a larger environment of innovation,

transparency, community building, and growth. Open data

is not about one group or department; it should work to

bring people together across departments, agencies, com-

munities, and disciplines. An example of the synergy creat-

ed by open data is in the city of Los Angeles, California.

Los Angeles has a long history of using GIS technology to

manage its operations and services and to make better

decisions. But city staff didn't necessarily have a strategy

around open data. The city saw the need to share its data

to make employees more productive, stimulate partner-

ships between the city and community, and give residents

the opportunity to participate more in government.

Dubbed GeoHub, the city's open data site has spurred in-

novation among governments, businesses, and other or-

ganizations throughout the region, and it has seen im-

mense benefits and return on investment. "Los Angeles is

known as a place that thinks big. We are known for our

curiosity. We are known for our innovation," said mayor

Eric Garcetti. "[GeoHub] will help us reinvent the way we

deliver services and broaden our ability to engage resi-

dents and businesses to improve the quality of life in their

city."

GeoHub makes interagency and interdepartmental collab-

oration instantaneous. A larger hub of data allows the city

to address issues, such as public safety and homelessness,

across multiple departments. "Let's say a firefighter with

an iPad or a mobile device is called to respond to an emer-

gency like an earthquake. Thanks to GeoHub, he or she

could just pull up more than the 911 data for that call.

[Firefighters] could find more important facts like building

inspection status, location of the nearest fire hydrants,

sewer lines, streetlights—any information that would

make it easier to respond to an emergency," Garcetti ex-

plained. In addition to giving city employees and depart-

ments access to data for better decision-making, GeoHub

also aims to establish partnerships between government

and the community at large. With unlimited access to the

city's data, developers can create new apps; businesses

and startups can understand market potential to increase

their success; and NGOs and academia can use the data to

drive research, studies, and policy.

Notable focal points of the GeoHub site are the applica-

tions and interactive maps provided by the office of inno-

vation that showcase how staff are putting the data to

work to change policy and improve the community. A

number of applications are displayed that address citywide

initiatives like Vision Zero, whose goal is to reduce injuries

and deaths from roadway collisions to zero by 2025, or the

Road to 2400, an ongoing effort to repave 2,400 miles of

road each year. These applications track the city's efforts,

and they all include a list of datasets used, so the commu-

nity can use the same data to build their own

solutions and get more involved in sup-

porting these objectives. GeoHub, much like

the other sites we've mentioned, has a holis-

tic approach to taking advantage of what

open data has to offer, which is a consistent

theme across all the examples we've provid-

ed. These sites curate the data; highlight ac-

tivities that are important to the community;

present a call to action; provide the neces-

sary resources to enable everyone to use the

tools and data immediately; and, finally,

push out apps for rapid consumption by em-

ployees and the public.

What’s Next for Open Data 11

MAKE DATA EXPLORABLE An easy-to-use, approachable interface will immedi-

ately show whether your open data site will be utilized. A site

that is difficult to navigate or a search tool that doesn't pro-

vide easy access to relevant information will determine

whether the public and your organization can benefit from

open data. A great open data site presents data that is easy

to discover and use.

INCLUDE MAPPING & OPERATIONAL

DATA Open data is a technology that both non-GIS and GIS profes-

sionals can benefit from. Esri knows an open data site needs

to support all types of datasets. Great open data sites recog-

nize this and provide geospatial data, along with tabular and

operational data, in one place.

OPEN DATA INTERNALLY & EXTERNALLY Organizations need to understand that open data not

only benefits outside parties, but it also encourages internal

collaboration. An open data site can break down silos and

provide data to all those who need it, without lengthy re-

quests. Organizations with sites that put emphasis on data

access for internal use and interagency communication have

increased their success.

LAUNCH APPS FOR IMMEDIATE USE Prebuilt applications can help visitors realize the ben-

efits of the data you've made available. Providing a few ex-

amples of how the data can be used can propel the use of

your data even further.

PROVIDE CONTEXT THROUGH STORY

MAPS A great open data site should not only provide data, but it

should give context to the problems that governments are

trying to solve. Creating apps and story maps that give the

setting and background of an issue helps visitors under-

stand the power of the data you're providing.

OFFER TRAINING & DEVELOPER TOOLS Great open data sites understand that visitors may

not always be GIS/IT trained or informed on what the data

can do. By providing video tutorials and how-to documen-

tation, the use of the data can increase. Providing re-

sources for developers can also encourage the developer

community to leverage your data and create new solutions

and applications that will benefit your community.

LEVERAGE A LARGER ECOSYSTEM Take advantage of every opportunity to find new and

innovative ways for the data to be used by involving the

entire community. Engage with startups, entrepreneurs,

nongovernmental organizations, and developers to in-

crease the support for an initiative, improve efficiency and

productivity, cut cost by reducing duplication of work, and

drive economic growth and entrepreneurship.

What makes one open data site better than another? How can your organization realize some of the many benefits of

open data we have discussed? We have recognized seven key elements that help distinguish a good open data site

from a great one:

What’s Next for Open Data 12

We've learned a lot about the open data movement

since it started. It was first in the GIS and IT communi-

ties, driven by elected officials and civic-minded

groups. Then we saw the coming together of these

worlds—technology, government, and citizens—and

we learned that open data can be a business intelli-

gence tool for making more data-driven decisions.

Open data is a foundation for building smart commu-

nities. It leads to rapid prototyping of applications,

greater collaboration, improved productivity and effi-

ciency, and increased communication, with a real re-

turn on investment.

So what's next? Imagine a single hub that connects all

open data sites for a state or community of any size.

This hub concept will help solve larger problems and

initiatives—one nation, one state, and one local gov-

ernment at a time. As we see this hub trend emerge,

Esri technology will be there to meet it.

Esri challenges you to create an open

data strategy today.

go.esri.com/opendata

What’s Next for Open Data 13