For the past few years as the open data movement has gained momentum in the US, much of the action and gains have been at the local and federal levels. While a scattered set of states have open data policies and portals in place, for one reason or another state governments have been a bit slower on the uptake. This is unfortunate, because state agencies like those in Pennsylvania perform a lot of functions (and generate a lot of data) in areas like environment, education, health and welfare, transportation, economy, and public safety. As the US ODI’s Waldo Jaquith was quoted in a recent Government Technology article:
“In the U.S. [federal collaboration] doesn’t get you much. State governments are so important, so powerful here, that you can’t just have one great relationship with one great government and really accomplish much,” he said, contrasting the U.S. against Europe, where countries are often smaller and more unified.
Pennsylvania is one of the many states with no open data portal or policy at the state level. While the rather new Office of Open Records has made great strides in ensuring government transparency and accountability, it has also been hampered by more than its fair share of burdens and challenges. Moreover, in many of its cases, the Office of Open Records should not have to fight so hard on behalf of Pennsylvania citizens to free state government information. As residents of Pennsylvania, we should expect better standards and a culture of “open by default” from our state government.
A couple months ago, Bob Gradeck from Open Pittsburgh reached out on the OpenDataPhilly list about how civic hackers in our two Pennsylvanian cities could collaborate at a statewide level. In particular, Bob and his collaborators in Pittsburgh were interested in making open data an issue for this year’s Pennsylvania gubernatorial election. Azavea had just applied for and received ODI Node status for Philadelphia, and helping to promote a statewide open data constituency seemed to me to be a great way to leverage that new designation.
Bob’s first email precipitated more email chains, some conference calls, and a Google Doc as more and more of us with ties to both Open Pittsburgh and Code for Philly came out of the woodwork to craft a website and questionnaire on open data to send to all declared gubernatorial candidates for Pennsylvania. We were on a quick timeline: We had to send out the questionnaire with adequate time for candidates to respond and for Pennsylvania voters to consider their responses before the state primary on May 20.
Candidate questionnaires are an old tool of political engagement, long employed by special interest groups across the country to tease out the thinking of political candidates on particular issues important to specific communities – everyone from the League of Conservation Voters to the National Cattleman’s Beef Association (as just two examples). As civic hackers, sometimes we can be too quick to focus purely on building and deploying technology – we forget there are other tried and true ways for us to engage government and civic institutions that don’t involve apps and hackathons. Even though with this questionnaire our focus was still on open data and technology, our approach was low tech and still highly effective.
By “highly effective,” I mean that we received a response for every declared candidate but one. That’s 7 in total! Pennsylvania’s incumbent Republican Governor Tom Corbett did not respond to our questionnaire, though Corbett did respond to the PA NewsMedia Association’s questionnaire, which included a question related to open data. The NewsMedia Association was also very helpful and posted our open data questionnaire on their website.
You can view each candidate’s full response to each of our 6 questions at http://opendatapasurvey.pgh.io/. What ideas did they have on how to strengthen open data in Pennsylvania? Below is my own editorial summary of each candidate’s most salient ideas, in alphabetical order. Each candidate’s portrait links to their campaign site if you’d like to learn more about them. If you’re short on time, there are a few key questions and graphical indicators (gray being n/a, red being the worst, yellow in the middle, and green the best) to skim that indicate my own judgement calls on how well each candidate addressed each question.
Tom Corbett – Incumbent Governor of Pennsylvania; Republican Party candidate
- Supports openness as the proactive default?
- Would enact open data policy as governor?
- Would create open data position or office as governor?
- Proposes ways for citizen participation or collaboration with government through technology?
- Mentioned civic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned economic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned government efficiency impacts of open data?
As the only candidate who did not submit a response to our questionnaire, it’s hard for me to say what Governor Corbett’s opinions are regarding open data. That said, the Corbett administration’s record on openness and transparency issues does not inspire confidence. In the response he did provide to the PA NewsMedia Association’s questionnaire, he said he was familiar with the open data movement and believed his administration’s accomplishments – specifically, the PennWATCH website and Department of State’s improved campaign finance interface – “have been significant strides in making our state government more open, and I intend to build upon these efforts.”
Unfortunately, neither of these two examples get at the heart of open data. The state of campaign finance disclosure in Pennsylvania has been called out by other candidates and the media as lacking – and the problem is more about the law that allows filing disclosures on paper, rather than software and data.
Second, in my perusal of state agency websites, I saw a number of prominent links and references to the fairly-new PennWATCH website, which claims to provide data on the state budget, spending, revenue, and employees of each state agency – not exactly a comprehensive open data catalog, but some interesting information nonetheless. The first time I tried to use the site, I was presented with errors in place of each of the Java applets that are supposed to display this data. On later attempts I was able to use the site, but some features were slow and others still didn’t work. Nowhere on the site did I see an option to download bulk data in a machine-readable form like a CSV or JSON file – failing to meet many principles listed on OpenGovData.org and #19 in the Sunlight Foundation’s list of open data principles. That the Java applets appear to be the only way to view the data on PennWATCH violates even more of those principles and additionally makes the data even harder to scrape if one wanted to.
Charts frozen within Java applets are not the same as providing machine-readable open data. Which is too bad, because the PennWATCH website is an interesting concept. With real open data, I’m sure Open Pittsburgh or Code for Philly or others in the state would be able to help the state implement alternative, creative, and more powerful ways to explore state financial transparency.
Paul Glover – Community Organizer; Green Party candidate
- Supports openness as the proactive default?
- Would enact open data policy as governor?
- Would create open data position or office as governor?
- Proposes ways for citizen participation or collaboration with government through technology?
- Mentioned civic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned economic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned government efficiency impacts of open data?
Though Paul Glover was brief with his responses to our questionnaire, it’s clear from most of what he did say that he does “…favor complete availability of all public records,” (question 1). In question 6, he specifically mentions that his appointments as governor would be “aggressively dedicated to full disclosure by default.” That’s a good philosophy to look for, and one of Sunlight’s open data guidelines. One interesting point Glover brought up in question 3 is the idea of using technology to accept “interactive public input…so that the public can use government websites as organizing and advocacy tools.” To me, that sounds a lot like former FCC managing director Steve Van Roekel’s assertion that the public could “take us [the FCC] to court with one of the blog comments” from the FCC’s redesigned websites under his tenure. The redesigned FCC.gov received accolades for its implementation of open government principles when it was launched. If Glover is indeed thinking in a similar vein, his creativity should be noted.
One area in which Glover’s expressed opinions fall short of the open government ideal is apparent in his answer to question 1, where he states public records should be available “at no cost to nonprofits and private citizens.” While at first that might make sense, Glover’s statement leaves the door open for access fees or possible licensing restrictions for commercial users and uses of government data. As the Sunlight Foundation’s open data policy guidelines say, truly open data should be license-free (#11) and have no restrictions on its use (#10). This includes users outside nonprofits and private citizens. One key benefit of open data is the entrepreneurial and commercial activity it can enable.
Bob Guzzardi – Attorney; Republican Party candidate
- Supports openness as the proactive default?
- Would enact open data policy as governor?
- Would create open data position or office as governor?
- Proposes ways for citizen participation or collaboration with government through technology?
- Mentioned civic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned economic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned government efficiency impacts of open data?
“I am not tech savvy but there are resources available,” Bob Guzzardi said in his response to question 3 on how a potential Guzzardi administration would use information and technology to better connect with citizens. I commend him for his honesty, and I further appreciate that he wants to consult the media, business, and technology communities on what obstacles are present, what information/data is needed, and how how best to deliver it. Our elected officials do not all need to be experts in technology, nor should they be, but they should know when to reach out to experts and collaborate with the community.
Guzzardi specifically mentions “the campaign contribution website of the Department of State is cumbersome and difficult to use,” in question 1. I hope he also considers the need to mandate electronic filing of campaign finance reports (as mentioned above) in addition to improving the ways they are accessed. Additionally, it was interesting to hear of Guzzardi’s support of HB 1671, a bill which seeks to address concerns with public officials’ overuse of “executive sessions” instead of public meetings. In Guzzardi’s words, executive sessions are “one of the biggest abuses of ‘right to know’,” and he recommends requiring that they be recorded so judges can determine if they were legitimate after the fact.
Ken Krawchuk – Information Technology Consultant; Libertarian Party candidate
- Supports openness as the proactive default?
- Would enact open data policy as governor?
- Would create open data position or office as governor?
- Proposes ways for citizen participation or collaboration with government through technology?
- Mentioned civic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned economic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned government efficiency impacts of open data?
“[I would] direct all state agencies sharing data to move beyond web sites to set up peer-to-peer sharing such as BitTorrent so that citizens can get cheap and rapid access to their data,” Krawchuk said in response to question 2. While I’m not sure how useful protocols like BitTorrent would be in accessing public datasets, it is nice to see that Krawchuk is aware of and considering other protocols for data access. Based on this, I think Krawchuk would understand the value of providing APIs in addition to bulk data downloads. In question 1, Krawchuk also suggested creating an open data petitions site for citizens to nominate specific datasets to be released. “Each month, the top ten citizen requests for data…would be expedited,” said Krawchuk. This idea sounds a lot like an open data specific version of petitions.whitehouse.gov, another powerful example of open government that’s come out in recent years.
While Krawchuk agrees with the Sunlight Foundation and others that “openness should be the default course,” (question 4) he is aware of how sticky the privacy concerns around open data can be in his answer to question 5, where he mentions that any location data about citizens “such as license-plate readers” should be restricted. These concerns have come up in data releases in the past, like Philadelphia’s part 1 crimes data.
Rob McCord – Treasurer of Pennsylvania; Democratic Party candidate
- Supports openness as the proactive default?
- Would enact open data policy as governor?
- Would create open data position or office as governor?
- Proposes ways for citizen participation or collaboration with government through technology?
- Mentioned civic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned economic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned government efficiency impacts of open data?
“Expanding open data practices will be one of my information technology initiatives as governor,” said Rob McCord in response to question 1. McCord also made an explicit reference to having an open data policy if elected governor in question 6, and he was one of the few candidates to use the language of “transparency, participation, and collaboration” that has been a hallmark of the open government movement since President Obama’s original memorandum. Those are clear, unambiguous commitments and it’s great to see them.
This clarity is muddled somewhat by McCord’s focus on existing “platforms…on which to build and improve” such as the state’s e-contracts database that his Treasury department has administered, the PennWATCH website, and an “online performance management tool” that McCord claims the state Budget office provides but I was unable to find on their website. These are all good transparency applications, and I’m glad McCord understands their value. However, as I discussed with PennWATCH above, they are all fundamentally applications – not open data. As experts like Mark Headd have discussed before, governments should focus on stewarding and releasing data first and building applications themselves second.
Kathleen McGinty – Former Secretary of Environmental Protection; Democratic Party candidate
- Supports openness as the proactive default?
- Would enact open data policy as governor?
- Would create open data position or office as governor?
- Proposes ways for citizen participation or collaboration with government through technology?
- Mentioned civic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned economic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned government efficiency impacts of open data?
“As Governor, I would select a member of my team to serve as a full-time Director of Open Data,” said Kathleen McGinty in her response to question 6. Creating such a position would be a wise choice; on the local level, it’s fairly clear Philadelphia would not have come as far as it has in open data had the position of Chief Data Officer not been created. A state Director of Open Data could have both the clout and nuanced, “big picture” view to effectively push for data releases internally that Philly CDO Mark Headd has had for the past couple of years. It’s also exciting to hear that McGinty is thinking about the “additional education regarding open data process / policies” that is often necessary in starting any open data program. Open data is as much about changing the culture of government departments around releasing data as it is about the information itself.
However, most of McGinty’s other answers center around an insistence that “the first step needed…is to audit and inventory all information that is available…before we can create and execute a plan to provide access [to open data],” (question 1). While a comprehensive inventory isn’t a bad thing to have, it does become a bad thing if the process of conducting one shifts focus away from and delays actual, tangible data releases. Pennsylvania does not need to complete a comprehensive inventory of all data in its possession (if even such an inventory is possible or practical) to start practicing open data principles. Specific, high-value datasets can be released as soon as resources are available to clean and vet them.
Allyson Schwartz – Congresswoman (PA-13); Democratic Party candidate
- Supports openness as the proactive default?
- Would enact open data policy as governor?
- Would create open data position or office as governor?
- Proposes ways for citizen participation or collaboration with government through technology?
- Mentioned civic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned economic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned government efficiency impacts of open data?
“While Pennsylvania already accepts electronic submissions of campaign finance reports…electronic filing is not currently mandatory,” said Allyson Schwartz in response to question 3. As I’ve discussed above, paper campaign finance data is a problem, and it’s good to see it’s on Schwartz’s radar and she has a plan to make electronic filing mandatory. One distinctive idea Schwartz mentioned in her answers was that she plans to review and improve the Right to Know law and Sunshine act, and consider “a fuller inclusion of state-related universities” under them.
All of Schwartz’s answers are sound and in keeping with established open government data principles, but her responses were some of the shortest out of all the candidates. It would have been nice to hear more of her thinking and policy ideas on the subject of open data.
Tom Wolf – Chairman of the Wolf Organization; Democratic Party candidate
- Supports openness as the proactive default?
- Would enact open data policy as governor?
- Would create open data position or office as governor?
- Proposes ways for citizen participation or collaboration with government through technology?
- Mentioned civic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned economic impacts of open data?
- Mentioned government efficiency impacts of open data?
“I will create an Office of Data Analysis and Program Management, which will help facilitate information sharing and improve collaboration between departments and agencies,” said Tom Wolf in his response to question 2. Commendably, Wolf’s thinking on open data is at the vanguard in this respect – open data not only benefits outside users, but it also can enhance collaboration within government agencies. This new office also sounds a lot like the “StateStat” program Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has implemented over the past few years. Because of it, Maryland is one of the few states to have an open data catalog.
Wolf was also the only one of the candidates to explicitly mention hackathons, in question 3: “I will work with our colleges and universities to sponsor hack-a-thons and develop apps that make datasets available to residents.” In the same answer, Wolf hints at the educational value and business potential of open data to attract and retain more high-tech companies in Pennsylvania.
Conclusions
If you were to judge only by my green checkmarks, Tom Wolf has the most comprehensive plan for advancing state open data in Pennsylvania. He would create a policy, an office to help manage it, suggests ways for the state to collaborate with citizens and the community through hackathons and other avenues, and he was the only candidate to explicitly mention the civic, economic, and government efficiency impacts and benefits to open data.
Judging these candidates and their responses only by my checkmarks would be a mistake, however. Most of them proposed really interesting, nuanced ideas around what specific datasets could be more open (eg, campaign finance records), ways to approach the issue of open data (eg, inventories, collaboration with external communities, dataset nominations, BitTorrent, etc), and other areas. “Openness” is a hard-to-define concept, and it lends itself to a multitude of interpretations and ideas. I also see in these responses some misunderstandings from the candidates about what exactly “open data” is. (The PennWATCH website, though a good-faith attempt, should not be held up as a good example of open data.) It’s for these reasons that our group wanted to send a questionnaire: to tease out a diversity of proposals, get the issue of “open data” on the candidates’ and voters’ minds, and help to educate everyone on the best practices out there for what is a powerful but relatively little-known issue.
I hope the candidates – and the members of the public and potential users of open data across the state – consider the possible merits of all these ideas. The best plan, as the saying goes, is somewhere in the middle.
Thanks!
Many people were involved in this effort, including (but not limited to!) Casey Canfield, Bob Gradeck, and Gabe McMorland on the Pittsburgh side; and Chris Alfano, Mark Headd, and myself on the Philadelphia side. While I’m happy to have been involved, there’s no question this has been a Pittsburgh-led effort and Casey, Bob, and Gabe deserve a lot of credit. Thanks are also due to the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association’s Government Affairs staff and their interest in helping us with a link to our questionnaire on their site.