What Data Does the Public Want? Just Ask.
By
Joseph Marks
Agencies have found a novel way to gage the appetite for federal data.
Agencies wondering what data they should release through application programming interfaces have hit on a novel idea: just ask.
APIs are data streams that automatically transfer new information from one website -- in this case, a government agency’s -- to a subscriber’s computer or website. An environmental researcher, for instance, might be interested in a stream of updated EPA data on water quality.
The White House’s Digital Government Strategy, released in May, gives agencies one year to release at least two high-value datasets as APIs.
The Commerce Department filed a blog post May 8 asking visitors to comment with the data they’re most interested in. The Education Department followed suit late Tuesday.
Agencies looking for public feedback on technology upgrades have recently favored more complex tools such as IdeaScale surveys. The old question-and-answer model might be superior for questions like this, though. They draw in a core audience that is likely to include several users of the eventual APIs -- i.e. the kind of people who troll agency blogs -- but don’t make them register with an external site.
The model also has a more informal feel which may make people more willing to comment and requires less work on the agency’s end.