Government
3 Cities Using Open Data in Creative Ways to Solve Problems
On the heels of Bloomberg's $42 million open data initiative, here's a few programs already boosting civic reform.
Bloomberg Philanthropies has launched a $42 million initiative to help cities use open data better. The What Works Cities initiative partners with the Harvard Kennedy School, Johns Hopkins University, Results for America, and the Sunlight Foundation, to provide technical training to 100 mid-sized cities (with population between 100,000 to 1,000,000) chosen from the ones that apply.
Open data is "a muscle that every city is trying to beef up," says Jim Anderson, head of government innovation programs at the charitable organization of New York's former mayor, Michael Bloomberg. "What cities tell us ... they really need is tools, tips, and techniques for creating a culture to better use the data they've already got."