Sunlight provided assistance with the development of this policy.
Open Data Policy V1.0 February 1, 2016 1 City of Seattle Open Data Policy OD-1 V1.0 February 1, 2016 Purpose The City of Seattle is committed to expanding both the data it makes available to the public and tools for understanding this data, and the Seattle Open Data Program has been created to realize these commitments. This Open Data Policy defines the principles governing City of Seattle Open Data and describes the expectations for department participation and governance of the Seattle Open Data Program. Definitions City of Seattle Data All data created, collected and/or maintained by the City of Seattle or by contractors or agencies on the City’s behalf. Open Data Specific datasets that are made available to the public by the City. Machine-Readable Any widely-accepted, nonproprietary, platform-independent, machinereadable method for formatting data (such as JSON, XML, and API’s) which permits automated processing of such data and facilitates search capabilities. Open Standard A technical standard developed and maintained by a voluntary consensus standards body that is available to the public without royalty or fee. Open Data Program Program dedicated to making City of Seattle data available to the public and engaging civic technologists, the research community, and other partners to make use of Open Data in support of the Program’s goals. Open Data Playbook Guide defining strategies City departments and offices can implement to making their data open, encourage public use consistent with the City’s privacy and security policies, and realize benefits for their departments. Open Data Portal Data.seattle.gov, the City’s catalog and primary repository for Open Data, created and maintained by the City for the express purpose of ensuring permanent, lasting open access to public information and Open Data Policy V1.0 February 1, 2016 2 enabling the development of innovative solutions that exemplify the goals of the Open Data Program. Open Data Manager A City employee who is responsible for the City of Seattle’s Open Data Program, stewards the data made available on the Open Data Portal, and manages the Open Data Team. Open Data Team City employees who administer the Open Data Portal and provide planning, review, coordination, and technical support to City departments and offices publishing open data. Data Owner Any City employee who is responsible for one or more departmental datasets. Open Data Champion Designated by each department, this person serves as the point of contact and coordinator for that department’s publishing of Open Data. Chief Privacy Officer A City employee who provides overall leadership and direction to the City of Seattle Privacy Program and is responsible for resolving questions and issues concerning privacy risk and Open Data. MITIE Municipal Information Technology Investment Evaluation (MITIE) process, the governance process by which City technology projects are evaluated. Policy The City of Seattle strives to make the data it generates and collects openly available to the public for the purposes of increasing the quality of life for our residents; increasing transparency, accountability and comparability; promoting economic development and research; and improving internal performance management. Open Data Program Goals The Open Data Program exists explicitly to: A. Improve public understanding of City operations and other information concerning their communities. B. Generate economic opportunity for individuals and companies that benefit from the knowledge created by Open Data. C. Empower City employees to be more effective, better coordinated internally, and identify opportunities to better serve the public. D. Encourage the development of innovative technology solutions that improve quality of life. Section 1: Open by Preference A. The City of Seattle and parties acting on its behalf shall proactively make City data holdings available and shall make the information available through the City’s Open Data Open Data Policy V1.0 February 1, 2016 3 Portal, subject to the limitations outlined in this policy and the operating procedures of the Open Data Program. B. When planning for new systems or data collection projects, or modifying existing systems or processes, City departments and offices shall consider which datasets and associated metadata should be published as Open Data. C. Whenever technically possible, Open Data shall be published in machine-readable format. D. Datasets on the Open Data Portal shall be made available without registration requirement, license requirement or restrictions on their use provided that the department may require a third party providing to the public any public data set, or application utilizing such data set, to explicitly identify the source and version of the public data set, and a description of any modifications made to such public data set. E. While a preference is towards making all data public, some data elements if released, especially in bulk, could cause privacy harms, put critical infrastructure at risk, or put public safety personnel and initiatives at risk. City departments and offices should use tools provided by the Open Data Program to assess risk as part of determining datasets to be released. F. The requirements set forth in the policy shall be integrated into the Municipal Information Technology Investment Evaluation (MITIE) process, questionnaire and checklists to help facilitate consistent identification and publishing of datasets as the City plans for the implementation of new technologies and systems. G. Should the Open Data Program discover that data is being used in ways that violate privacy, puts the public at risk, or contravene the Program’s goals, the City of Seattle and parties acting on its behalf have the right and responsibility to take any action necessary to mitigate these risks. Section 2: Accountability City department and office directors shall: A. Direct department Data Owners to make the department’s data holdings and accompanying metadata available to the public on the City’s Open Data Portal, subject to the limitations outlined in this policy and the operating procedures of the Open Data Program. B. Direct department Data Owners to ensure that department data made open to the public adheres to the City’s privacy, security, retention and public disclosure policies and standards. C. Designate an Open Data Champion in each department who shall serve as the point of contact and coordinator for that department’s publishing of Open Data. D. Annually establish goals for department data to be made open, and make attainment of those goals part of the performance evaluation for each City department or office director. E. Report to the Open Data Team on performance and attainment of the Open Data Program’s goals. Section 3: Institutionalizing the Open Data Program In partnership with the Open Data Team and coordinated by their Open Data Champion, each City department and office shall: A. Presume that data it creates, collects or maintains--including data created, collected, or maintained on the department’s behalf through contract with a third party--shall be made Open Data Policy V1.0 February 1, 2016 4 open to the public subject to the limitations set forth in the City’s open data, privacy, security, retention and disclosure policies and standards. B. Establish processes to identify which data sets should be published on the Open Data Portal, assess potential privacy risks, and streamline the routine publication of that data in the most open format possible, consistent with the City’s privacy and security policies. C. Develop a catalog listing the department’s data holdings, which further identifies and prioritizes datasets to be made public while setting specific goals and timelines for the publication of datasets as Open Data. Department data catalogs shall be combined into a master City of Seattle data catalog which shall be made publicly viewable. D. Make data and accompanying metadata open in machine-readable form. The metadata scheme shall allow data publishers to classify selected contextual fields or elements within their dataset as well as adhere to common Meta attributes identified platform-wide, thus empowering data consumers to build automated discovery mechanisms at a granular level. Each row of data shall utilize a unique identifier so that users can verify consistency over time. Using a common metadata taxonomy will allow the Open Data Program to increase discoverability and facilitate successful use of the data. E. Make datasets published to the Open Data Portal available to the public on an open license basis. An open license on a dataset signifies there are no restrictions on copying, publishing, further distributing, modifying or using the data for a noncommercial or commercial purpose. F. Provide a citation format appropriate to each dataset published based on guidance contained in the Open Data Playbook. G. Optimize, document and publish the collection and creation processes of open data based on guidance and templates contained in the Open Data Playbook. H. Ensure that data and metadata made open to the public is accurate, updated and well documented. Data and metadata shall be updated as often as is necessary to preserve the integrity and usefulness of the data set. I. With input from stakeholders such as boards, commissions, and community members, develop a prioritized list of existing datasets to be made open. J. Work with the Open Data Team to set appropriately ambitious timelines for the publication of datasets. Section 4: Open Data Program Administration and Operation The Open Data Program shall: A. Maintain the Open Data Policy and related procedures, the documents that govern the City’s Open Data Program; review these documents, and update them as necessary, no less frequently than annually; and drive approval of these documents through the Chief Technology Officer. B. Ensure that datasets published to the Open Data Portal are available in machine-readable formats that permit processing of the data for download through an automated programming interface (API) or bulk download. C. Maintain a master City of Seattle data catalog that lists all available datasets. D. Assess the datasets to be published to the Open Data Platform to identify the risk of privacy harm in accordance with the City’s Privacy Principles and Policy and in the context of datasets already available to the public. When privacy or security risks are identified, work with departmental Open Data Champions and teams to mitigate the risks. Open Data Policy V1.0 February 1, 2016 5 Escalate those datasets determined to have risk of privacy harm to the Chief Privacy Officer for review and approval. E. Work with the Privacy Program to produce templates, risk assessments, and other tools to mitigate privacy risk. F. Ensure that data published through the Open Data Program adheres to the open data, security, retention and public disclosure policies and standards. G. Communicate City of Seattle open data policies and standards to department management and Open Data Champions. H. Review and approve each dataset prior to its initial publication to the Open Data Portal. I. Document the process for reviewing new Open Data requests, including who approved or denied the request and the rationale, and make the rationale available to the public. J. Provide training and support for department Open Data Champions. K. Perform an annual risk assessment of both the Open Data Program and the content available on the Open Data Portal. The outcome of this review shall be shared with the Open Data Champions, who will help implement risk mitigation strategies. L. Provide a public process to allow individuals to review and correct data that concerns their own individual personal information. M. Annually update and publish the Open Data Plan based on recommendations and requirements solicited from elected officials, department management, department Open Data Champions, business partners and members of the public. The Open Data Plan shall include: a. Plan for the upcoming year to improve online public access to Open Data and maintain data quality; and b. Description and proposed publication timeline for datasets envisioned to be published on the portal in the upcoming year. c. Proposals for improving the city’s open data management processes that help advance our open data policy goals. d. Recommendation on historical document inclusion and schedule for approved historical document publication e. Identification of any anticipated costs associated with operating the Open Data Program, including any proposed changes, for the upcoming fiscal year. f. Identification of any foreseeable factors which may affect the Open Data Program in the upcoming year. N. Publish an annual Open Data report, which shall include: a. Assessment of progress towards achievement of the goals described in the Open Data Plan for the previous year. b. List of datasets currently available on the Open Data Portal. c. Assessment of the current level of department compliance to the Open Data Policy. Section 5: Stakeholder Engagement The Open Data Program shall: A. Create opportunities for members of the public, City departments and offices, parties acting on the City’s behalf, and other stakeholders to work collaboratively on recommendations for how the City should provide and use data, as well as how the City can use the directives in this Policy to develop, deliver, monitor and measure the success of its Open Data Program. Open Data Policy V1.0 February 1, 2016 6 B. Implement a mechanism or mechanisms to solicit public feedback and encourage discussion on policies and public datasets available on the Open Data Portal. C. Consider requests received through such mechanisms when prioritizing datasets for release, and incorporate these recommendations into the annual Open Data plan. Roles and Responsibilities The policy sets the minimum level of responsibility for the following individuals and groups: Open Data Manager and Team Department Open Data Champion Chief Privacy Officer Section 6: Open Data Manager and Team Assisted by the Open Data Team, the Open Data Manager is responsible for the City of Seattle’s Open Data Program and the data made public by the City. Responsibilities include: A. Ensure that the Open Data Program, and the data made public by the program, adhere to this policy, and to the Open Data Playbook. B. Hold regular meetings with the Open Data Champions to provide program updates and guidance, and to solicit suggestions for how the program can grow and improve. C. Maintain a list of, and regularly engage, community stakeholders. D. Track and respond to questions and dataset requests from the public. E. Participate in events such as community forums, hackathons, webinars, and speaking engagements to promote Open Data and the City’s Open Data Program in particular. Section 7: Department Open Data Champion City departments and offices shall identify an Open Data Champion who shall serve as the point of contact and coordinator for the department’s Open Data. Responsibilities shall include: A. Gather and maintain a comprehensive inventory of datasets collected, created, or maintained by the department, including data created, collected, or maintained on the department’s behalf through contract with a third party. B. Document and publish data creation processes for each dataset. C. Evaluate the suitability of those datasets for publishing to the Open Data Portal. D. Prioritize the data to be published according to prioritization guidelines defined by the Open Data Program. E. Maintain an inventory of Open Data published by the department. F. Ensure that departmental data is produced in machine-readable form (if technically possible). G. Ensure the publication of Open Data according to defined timelines. H. Ensure Open Data published by the department is accurate and current. I. Coordinate the publication of their department’s Open Data with the Open Data Team. Section 8: Chief Privacy Officer The Chief Privacy Officer shall: A. Serve as the arbiter of any questions or issues concerning Open Data privacy risk and solutions for minimizing the risk of privacy harm. B. Resolve questions or issues regarding open data privacy risk escalated by the Open Data Manager. Open Data Policy V1.0 February 1, 2016 7 C. Participate in the annual risk assessment for the Open Data Program defined in Section 4K. Section 9: Authority and Governance A. This Policy is approved by the Chief Technology Officer and is implemented by the Open Data Manager, and applies to City of Seattle data holdings and applications. B. The Open Data Manager shall maintain Open Data Program materials, including interpreting, updating, or otherwise modifying the Open Data Policy and procedures. C. Exceptions to the Open Data Policy may be requested through the City’s Information Technology Exception process (http://inweb.ci.seattle.wa.us/technology/enterprise_tech/policies_standards/docs/excepti onstandard.pdf). D. Exceptions, policy changes, and other related governance matters may be escalated through City-wide IT Governance. Scope This policy covers data created, collected, and maintained by City of Seattle or by contractors or third parties on behalf of City of Seattle. Document Control Owner: Open Data Manager Version Content Contributors Approval Date Draft Open Data Policy Ryan Biava, Bruce Blood, Candace Faber, Kendee Yamaguchi 1/4/2016 V1.0 Open Data Policy Approver: Michael Mattmiller - Chief Technology Officer 2/1/2016