Jun 30

Jun 30 Don’t Let Tools Drive Enterprise Data Strategy

Accountability, Big Data, Data, Data Access, Project Management, Strategic Planning, Strategy

Isaac Sacolick’s Friend or Foe? How Microsoft Excel 2013 Creates New Data Governance Challenges is a refreshing look at the challenges organizations face as the capabilities of data management tools outstrip the policies and processes for governing how such tools are used.

May 23

May 23 Government Performance Measurement and DATA Act Implementation Need to be Coordinated

Dennis D. McDonald

Cost Analysis, Costs, DATA Act, Data, Data Access, Performance, Standards

Hopefully a coordinated data management strategy is something that Treasury, OMB, GAO, and the White House are already working on.

May 21
May 21 Open Data and Performance Measurement: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Dennis D. McDonald

Data, Data Access, Metrics, Open Data, Performance, Standards, Statistics

Now we’re seeing more attention being paid in the public sector to data management strategy as data assets become a more visible — and public — components of government action. That’s a good thing.

Feb 20

Feb 20 Getting Real About "Open Data”

Dennis D. McDonald

Accountability, BaleFire, Best Practices, Big Data, Data, Data Access, Definitions, Open Access, Open Data, Socrata, Transparency

If the “geeks” on your team understand all this that’s great. If not, you need to seek out and involve other areas of expertise, starting with people who understand what enhanced data services can do for your target users and the problems you are trying to solve.

Dec 20

Dec 20 Recommendations for Collaborative Management of Government Data Standardization Projects

Dennis D. McDonald

Collaboration, DATA Act, Data, Data Access, Data Conversion, ETL, Project Management, Series S, Standards, Data Program Management

Standardizing how the U.S. government collects, manages, and publishes budget and expenditure data, as required by the DATA Act currently before the U.S. Congress, is an example of a long-term and complex project. It will be require careful planning, management, and sufficient resources to be successful.

Dec 13
Dec 13 Scoping Out the ‘Total Cost of Standardization’ in Federal Financial Reporting

Dennis D. McDonald

Cost Analysis, Costs, Data, Data Access, Data Conversion, ETL, Project Management, Series S, Standards

The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) making its way through the US Congress regarding Federal financial reporting has several implications:

Dec 9

Dec 9 How Important Is ‘Total Cost of Standardization’ to the DATA Act?

Dennis D. McDonald

DATA Act, Data, Data Access, Data Conversion, ETL, Open Data, Policy, Project Management, Series S, Standards, Strategy, eGovernment, Data Governance

Last week I attended a meeting in DC sponsored by the Data Transparency Coalition, PwC, and Intel. Representatives of the Federal agencies likely to manage implementation of the evolving DATA Act presented their thoughts on implementing the Act’s requirements for standardizing and reporting on Federal financial data.

Dec 6
Dec 6 The Knight Foundation's Civic Tech Report: "Open Government" Expenditures

Dennis D. McDonald

Data, Data Access, Local, Metrics, Open Data, Research

The Knight Foundation’s report The Emergence of Civic Tech: Investments in a Growing Field has some very intersting data on the investments in “open government” and “open data” that it refers to overall as “civic technology.”

Dec 3
Dec 3 Can Meat-and-Potatoes “Big Data” Help Detroit?

Dennis D. McDonald

Big Data, Data, Data Access, Detroit, Local, Open Data, Policy

Necessity is the “mother of invention” and a place like Detroit needs all the invention it can get. Perhaps better and more disruptive access to basic data that drives service improvement could be an important element in Detroit’s recovery.

Nov 26

Nov 26 Making Open Data Accessible Inside the Firewall

Dennis D. McDonald

Accessibility, Best Practices, Big Data, Data, Data Access, Governance, Open Data, Project Management, Transparency

Balance between control and autonomy will be critical and will vary by program size, complexity, structure, and maturity. Also critical will be how external and internal users of related data resources are supported when important distinctions related to privacy and security need to be maintained.

Nov 5
Nov 5 Questions About Google and Local Government Data

Dennis D. McDonald

Advertising, Data, Data Access, Google, Local, Open Data, Transparency

Given the increasing importance of localization and access via mobile platforms it makes sense for Google to extend its reach for data to index into the potential treasure trove of local governments.

Oct 10

Oct 10 How To Make Datathons and Hackathons Sustainable

Dennis D. McDonald

Agile, Appathon, Best Practices, Big Data, Data, Data Access, Datathon, Definitions, Governance, Hackathon, Metrics, Open Data, Project Management, Statistics, sustainability, Innovation

What’s a “datathon”? Here’s one suggested definition from NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge:

Oct 7

Oct 7 Planning for Big Data: Lessons Learned from Large Energy Utility Projects

Dennis D. McDonald

BDPM, Big Data, Complexity, Data, Data Access, Knowledge Transfer, List_AR, Project Management, Strategy, Data Program Management

What can we learn from working with large energy utilities and their data that will help others plan and manage “big data” projects?

Sep 16

Sep 16 When Does a Public Data Good Become a Private Data Resource?

Dennis D. McDonald

Accessibility, Big Data, Business Models, Copyright, Costs, Data, Data Access, , Governance, Policy, Transparency, eGovernment

It may be that the greatest challenge facing private entrepreneurs in developing new and valuable information products and services based at least partially on public data will be public resistance to paying for information, no matter how new, innovative, or unique these producrts or services are.

Sep 4

Sep 4 Meetings and the Limits of Government Transparency

Dennis D. McDonald

Data, Data Access, Metrics, NSA, Performance, Privacy, Transparency

The title of this article is “Meetings and the Limits of Government Transparency.” No, I’m not writing about NSA, Snowden, or national security. I’m writing about some government staff meetings and how open they should be to the public.

Jul 28

Jul 28 Perspectives on the NSA and PRISM: What Dyson Missed

Dennis D. McDonald

Accountability, Analytics, Data, Data Access, Democracy, Media, Memory, NSA, PRISM, Privacy, Semantic Web, Snowden, Transparency, Cold War

In NSA: The Decision Problem George Dyson lays out a credible historical view on why he thinks what Snowden revealed about the NSA and PRISM was inevitable. While it’s certainly a pleasure to read a discussion of these issues that is so thoughtful, I think he misses one major theme that helps us understand our current predicament over what to do about Snowden.

Mar 21

Mar 21 Learning from the World Bank’s “Big Data” Exploration Weekend

Dennis D. McDonald

Best Practices, Big Data, Collaboration, Data, Data Access, List05, Statistics, Transparency

If you’re serious about data analysis there’s probably no substitute for getting “down and dirty” with real, live, messy data. Sometimes you just have to sift through the numbers with your “bare hands” if you really want to extract meaning from descriptive statistics, predictive models, and fancy visualizations.

Feb 20

Feb 20 Transparently Speaking, Are Bad Data Better than No Data At All?

Dennis D. McDonald

ARRA, Big Data, Data, Data Conversion, ETL, Legislation, Standards, Transparency, eGovernment

I’ve been researching government program transparency and the hype surrounding “big data.” Given OMB’s recent statement of support for improving access to accurate Federal spending data I’ve also been giving some thought to what improved access might actually mean, based on my own experience with data conversion and consolidation projects.

Feb 11
Feb 11 What Will Forrester's 'Top 15 Emerging Technologies' Mean to You?

Dennis D. McDonald

Big Data, Change, Data, Data Conversion, Data Web, Forrester, Future, Industry Analysis, Knowledge Management, Statistics, Transparency

In Forrester’s Top 15 Emerging Technologies To Watch: Now to 2018, Brian Hopkins provides a peek at the results of an online survey conducted in 2012 to answer a question about what respondents feel the most “disruptive” technologies will be.

Jan 11
Jan 11 Better Online Data Access and Visualization May Not Be Enough

Dennis D. McDonald

Accessibility, Data, Data Access, Media, Transparency, Web, eGovernment

Our ability to store and provide access to vast amounts of information is growing. We need to focus on how such information is to be used most efficiently and most effectively. At the same time, through careful planning and design we must avoid the expense of developing and supporting systems and websites that people do not or cannot use. In these times of fiscal austerity such an outcome would be inexcusable.