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New data portal gives access to City performance
Posted on 02/02/2018
Mayor Jim Strickland and the City’s Office of Performance Management has launched data.memphistn.gov, a new digital presence where citizens can access data about how the City is serving Memphians. Strickland also issued an executive order formalizing the City’s commitment to open data and creating a data governance committee that will implement this new open data program in the years to come.
“Memphians deserve an open and honest government they trust, and when I ran for mayor, I promised that I would measure results of how we’re performing, share those results with the public, and hold the City accountable,” Strickland said. “The new data.memphistn.gov, coupled with this executive order to do more when it comes to data, are even more tangible steps in that direction.”
At the site, citizens can access performance data related to more than thirty City functions — items such as 911 call answer time, Fire Department response time, Memphis Animal Services euthanasia statistics, and Code Enforcement requests. This is the same data that Strickland and his staff members use on a daily basis to guide government decisions and investments.
The mayor’s executive order empowers a data governance committee to establish practices for City divisions to handle data and prioritize the public sharing of the data. The committee will include representatives from the Division of Information Services, the Office of Performance Management (OPM), the Office of Communications, the Division of Law and the Chief Operating Officer’s office. It will also include a minimum of two citizen representatives.
The City partnered with What Works Cities and the Sunlight Foundation to craft the executive order, which is rooted in best practices for transparent municipal governments across the country. Working with the Sunlight Foundation, the City sought resident input on the executive order by posting a draft online for public comment and reaching out to likely users of civic data for more detailed feedback.
“We are excited about the appetite for civic data, and we look forward to engaging with user groups across the city as we build our open data program,” said Craig Hodge of the Office of Performance Management. “Moving forward, OPM and Chief Information Officer Mike Rodriguez will be conducting outreach efforts to educate the public on this program and collect feedback on what data is most important to citizens.”
Said Strickland: “This new site and my executive order are proof that we’re comfortable with being held accountable by the public. Our goal is to be the most communicative and transparent administration in City Hall history.”
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