Data.gov needs some “Tough Love” if it’s to be successful
I just finished commenting on Data.gov on the NIEM LinkedIn Group and thought I would share what I wrote here on my blog.
I just finished watching a rerun episode of Tough Love on VH1 and I know some of you will think this is a bit odd, but the show led me to some thoughts about how to give the Data.gov project some focus and priority.
You’re probably wondering what Data.gov has to do with eight beautiful women looking for marriage and long-lasting love, but believe it or not, the show and Data.gov have a lot in common.
In this particular episode of the show, the “boot camp” director was focusing on communication skills. He made it very clear to the ladies that communication is very important in making a good first impression with a would be suitor. In the show he counseled the ladies that if they wanted to make a good impression, the ladies would need to:
- Listen carefully to what their date is telling them about what’s important to them;
- Make the conversation about “them” on first contact and avoid bragging about yourself; and
- Resist the urge to reveal too much information about their own respective private lives.
While I will avoid speaking to the validity of this counsel as it applies to love, I would like to suggest that these three rules are also quite relevant in our efforts to have a more transparent, open and collaborative government.
Along these lines, I offer the following three suggestions for Data.gov’s first (transparent, open and collaborative) date with America:
- Ask the public (and Congress) what they specifically want to see on Data.gov and the forthcoming dashboard; all apologies to Aneesh Chopra and Vivek Kundra, but I do not believe (as they spoke in the December 8th webcast) that citizens really care much about things like average airline delay times, visa application wait times, or who visited the Whitehouse yesterday. I particualry suggest they work with Congressional Oversight Committees to make Data.gov a tool that Congress can (and will) use.
- Make Data.gov about demonstrating the good things that Federal agencies do that directly impact the general public. It’s no surprise that most agencies do a poor job of explaining to citizens what they do. I suggest reviving the OMB Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART) Program (which appears to have died on the vine with the new administration) and use the performance measures in the Program Results/Accountability section to better communicate the relevant value these agencies deliver to citizens.
- Focus Data.gov data sources and the desire for openness on the critical few measures and metrics that matter to the public. Avoid the urge to just “get the data posted” – not many people will care about how many kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power the Bureau of Reclamation is counting, how many FOIA requests the Department of Justice received, or the Toxic Release Inventory for the Mariana Islands. Information sharing is most successful when it is directly relevant with the person (or agency)with whom you are sharing.
I’ll let you know if the next episode is as enlightening as this was. 😉
r/Chuck