Civic News

State software should be able to produce open data: Bill Ferguson

Different departments collect and maintain data using different software, which means it's difficult to collate state government data in an efficient and comprehensible manner.

Entrance to 20 Jay St Finding a place to lock up a bike in Dumbo can be challenging. Photo by Brady Dale, 9/12/13

Under consideration now in the 2014 Maryland General Assembly is an Open Data Policy that would do two things: codify what state government data ought to be publicly available, and create a Council on Open Data to ensure that such data is made public.
Technical.ly Baltimore interviewed the state senator behind the bill, Bill Ferguson, a Democrat representing Southeast Baltimore city.
One important provision of Ferguson’s bill was highlighted this week by WYPR: a procurement policy that requires that software and computer systems purchased by state government in the future are capable of producing machine-readable information. That is, data available in tabular format that could be easily parsed through using Microsoft Excel or similar computer programs.
Why is that important? As Ferguson mentioned in our interview and during his Wednesday interview on WYPR, state-level data is inconsistent across government agencies. Different departments collect and maintain data using different software, which means it’s difficult to collate state government data in an efficient and comprehensible manner.
Listen to the full WYPR interview here.

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

The person charged in the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting had a ton of tech connections

From rejection to innovation: How I built a tool to beat AI hiring algorithms at their own game

Where are the country’s most vibrant tech and startup communities?

Where small business supports shine — and fail — in Baltimore 

Technically Media