Lobbying.ph: web app to track local lobbying relaunches with new data under Philadelphia Public Interest Information Network

Who’s lobbying whom?

Lobbying.ph can answer that for you.

Originally developed as part of last February’s Code Across America hackathon where it won first place and now relaunched as part of the Philadelphia Public Interest Information Network (PPIIN), Lobbying.ph is a web app that visualizes lobbying action in Philadelphia.

Check out the tool here.

Lobbying.ph uses data collected by the city’s Ethics Board as per a recent law that requires lobbyists to register with the city and file quarterly reports detailing their expenses.

Developer and PPIIN contractor Casey Thomas recently revamped the tool after the city released new lobbying data. Thomas was part of the original four-person team that created the app during the hackathon.

What’s next for the web app?

Thomas has a bunch of ideas.

Aside from more visualizations with the data, he’d like to create pages for each city official, so it’s easy to see who’s being lobbied. He’s also considering creating pages for newsworthy issues that surround lobbying action (say, Mayor Michael Nutter’s proposed soda tax) in order to provide more context. Those pages would summarize the issue and link to news coverage.

Learn more about Lobbying.ph on Newsworks.