Open Access Philly group sends Nutter letter urging administration to use existing open data resources

Open Access Philly, the public-private partnership and network focused on issues like digital access and open data, publicly offered advice to the Nutter administration last week.

In a letter of support and thanks, members of the Open Access Philly community asked the city to take advantage of the existing open data resources when it comes to creating the city’s new Open Data Portal. With the new city Open Data Executive Order, it might seem that the OpenAccessPhilly group is trying to assess what role they might play.

From the letter:

From a service perspective, the Executive Order seeks to primarily
(a) share information and (b) support public participation &
interaction. With existing, fully-operational services like
OpenDataPhilly, PhillyInFocus, Change By Us and ConnectPhilly, we
have the product resources and existing communities available to
help you launch the innovative Open Government Portal through a
modular, collaborative approach rather than building a new portal
from scratch.

Check out the whole letter here.

The letter was signed by community members like Indy Hall’s Alex Hillman, Azavea’s Robert Cheetham and Jarvus’ Chris Alfano and John Fazio.

Paul Wright of consulting firm Beyond Frequency sent the letter, and he said he was quite pleased with the timing.