local government data

I’m not one for collecting data for the sake of it. I thought the old performance framework for local authorities was debilitating and disempowering. I have to say however this article has me excited about the way data is managed in this US authority – as a means of empowering voters and improving governance. It tells us:

I have worked in the city of San Francisco for many years. To improve what I do, and importantly to increase transparency, I’ve been involved in several open data projects.

The first is the San Francisco government barometer, a tool that measures the city’s performance. This information is presented to the public as an interactive website and in paper form.

It gives residents of the city a better understanding of its management and public businesses. The San Francisco government barometer makes a summary of data across services such as public safety, health and human services, and streets and public works.

The report focuses on a limited number of measures in important government service areas to improve the ease of use and accessibility of government data for the general public. The barometer does not measure satisfaction with government, but rather it aims to increase the public’s confidence in what we do through increased knowledge.

To measure satisfaction with government, the controller’s office performs a bi-annual citizen survey. The purpose of this is to objectively address residents’ use of and satisfaction with various services and determine community priorities, as part of San Francisco’s ongoing planning process.

The survey, like the barometer, is produced as a conventional paper version and a soon-to-be-released interactive website that allows the public and government officials to compare trends of citizen perceptions over time.