The City of Pittsburgh passed its Open Data Ordinance in 2014, codifying open data releases into law. In 2015, it began making data open through the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC) in partnership with Allegheny County and the University of Pittsburgh. In 2022 the City established the Data Governance Committee to carry out the responsibilities of the Open Data Ordinance and improve data management. Each department is responsible for assigning the role of Data Coordinator to lead inventorying, serve on Open Data Committee and make inputs to policy. The Data Governance Committee is responsible for producing an Open Data Catalogue (comprehensive department-wide inventory of data) and an annual Open Data Report. Additionally, the committee meets quarterly to review policy and provide updates on data catalog efforts and data initiatives, such as: open data releases, the Data Justice Project, training opportunities, and other shared projects.

The City continues to publish Open Data via the WPRDC, with 126 data sets currently published. This Open Data Report provides a listing of data sets that have been added recently, those that are no longer updating, and anticipated future releases. The City regularly collaborates with the WPRDC and City Departments to identify datasets to be made open. We receive requests for open data via the WPRDC and engage with community user groups to identify new opportunities for open data use. It decides what data to make open according to the principles outlined in its Data Service Standard.

The Open Data Report is an effort to improve the use of the City’s open data, document changes to data made open, and identify innovative uses of data. First produced in 2017, the City will generate an annual report with the re-launch of the 2024 Open Data Report.