The Data Governance Committee developed a set of principles to meet the commitments under the Open Data Ordinance (Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances I.VII §162) to make data publicly available. The Data Service standard is aligned to the 3-year Data Strategy to empower partners with the data resources needed to create a more resilient and vibrant Pittsburgh.
Data is available as a service when the City provides sustainable and equitable access to data published for a purpose. The primary goal of the Data Service Standard is to support decision makers and innovators inside and outside the public sector with sustainable and equitable access to open data. Publishing data with a purpose ensures a focus on users, the problems they need to solve, and provides context to them about the data released by the City.
The Committee interviewed open data partners to build a comprehensive framework for the storage and developed the following principles:
- Publish Data with a Purpose
- Understand the User, the Problem They Need to Solve, and Context
- Make Information Accessible by Everyone
- Communicate Clearly
- Be Accountable and Transparent
- Intentionally Choose Tools and Technology
- Create Shared Outcome-Centered Vision
- Build Intentional Relationships
- Operate Reliably
- Create Opportunities for More - and More Creative - Uses of Data
These principles guide the City’s work of making data open via our partnership with the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center and Allegheny County. The City uses the principles to work with our partners to build meaningful collaborations via open data, including with the Affordable Housing Preservation Data Working Group to better identify code violations on subsidized housing and publishing, and the Department of Finance, the Department of City Planning (DCP), and with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to share data on City-owned properties from city systems to assist disposition planning.
Read the Full Data Services Standard