An open API for all government functions would be a transformative achievement, and Tim O'Reilly and Chris Vein have been working to make it a reality. In this free-flowing Q and A format, Chris Vein shares his experience as CIO for San Fransisco--building IT as a platform for the 21st century city. Vein and O'Reilly discuss their front line experiences in government data with an audience of location-based developers at the O'Reilly where2.0 conference.
Driven by budget constraints, cities are looking at their rich store of data to see if they can spark private developer involvement. Vein's department has released 130 public data sets, including crime data, transportation schedules, health and parks data. Privately developed apps offer information services the city can't provide. Chris Vein delves into the nuts and bolts of delivering city data to the people. His office is trying to get San Fransisco to simplify, to become more nimble and better able to react to public needs.
Vein explains that half the apps involve transportation data; the second most popular subject for apps is crime. These apps help the public to understand and anticipate trends so they can make decisions such as buying real estate. While civic minded developers step up quickly to fill some of the public's needs, more complex applications go beyond simple pothole reporting kinds of apps. Example: Cycle Tracks has started to collect data from citizens in an effort to improve services for bike riders.
Tim O'Reilly, host of the Gov 2.0 Summit as well, sees cities that release public data experiencing reduced FOIA impacts. He suggests that an API is also a design structure developers use to interact with the city. O'Reilly discusses what he calls Government as a Platform. Refering to Blaise Aguera y Arca's comparison of a platform and apps to a trellis and grapes--O'Reilly asks Vein for his take on public/private partnerships. They explore harnessing the profit motive, encouraging private developers to offer city-management applications. Chris Vein agrees that governments might be an untapped market for developers.
Chris Vein has been CIO for the city and county of San Fransisco since 2005, managing a budget over $6 billion. Recognized for both his vision and his ability to move the gears of bureaucracy to get things done, Vein also works to bridge the digital divide--extending free internet access to disadvantaged neighborhoods. His mentions and accolades include Top 25: Dreamers, Doers, and Drivers (Government Technology Magazine:2010), San Francisco’s tech zeitgeist (Computerworld Magazine:2008), and Community Broadband Visionary of the Year (National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors: 2009). In 2010, the Economist magazine covered Vein's response to a 50% reduction in operating funds due to the budget crisis. This recognition has not dimmed Vein's zeal for real-time feedback from the end-users of San Fransisco's open public data.
Tim O'Reilly is CEO of O’Reilly Media, Inc., reputed to be best computer and information technologies publisher in the world. O’Reilly Media hosts conferences on open source, government data and internet technologies. Tim is an advocate for the technical community and a key figure in the development of the computer industry and free software. In 2010, Inc. Magazine called O'Reilly Silicon Valley's leading intellectual, an entrepreneur who sees business as a profound way of of exploring and changing the world.
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