Open data for open Government

A transatlantic partnership between Seattle-based Socrata Partners  and UK based Ethos is looking to combine the former’s SaaS-delivered  open government, open data, and open performance solutions with the latter’s `Smart City’ solutions to deliver an open performance solution specifically designed to create measurable outcomes for cities and municipalities in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe.

This is expected to enable government organisations of all sizes to solve real-world problems associated with most aspects of governance. Target sectors already identified are transportation, health, energy, citizen services, and spending transparency. The partners expect there to be more opportunities in future.

The solution includes an open data portal, government apps, performance measurement and implementation, and support services – all delivered on Socrata’s secure cloud platform.

Cities and other government organisations using the solution are expected to achieve significant benefits. For example, it is expected to improve the lives of the citizens they serve in ways that go far beyond creating government `transparency.’ This should include access to better health care, providing information about air quality and recreational services, access to real-time parking information and other `smart-car’ services, lower crime through real-time street light monitoring and other open data-sensory technologies.

It is also expected to provide goal-based governance through performance measurement to increase efficiency and deliver financial and electoral transparency, lowering of the cost of IT spending through a cloud-based, fully online solution that minimises the need for long-term contracts and professional services engagements, and the delivery of real-time data to citizens when they need it and in the context by which they can most easily consume it – via apps, maps, and online dashboards, fed by open data.

Socrata sees a massive opportunity of data-driven governing and decision-making in the public sector, both in the UK and throughout Europe. The relationship with Ethos is because the company believes strategic partnerships are the best way to offer Socrata’s open data platform to government organisations globally.

“Having achieved significant market adoption for our platform and cloud-based solutions at state and local governments throughout the United States, we believe Ethos and its ‘Smart City’ approach to creating meaningful outcomes for UK cities, councils, boroughs and ministries across the UK perfectly complements Socrata,” said Socrata CEO and Founder Kevin Merritt. “Ethos brings the culture, credibility, and local connections Socrata has sought in a UK-based partner. We look forward to partnering with Ethos to increase the impact opening government data in actionable ways can have on government in the UK and beyond.”

The partnership also directly supports a number of UK government open data initiatives, including the UK Government’s Open Data Strategy, the Department for Innovation and Skills Industrial Strategy, and the recent Cabinet Office National Information Infrastructure initiative.

One of the key outcomes of the partnership is to increase access to, and real-time availability of, all open data and make it available to innovators – such as computer engineers, academics, researchers, and entrepreneurs - through common application programming interfaces (APIs). With open data more easily and readily available, these `consumers’ of open data will be able to accelerate their own goals, projects and business ventures.

An increase in open data availability and standard consumption policy and practices means the creation of new approaches, jobs, social services, and new products and services that can be used to solve challenges in cities and other government organisations.