Delaware planning massive state-data website open to the public
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Want to find restaurant inspection reports, high school graduation rates or a licensed dentist all in the same place?
Delaware Governor Jack Markell is announcing plans for an all-in-one website that will host the massive amounts of state-held data currently spread across a variety of government sites. The new portal will put information on a single website, and in a single format, allowing users to more easily search for relevant information.
James Collins, the state’s Chief Information Officer, says the tool will benefit a range of users.
“People that just monitor what’s happening in government, folks that are interested in transportation data, people that are interested in public health,” he says. “Folks that are considering moving to Delaware and want to understand the quality of life in Delaware.”
All of the databases are already available through public “right to know” requests, and no personal data will be included on the portal.
Collins says the site could be up as early as the end of this year, and could cost as little as $60,000 annually to operate.
“This project is really about transparency and accessing information that belongs to the public,” says Dana Rohrbough, acting manager for the state’s Government Information Center. “You know, state agencies are collecting lots of really interesting information that could be helpful in everyday life.”
The First State could look to Philadelphia’s OpenDataPhilly website for guidance. It has more than 330 databases available for download.
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