White House Unveils Action Plan For Gov’t Data Transparency; Steve VanRoekel, Todd Park Comment

The Obama administration has introduced a plan calling for federal agencies to make their datasets publicly available as part of an open government initiative, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday. Shefali Kapadia writes that the White House wants agencies to prioritize the public’s research needs when sharing open data.

“These efforts have helped unlock troves of valuable data — that taxpayers have already paid for — and are making these resources more open and accessible to innovators and the public,” Federal Chief Information Officer Steve VanRoekel and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park said in a joint statement, according to the station.

The General Services Administration will conduct regular tests to assess the Data.gov portal’s usability, according to Kapadia’s article...