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The Federal CIO Council launched the site on Thursday, May 21, which allows access to varous datasets and tools across various executive agencies. Examples of data categories include, business enterprise, education, energy and utilities, population, etc. Once a data set is downloaded it can be accessed in machine readable formats such as XML, Text/CSV, KML/KMZ, Feeds, XLS, or ESRI.
Additionally, the site provides widgets from various agencies including the FBI, CDC, GSA, FEMA, FDA. The FBI for instance, provides a most wanted list, top stories and multimedia in their implementation which enables readers to access the most frequent sections of the FBI site efficiently. Widgets are defined by data.gov as, "interactive virtual tools that provide single-purpose services such as showing the user the latest news, the current weather, the time, a calendar, a dictionary, a map program, a calculator, desktop notes, photo viewers, or even a language translator, among other things."
The purpose of the site is to, " Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. Data.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets. The data catalogs will continue to grow as datasets are added. Federal, Executive Branch data are included in the first version of Data.gov."
Data.gov is part of the Transparency and Open Government initiative which calls for increased collaboration between citizens and the government. In a memorandum dated January 21, 2009 president Obama states, "Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector. Executive departments and agencies should solicit public feedback to assess and improve their level of collaboration and to identify new opportunities for cooperation."
Sites such as data.gov and others in the government network have opened a path to transparency and collaboration as never before. Citizens now have the opportunity to review and react on government policies based on authorative information found directly from the source.
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