Wired and Weird in Austin – Transparency Gains Momentum

The Austin community has long indicated an interest in the city’s use of technology. 2009 saw the formation of "Open Austin," made up of citizens who wanted to help the city use technology more efficiently. Motivated in part by the city’s stalled website redesign project, the crowdsourcing group soon turned its focus toward helping the city become more transparent.

“For us, having that community involvement and interest has been the jet fuel that has helped us move forward,” said Matthew Esquibel, IT division manager over Internet services and applications for Austin. Several projects now exist, providing evidence of this forward motion.

In December 2011, Autin launched its open data portal. Located at data.austintexas.gov, the site has grown from 25 data sets initially, to where it stands today, nearing the 200 mark. Spanning multiple city departments, the site features many types of information, including restaurant inspection data, watershed information, fire station locations and crime stats.

By Noelle Knell

Full Story: http://www.govtech.com/wireless/Wired-and-Weird-in-Austin.html

Inteneo Systems – We take care of the technology and preparing the information in standardized formats challenges. http://www.inteneosystems.com 406-531-8119