New Partnership Harnesses Big Data for Citizen Engagement
Initiatives to harness Big Data to serve the public good are gaining momentum with increased partnerships and financial support. In the spirit of “Data for the Greater Good,” Civic Impulse is joining with LegiNation to exchange data that will provide individuals, advocacy groups, businesses and legislative professionals access to information to better engage with government. GovTrack.us, a 2006 Webby Award nominee, is a tool by Civic Impulse, which helps the public monitor activities in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures, promoting and innovating government transparency and civic education through novel uses of technology. LegiNation developed BillTrack50 a tool that tracks state bills. will exchange information with open government technology company Civic Impulse, developer of the federal legislative monitoring tool GovTrack.
LegiNation President, Karen Suhaka suggests the combined data provides a clearer perspective of the national political landscape, making it is easier to identify state and federal policy trends. Interested citizens can access federal and state bills via http://www.billtrack50.com and http://www.govtrack.us. The sites show bill text, status, and summaries through a Google-esque word search or using specific information like legislator names or bill numbers. Users can also access tools to stay current with legislative activity. LegiNation and Civic Impulse aim to enhance analysis of how ideas in government spread.
President of Civic Impulse, Joshua Tauberer, authored Open Government Data: The Book, which considers the open government data movement as “the application of Big Data to civics.” Tauberer believes the partnership with LegiNation offers citizens greater government involvement and influence: “Citizens are far more savvy about their government and more interested in participating in it than most people realize. Apathy is a myth. But what they need are better tools to participate effectively and efficiently.”
Suhaka notes: “People who are frustrated with Congress must look at the possibility of successful engagement at the state level. Making this data available to the public and to cost-conscious legislative professionals encourages everyone, not just moneyed interests, to make their voice heard in government.”
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