W3C Guide on How to Publish Government Data on the Web

9 September 2009 Geoff Zeiss

I just came across an interesting guide for publishing government data on the web from the W3C eGovernment Interest Group (W3C eGov Interest Group).  These folks are interested in improving government transparency through better use of the Web such as open Web standards. The W3C eGov Interest Group has developed practical guidelines that encourage the use of standards and methodologies to make accessing government data easier and more transparent.

Choose the Right Format for the Data

Publish data in machine readable and human readable form using established open standards. The primary format for human-readable data is (X)HTML.  The W3C has pioneered XML and RDF because RDF and XML files can be accessed like industry standard tools like XQuery and JavaScript.

Expose Interfaces

Since all web documents using (X)HTML, XML and RDF can be used as a ReSTful API, users can create Web applications and mash-ups that use the datasets and link back to the authoritative version on the government web site.

Publish Restrictions on the Use of the Data

It’s important to document intellectual property rights associated with the data. There are defined standards for copyright and licensing such as the OdBL and Creative Commons licenses.

Thanks to Jason Birch whose Tweet pointed me to this.
Geoff Zeiss

Geoff Zeiss

Geoff Zeiss has more than 20 years experience in the geospatial software industry and 15 years experience developing enterprise geospatial solutions for the utilities, communications, and public works industries. His particular interests include the convergence of BIM, CAD, geospatial, and 3D. In recognition of his efforts to evangelize geospatial in vertical industries such as utilities and construction, Geoff received the Geospatial Ambassador Award at Geospatial World Forum 2014. Currently Geoff is Principal at Between the Poles, a thought leadership consulting firm. From 2001 to 2012 Geoff was Director of Utility Industry Program at Autodesk Inc, where he was responsible for thought leadership for the utility industry program. From 1999 to 2001 he was Director of Enterprise Software Development at Autodesk. He received one of ten annual global technology awards in 2004 from Oracle Corporation for technical innovation and leadership in the use of Oracle. Prior to Autodesk Geoff was Director of Product Development at VISION* Solutions. VISION* Solutions is credited with pioneering relational spatial data management, CAD/GIS integration, and long transactions (data versioning) in the utility, communications, and public works industries. Geoff is a frequent speaker at geospatial and utility events around the world including Geospatial World Forum, Where 2.0, MundoGeo Connect (Brazil), Middle East Spatial Geospatial Forum, India Geospatial Forum, Location Intelligence, Asia Geospatial Forum, and GITA events in US, Japan and Australia. Geoff received Speaker Excellence Awards at GITA 2007-2009.

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