Open data scorecards are SeeClickFix for government data websites.
Let’s say you are interested in finding out how much money Christie spent getting elected Governor of NJ? After some Googling, you probably find the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission website and the section with public filings and campaign reports.
But wait! No RSS feed? No feed opportunities of any kind? Great work with the full data download as csv though. Reach for an open data scorecard and rate what’s there and what is missing. The scorecard uses the Sebastapol Eight open data principles, phrased to make applying them to a website easy - access restrictions? recent data? feeds? machine readable files? Click click click submit.
Maybe you are more interested in the Nassau Executive race. The Board of Elections site doesn’t offer any data - “filings are open to public inspection” only means that printed copies can be viewed. Time for another scorecard!
The scorecard website aggregates all the results, showing the cumulative build-up of issues with any single site. And everything is republished through an API, so others can build tools from the scorecard ratings - making State of Data overviews easy.
Open Data Scorecards: aggregating the data smarts of the crowd, and letting frustrated data searchers express their displeasure, all for the common good.
