OMB has announced the release of materials to help agencies make more of their data open and available in machine-readable form.
The guidance – available here: http://project-open-data.github.io/ – covers how to inventory and publish data assets, and includes new FAQs on open data requirements in regard to federal acquisition and grant-making processes, as well as a framework for creating measurable goals that agencies can use to track progress.
For example, according to the guidance, agencies must establish an open data infrastructure that provides a robust and usable enterprise data inventory of an agency’s data assets, incorporate iterative and efficient processes for managing and opening data assets, and create the public data listing as a direct output or subset of the enterprise data inventory.
OMB says the guidance attempts to balance the need to establish clear and meaningful expectations for agencies to meet, while allowing for sufficient flexibility on the individual approach each agency may take.