A Clearinghouse of City Data
The DataRoc is a public clearinghouse of information maintained by the City of Rochester. DataRoc feature more than 100 datasets produced by analysts and staff across City departments. These include historical assessment records, bikeshare statistics, nuisance points by property and much more. DataRoc also centralizes data that is available online, like the RPD Open Data Portal, and provides links to related external public content.
How to explore City data
DataRoc features different ways to engage with and access City data for users. The primary options include:
- Applications – which may house one or many data sets and which allow users to easily manipulate and explore that data;
- Web Maps – pre-made spatial visualizations of relevant community features that allow users to either explore or enter specific addresses to understand information about a specific site;
- Story Maps – collections of maps, data, and other information presented visually with guiding text that aid in helping users understand the data, and;
- Data Sets – easy to search and download raw data sets for users to create their own analyses.
Bloomberg What Works Cities
The development of this portal is part of the City’s effort to gain certification in the Bloomberg What Works Cities program, a national standard of excellence for well-managed, data-driven local government. Data Roc represents a step towards the completion of the program’s Open Data requirements.
The Benefits of Data
Cities across the nation are reaping the benefits of open data portals. Open data portals help customers access government data on demand – reducing the need for open records requests. Open data portals also help build trust and accountability between the local government and citizens by increasing the public’s understanding of what their local government does and the data it uses to make decisions.
Area universities, think tanks, and other interested stakeholders often use public data to gain a deeper understanding of issues, which leads to innovative solutions. Finally, community based organizations also gain quick access to a variety of tools and data, increasing their ability to leverage data for decision making and grant writing.
Future Plans
DataRoc will continue to evolve. The initial focus is to centralize applications that currently reside on the City’s website and make their associated data sets available for download. Over time, new applications, stories and data sets will be released, guided in part by public feedback and requests. Non-spatial data, like policy documents and key performance indicators, will be made available as well.