Open Data Coordinators

About Open Data Coordinators

Each Agency must designate one of its employees as the Agency’s Open Data Coordinator (ODC). Each ODC will act as the coordinator of open data efforts for that Agency, and have the following responsibilities:

  • Identify and enable the delivery of data sets to the Open Data portal;
  • Develop the Agency portions of the citywide compliance report;
  • Liaise with the Open Data team at the Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI);
  • Address feedback from the public for the Agency’s public data sets; and
  • Perform public outreach and presentations with the aim of increasing strategic use of the City’s data sets.

The ODC should be excited about government transparency, well-networked within their agency, deeply familiar with the agency’s business practices, and fluent with data.

 

 

Resources and Guidelines

General References

Technical Standards Manual (PDF): The Technical Standards Manual (TSM) defines the citywide open data policies and standards. Last updated May 2023.

Open Data Automation Guidelines.pdf: Guidelines on whether datasets can feasibly be automated. Last updated April 2018.

Open Data Plan Dashboard: This tool shows an overview of NYC Open Data at the City, Agency, and dataset level – including datasets that are due to be published or updated. Continuously updated.

Open Data Plan Tracker: Itemized dataset publishing schedule. Continuously updated.

Open Data Asset Inventory: Itemized dataset with all of NYC Open Data’s inventory of current data assets on www.nyc.gov/opendata. Continuously updated.

Open Data Coordinators Listing: Dataset containing the name of the Open Data Coordinator for each agency and office. Updated annually.

FOIL Reporting Guidelines.pdf: Local Law 7 of 2016 and Local Law 247 of 2017 mandate that agency records officers review responses to FOIL requests for datasets that may be eligible for NYC Open Data and report the results. These guidelines include the relevant text from the NYC Admin. Code and define “public dataset.” Last updated April 2018.

DATA PUBLICATION and DOCUMENTATION RESOURCES

Open Data Dictionary Template.xlsx: Metadata template for individual datasets. All datasets require a plain-language data dictionary.

Open Data Collections Data Dictionary Template.xlsx: Metadata template for Data Collections. A Data Collection consists of multiple datasets related to each other through primary and foreign keys. Only one metadata template needs to be filled out for the entire Collection.

Data Quality Standards and Review Process: A checklist used by the NYC Open Data Team and Open Data Coordinators to ensure that datasets are high quality and readily usable.

Glossary of Terms: A list of standard definitions for fields that appear in a number of NYC Open Data sets; you can pull from these standard definitions when developing new metadata for your data dictionary.

Questionnaire: A set of questions to help you start thinking about the type of information you will need to gather for your data dictionary.

Process Map Worksheet: A tool for helping you to map out the programs, policies, and agency structures behind the dataset; this will help suss out metadata that you will need to write about in your data dictionary.

Community Engagement Workshop Template: An exercise you can conduct with the public, to gather feedback on how well your data dictionary is meeting their needs.

Annual Reporting documents

2023 Open Data Annual Report Workbook (XLSX): ODCs should follow the instructions in this workbook to satisfy their agency’s 2023 Open Data annual reporting requirements. Last updated May 18, 2023.

2023 Open Data Annotated Sample Workbook (XLSX): This sample workbook contains some example entries, and annotations on best practices to adhere to and bad practices to avoid when filling out the Open Data Annual Report Workbook (see above). Last updated May 18, 2023.

2023 Open Data Annual Report General Counsel Certification (PDF): Each agency is required to have their General Counsel or legal representative certify the accuracy and completeness of their workbook. Last updated May 18, 2023.

Getting Ready for your Agency’s Annual Open Data Report (PDF): A primer on how to prepare for the Open Data Annual Reporting process. Last updated May 17, 2023.

Open Data Week

Learn more about NYC’s Open Data Week Festival (PDF): Read about Open Data Week and how your agency can get involved. Last updated October 30, 2023.

Other documents

Open Data Help Desk (Screendoor) Onboarding.pdf: This document outlines what the NYC Open Data Help Desk system is and provides guidelines on how to use the software (Screendoor) in addition to guidance on how to respond to the public and use pre-filled templates.

Open Data Help Desk (Screendoor) Policies.pdf: This document outlines customer service response time policies for Open Data Coordinators.

Removing a Dataset from the Portal.pdf: Process and guidelines on removing an existing data asset from the Open Data Portal. Last updated February 2018.

NYC Open Data Legislative Requirements.xlsx: Detailed description of each piece of relevant Open Data legislation, required data standards, and timeline for compliance. Last updated June 2017.

Self-Publishing Guidelines (PDF): An overview for agencies that want to publish or automate their own datasets. This includes information on how to obtain self-publishing access, self-publishing guidance, and links to technical resources. Last updated May 2023.

Department of Education (DOE) Data Publishing Instructions.pdf: Data publishing processes for DOE data owners.

What is City Data?.docx: High-level overview of public datasets and best practices for publishing data on the Open Data Portal. Last updated July 2017.

ODC Training Materials

On May 14, 2020, all Open Data Coordinators attended a mandatory training session to update them on business processes, legal standards, and best practices. A playlist of these trainings is available here.

On March 1 and 2, 2018, all Open Data Coordinators attended mandatory trainings to onboard to the NYC Open Data platform, business processes, legal standards, and values. Slides from each section of the trainings are below:

 

For ODCs: Contact the NYC Open Data Team

Report on your agency’s Open Data work:
Request a service:

We are finalizing an updated form for dataset removal requests, trainings, and other services. For now, please contact the Open Data Team directly at [email protected]