January 10, 2011 08:10 AM UTC

The Power Of Information To Enable Better Government

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• by: harrydoby

I wanted to share this with our new Governor since I know he’s interested in making government run smoothly and more efficiently.

From an article in this week’s TIME magazine:

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” London Mayor Boris Johnson has proclaimed. And to make good on that declaration, he has opened the door to London’s data vaults through a website called the London Datastore. Open information, Johnson said, gives rise to “a great army of unpaid scrutineers and invigilators” who help keep city politicians aboveboard. But beyond helping watchdogs, the London Datastore has become the source for other websites that have created opportunities for business development and for reducing London’s costs, improving its traffic and generally making life in the city more livable.

Among the many benefits  —  lowering costs and improving services:

Among groups releasing information to the Datastore is the London branch of the U.K.’s National Health Service. In December it started posting nonprivate information comparing the performance of London’s hospitals in an effort to pressure the underachievers. “NHS London wants to become more open and transparent about how it performs. The aim is to drive up quality,” says Dr. Andy Mitchell, NHS London’s medical director.

Talk about Freedom of Information —  I hope this idea catches on around the country!

PS.  David, know any good Colorado-based reporting tools that might make this a snap to implement?  😉