Possibly “the largest index of government data in the world” will be made public next month, a transparency advocacy group said Friday.
Comprehensive lists that show what information federal agencies hold, called Enterprise Data Inventories, will be released, according to the Sunlight Foundation. The decision follows a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the open-government advocacy group more than a year ago.
“We view this release as a significant victory for the open government and open data movement,” the Sunlight Foundation said in a blog post. “Rather than wondering what data the government has, we are all now in the position of policing how completely agencies are indexing their data, deciding what to publish and determining why some data cannot be public.”
Construction of the data inventories began following President Obama’s 2013 executive order to make such information more open. The lists are intended to help agencies “develop a clear and comprehensive understanding of what data assets they posses,” according to guidelines.
OMB initially told the Sunlight Foundation that they had to request the lists from each agency individually, despite the fact that the office collects the inventories across government on a quarterly basis. OMB decided to release the information after the advocacy group filed an administrative appeal and was preparing a lawsuit.
“Having access to a detailed index of agencies’ data is a key step in aiding the use and utility of government data,” the Sunlight Foundation said. “By publicly describing almost all data the government has in an index, the Enterprise Data Inventories should empower IT management, FOIA requestors and oversight — by government officials and citizens alike.”
Agencies must submit their updated data inventories by Feb. 28. OMB told the Sunlight Foundation they could receive the information as soon as three days following.
