Last week I was thrilled to learn that Winnipeg is among the top cities for openness, transparency, and access to municipal data! Public Sector Digest recently ranked Winnipeg third in its Open Cities Index, which assesses open data programs in municipalities across North America.
The index includes metrics on how well-resourced programs are, how much support they receive from city staff and council, the kinds of data available to the public, and what sorts of benefits open data has delivered to the city. In 2019 Winnipeg ranked 2nd in Canada for openness, and I’m proud to see that Winnipeg continues to be among the best.
Open data is information available to the public free of charge without restrictions on use, like copyright. Open data operates under the principle that the data gathered on behalf of the people belongs to the people. Winnipeg provides a wealth of information available freely through the City of Winnipeg Open Data Portal, everything from property assessment details, to council meeting minutes, and the location of park benches can be found on the portal.
Having such information available to the public creates a culture of transparency and responsibility at City Hall, and provides important information for all to use. Open data helps create a more open government, ensuring that the information used by government and your elected officials is freely available and sharable by all.
Over 140 different data sets are open and accessible online. You can explore Winnipeg’s Open Data Portal at: https://data.winnipeg.ca
