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Park, VanRoekel Outline New White House Open Data Policy

A new open data executive order from President Obama accompanies an official policy calling for government data to be "open and accessible by default."

There's big news on the open data front emanating from Washington, D.C., today, according to an official White House blog post. President Obama issued an executive order on open data, and the directive outlines support for making government data "open and accessible by default."

Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel was joined by CTO Todd Park in an announcement on these open data developments (video below). In conjunction with the order, an official open data policy was published by the White House. The policy specifies that government should treat data as a strategic asset, keep it open and interoperable, while also protecting privacy and national security interests.

"Open data holds huge potential for the U.S. -- not only inside government promoting transparency and efficiency, but also for economic value fueling entrepreneurs and innovators to create solutions using government data," VanRoekel said.

Park also emphasized the economic potential of open data to create jobs, foster entrepreurship and grow the economy. "I can't wait to see what American entrepreneurs and innovators will do next with the growing supply of open government data," he said.






Photo: Federal CTO Todd Park and CIO Steven VanRoekel announce a new White House open data policy on May 9, 2013.

Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.