http://openplans.org/focus/os-government/ The Open Planning Project TOPP Open and effective digital democracy To work with software-developer and advocacy communities to create technology and media that supports a smarter, more open, and livable society Direct Cost Savings Open source software comes without licensing fees, so you can always use the full version for free. With open source, governments around the world could save tens of billions of dollars every year. Open source vendors earn money based on feature enhancements and support contracts. As a platform matures, current and future users can adopt the enhanced versions at no cost. Freedom from Vendor Lock-In With access to the software’s source code, the software user is free to choose any vendor for ongoing support and feature enhancement. This freedom helps the user better control cost, quality, and project timelines. Interoperable Data Systems With control of your software’s source code, you can demand support of open standards, which make it easier to share data seamlessly between systems and agencies. Interoperability means agencies can work together to better coordinate a range of government functions, from sidewalk maintenance to disaster response. Best Practice Sharing Best-in-class transit planning software is great – if you can afford it. With a robust open source solution, every city and town could adopt the best decision-making tools available, at little to no cost. Civic Empowerment Sharing public information – like water quality readings, school performance, or zoning permits - should be easy and inexpensive. With public records online in universally accessible formats, citizens can comment, derive value, and take action in their own communities. Open platforms can provide citizens with unprecedented access to data while saving agencies from the overhead of offline information requests. Virtuous Cycle An open source community is a public resource: whenever one member builds a new feature or improves an existing one, everyone benefits. This process is self-propelling. As products mature, they attract more users and development and trigger a virtuous cycle of open source development. With just a tiny fraction of current technology investments, we could create an open digital infrastructure that met every conceivable public-sector need. This ‘government in a box’ would be a free, flexible resource to countries around the world. 1 Open Geo Make geospatial information more open: available, accessible, and useful on compelling platforms. 1.1 GeoWeb Provide enterprises with supported, tested, and integrated open source solutions to build the GeoWeb. 1.2 Developers Support open source communities by employing key developers of PostGIS, GeoServer, and OpenLayers. 1.3 Consulting Services Provide successful consulting services and products to clients like Google, Tri-Met, Landgate, and the Open Geospatial Consortium. 1.4 Empowerment Empower people to effect real change. We believe open and accessible information empowers people to effect real change. The processes and success of the open source software movement inspire us to build a GeoWeb that can be an infrastructure for public good. 1.5 Software Build software that meets and exceeds the desires of clients, because our market success proves the value of our work. 2 Civic Technology Works on civic technology initiatives 2.1 Livable Streets Provide free, open source, web-based, resources to citizens working to create a greener economy, address climate change, reduce oil dependence, alleviate traffic congestion, and provide better access to good jobs in healthy communities. With the majority of the world's 6.5 billion human beings now living in cities, building healthy, livable and affordable urban environments is critical to the mission of today's global environmental movement. The Livable Streets Initiative is an online community for people working to create sustainable cities through sensible urban planning, design, and transportation policy. We provide free, open source, web-based, resources to citizens working to create a greener economy, address climate change, reduce oil dependence, alleviate traffic congestion, and provide better access to good jobs in healthy communities. We believe that people make a city great. Yet, so many of the world's great cities dedicate too much of their precious, limited public space - their streets - to motor vehicles rather than people. We are working to redesign our communities around public transportation and walkable, bikeable streets. We are transforming parking lots into public plazas, busy intersections into town squares, and congested highways into bike paths. We are taking back our cities, one street at a time. We invite you to join us! 2.2 Community Almanac Provide a site where you and your community share stories about the heart & soul of the place you live. It's a lasting record of the place you love—the place you call home. Anyone can contribute! And it's free! Just find your community on the map and start adding to its almanac—written stories, photos, videos—anything you'd like to share. If your community has no almanac yet, simply find your city or town on the map and add a page. Your new almanac will be created automatically. 2.3 GothamSchools.org Provide an independent news source about the New York City public schools. We seek to correct an unfortunate confluence of events: The movement to improve urban schools is reaching a peak of energy while the journalism industry is crumbling. That means that both the achievements and challenges of the movement risk escaping the healthy scrutiny of a vibrant press corps. In our Newsroom, we publish daily news and analysis about school politics, policy, and research. Commentary and diaries from participants in the school system, from educators to parents to researchers, can be found in our Community section. 3 Open 311 Facilitate an international effort to build open interoperable systems that allow citizens to more directly interact with their cities. Many 311 systems provide a broad range of information and services, but currently the primary focus here is coordinating a standardized, open-access, read/write model for citizens to report non-emergency issues.