Part 3: Create Engagement and Buzz

Announcing your open data or performance analytics program to the public is the key to generating interest and awareness.

City Activities

If your city has the resources and capacity, you may choose to host an event or series of events to promote your open data or performance analytics efforts in conjunction with your announcement. The following examples illustrate the range of activities that cities have done to promote their initiatives

When the city council of Tacoma, WA passed an open data/analytics resolution in February 2016, it actively engaged the local media. The city’s open data portal had been active since 2014, but this action was newsworthy because it promoted the codification of the city’s commitment to open data and analytics. Resulting press coverage included an article on StateScoop.

Following a successful training session in March 2016 that Denver, CO developed in collaboration with GovEx, the City blogged about it on the Denver Peak Academy website. The training on inferential statistics for city analysts was a two-day session lead by members of Denver’s Peak team. Their blog post includes sample data visualizations and quotes from training participants praising the session.

The city of Seattle, WA held a public event in conjunction with the mayor signing an executive order creating an open data policy in March 2016. The City invited residents who were already utilizing public data to create innovative solutions to speak at the event. The presenters included local software developers and technologists, university students developing apps using open data, and representatives from nonprofit organizations and citizen groups.

In San Jose, CA, local business leaders were invited to a free catered lunch event in December 2015 to learn about the city’s soon-to-be launched open data policy and platform. The City’s Chief Information Officer, Vijay Sammeta, made a presentation about open data and attendees were encouraged to give feedback and ask questions. Attendees learned about how and where to locate data such as city zoning regulations, traffic patterns and pedestrian safety, and issuance of small business permits. The session was widely marketed and the electronic event invitation clearly stated “Please note: you do NOT need to be a technical person to attend! This session is relevant to you if your business wants to get, share, or coordinate information with the City.”

Other promotional activities that can be implemented by your city include:

• Community hackathon event: Hackathons are a popular type of gathering where programmers and designers build applications over a short period of time and sometimes compete for a top prize. Cities and local groups can host hackathons to bring the community together and demonstrate how to use and access data resources to build projects that are useful for residents or address a community need.
• Info booth or kiosk: Set up an info booth or computer kiosk in the lobby of city hall or the library so residents can access the data. If feasible, staff the booth with a member of the open data or performance analytics team during set hours.
• Informational videos: Record and broadcast informational and/or “how to” videos on YouTube or community access TV.
• Virtual (online) ribbon cutting: Host a virtual ribbon cutting or launch event via Facebook or Twitter. Encourage attendees to post or tweet about the new initiative.
• Scavenger hunt: Invite the community to visit your website and search for clues to solve a puzzle.

Coordination with Local Partners

In conjunction with the White House Police Data Initiative, in May 2015, the city of Indianapolis, IN, launched Project Comport during a public launch event hosted by the city’s Open Indy Brigade. The Open Indy Brigade is a collaborative group representing the area’s technology sector, nonprofits, and public policy makers. The event included presentations by Indianapolis Public Safety Director Dr. David Wantz and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Major David Robinson, who gave an overview of the program and discussed its value. Residents who attended had the opportunity to build some initial dashboards to utilize the data. Following the event, photos were posted online.

In March 2016, St. Paul, MN, collaborated with the Open Twin Cities second annual Geo:Code event to collect public feedback on its open data portal. Open Twin Cities is a community group representing champions of open government and civic technology. Through a partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Usability Services, the event provided the opportunity for participants to use and provide feedback on a variety of local government websites. The event was promoted as “... an opportunity to make public technologies better by telling the creators and maintainers of tools what it’s actually like to use their technologies.” The event, which was held on a Saturday, was free and open to everyone in the community.

Tie in with National Events

If you are able to plan your launch activities to coincide with Open Data Day or another nationally publicized day, you may be able to capitalize on the media interest and generate more attention for your program. Such events include:

International Open Data Day

Open Data Day is a gathering of residents in cities around the world to write applications, liberate data, create visualizations, and publish analyses using open public data to show support for and encourage the adoption of open data policies by the world's local, regional and national governments. http://opendataday.org/

Sunshine Week

Sunshine Week is often used by the media to draw attention to create a dialog regarding access to government information. Generally, Sunshine Week takes place in mid-March. http://sunshineweek.rcfp.org/about-sw/

National Day of Civic Hacking

National Day of Civic Hacking is a nationwide day of action where developers, government employees, designers, journalists, data scientists, nonprofit employees, UX designers, and residents who care about their communities come together to host civic tech events leveraging their skills to help their community. http://hackforchange.org/

Code for America’s Code Across

CodeAcross is a weekend of civic hacking events hosted by nodes of the Code for America network around the world. It is timed to coincide with International Open Data Day. The goal of CodeAcross is to activate the Code for America network and inspire residents everywhere to get actively involved in their community. https://www.codeforamerica.org/events/codeacross-2016/