Government agencies can be a goldmine of valuable data – if the miners (i.e., researchers and publishers) know where to find the sources and if they have the know-how to take raw data and turn it into accessible and actionable data. I wrote on this topic in 2011 when ‘data liberaçion’ was an emerging hot topic.
Fortunately, there has been progress in promoting the need for transparency & accessibility of data—for researchers and consumers, notably in healthcare. Still, identifying and accessing government data continues to be a time-consuming challenge.
I’m happy to report on important progress in making public health data more accessible. HealthDataViz, a health data design and visualization firm, working with the NYC DOHMH, has redesigned their public health data portal to include dynamic query, new data visualization tools and more. Read the full press release on the relaunched website here: http://www.healthdataviz.com/2019/11/05/healthdataviz-completes-enhancements-for-new-york-city-dept-of-health-mental-hygiene-website/