6.2. Providing for Reuse and Innovation

Making government data public should always include putting it online, where it is more available and useful to citizens than in any other medium. But deciding that certain data should be published online is the beginning, not the end, of an important series of choices.

All publishing is not equal—instead, the way data is formatted and delivered makes a big difference. Public sector leaders interested in supporting this trend should look for the formats and approaches that best enable robust and diverse third-party reuse. Such a publishing strategy is powerful because it allows citizens themselves to decide how best to interact with civic data. Government-produced reports, charts, and analyses can be very valuable, but it is essential to also publish the underlying data itself in a computer-friendly format that makes it easy for the vibrant community of civic technologists to make and share a broad range of tools for public engagement.