9: Action Steps to Improve Transparency

Proactively push more and better data out to the public.

Other Information:

The ability of agencies to proactively push more and better data out to the public is a part of the changing expectations of public service. We believe that the data we collect is done so on behalf of the public and are committed to making more and better data available for public use. We will make historic data available where possible given existing legal barriers and without causing an undue cost or resource burden. This process must also actively involve input and feedback from the public to help in the prioritization of historical data. The way that the public perceives the value of our information – and the impact that releasing it may have – will be a primary driver in our efforts to improve transparency. As a part of our data prioritization, we encourage the public to provide feedback and submit requests for additional data through the various existing channels outlined on our Open Government Page (www.dol.gov/open). Moving forward, our expectation is that ALL the data we collect – while taking all measures to protect personally identifiable information as well as any governing legal constraints such as the Privacy Act, the Trade Secrets Act and the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act – will be made public online and in downloadable formats. Accordingly, our agencies will plan internal resources, grants, contracts, and budgets to support the ongoing publication of data. Over time, this will encompass adopting standardized clauses (e.g., for contracts and other legal instruments and documents) and operational practices that articulate a preference or need for underlying raw data to be provided in a structured, machine readable format. Such clauses and practices would also state our intentions to release to the public information on grant and contract outcomes, to the extent permitted by legal and security requirements. Despite our expectation of providing on-line access to data, personal-level data like that found in workers’ compensation files, will not be disclosed in such a manner. Our initial data inventory will be updated on a quarterly basis and a summary will be posted online. A full list of DOL’s data collection projects is available at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. To facilitate this process, without causing an undue burden on existing resources, we have identified the following principles to prioritize data. Our highest priority will be data which: 1. Advances one or more of the Department’s five strategic goals: • To prepare workers for good jobs and ensure fair compensation; • To ensure workplaces are safe and healthy; • To assure fair and high quality work-life environments; • To secure health benefits and, for those not working, provide income security; and • To foster fair working conditions in the global marketplace. 2. Responds to the needs of an identified audience and inspires new forms of citizen engagement. 3. Provides new insight into Department activities because the dataset was previously unpublished, previously unavailable online, or previously unavailable in a bulk machine-processable format. 4. Enables third party civic innovation by conforming to established data best practices: • Primary—exposes the underlying raw source data not aggregate statistics. • Structured—available in a machine-processable format such as XML, CSV or other. • Timely—includes the most recent data available and is updated on a regular basis. • Usable—provides an understandable description of the dataset and its context and makes available the data schema and other relevant metadata. • Complete—includes all collected data of this type as described, except where constrained by privacy or legal barriers.

Stakeholder(s):

• The Public

Objective(s):

9.1: Inventory

9.2: Newly Available Datasets

9.3: New Formats

9.4: Language

9.5: Systems and Tools Analysis

Content