BATON ROUGE, LA – Jan. 28, 2021 – Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome released the City-Parish’s 2020 Open Data Policy Report Wednesday. The report outlines key successes in open data over the past year, and plans for expansion in 2021. The Metro Council received the report as required by the City-Parish’s Open Data Policy during the January 27 regular meeting. 

“Each year, I am proud to share all that we accomplish in furthering our commitment to data and transparency; however, this year’s successes in open data in the face of a global pandemic are truly impressive and continue to position our open data program as a national leader,” said Mayor Broome. “From our focus on transparency through our award-winning Open Data BR and EBRGIS programs to how we use dashboards and databases to drive efficient and effective decisions, data is increasingly at the core of all we do in City-Parish government.”

In late 2017, Mayor Broome and the Metro Council unanimously adopted the City-Parish’s Open Data Policy that for the first time established an “open by default” mandate for all City-Parish data. Since then, an interdepartmental Data Governance Committee consisting of representatives from all City-Parish departments has met quarterly to support the ongoing release of key datasets while collaborating to identify new opportunities to advance the City-Parish’s open data initiative.

In 2020, the City-Parish released nine new datasets ranging from grease trap permits to mosquito and rodent service requests while introducing new information or appending records to numerous existing datasets, including updated land cover statistics for the parish’s microwatersheds and adding data fields to City-Parish address and property information involving multifamily complexes or developments.

The report further outlines the City-Parish’s use of data to guide its pandemic response efforts, engage with the public through its inaugural Citizen Data Academy, spur more efficient daily operations in key functions like the City-Parish herbicide spraying program, and drive more-robust analysis of public safety data through the City-Parish’s Public Safety Common Operational Platform.

In acknowledging the City-Parish’s continued progress and successes in open data, the U.S. Open Data Census, an online database managed by the Open Knowledge Foundation and Sunlight Foundation, ranks Baton Rouge sixth in the U.S. for its open data program, alongside leading cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.

To view the 2020 Open Data Policy Report, click here. For more information on the City-Parish’s open data and transparency initiatives, visit brla.gov/transparency.