The pledge by the Obama administration to provide greater government transparency will rely heavily on the Internet to enable better public participation in our democracy. Greater openness largely revolves around web-based tools that broaden access to government data and research, while allowing comment and even citizen collaboration. The democratization of data is a key outcome of this pledge, with implications for greater citizen involvement.

Geospatial visualization provides a unique means to break through barriers between government agencies and across geographies to foster a more efficient bureaucracy. The ability to drill down into our own states and communities with detailed data about government programs and the state of the economy can provide a clarifying vision for action where action is needed most.

Transparency and Accountability

By viewing all government data geographically, we can see clearly and comprehensively how federal dollars are being spent. The idea for a unifying map to collect and display government information is important for a standardized representation and the ability to compare data from different locations. Geovisualization of government action, correlated to a project or threat, does a great deal to provide public assurance that their government is acting on their behalf.

This week’s scare of a swine flu pandemic has provided a call from many quarters for open data regarding such health threats. The availability of real-time information for this outbreak, along with details on the government’s reactions, could prove to be a great service in allaying public fears, and improving the response.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is another example where geospatial visualization could provide reassurances, and spur more efficient action. There’s ongoing discussions this week* about the information technology tools to make this process more efficient and inclusive. Some of the more popular topics relate to geographic visualization.

Transparency allows us to see through many levels of data control and administration, and allows citizens to make their own conclusions based on their own interpretations. With the erosion of newspapers, there is a declining investigative body to hold government accountable. By making data openly available, and by providing easy tools to visualize and analyze data, our government can foster trust, and gain insight into their own effectiveness by opening the tools of oversight to outside entities.

Exposing Inconsistencies

Funds allocated by the federal government for entitlement or “pork barrel” spending are largely hidden in the minutia of bills. There’s increasing pressure to do away with these pet projects, and what better way to expose and limit their use than to put them on a map.

What would we learn if we compared campaign finance records with maps of projects in a congressional district? Would politics as usual go away if a correlation was made between contributions and influence, and the award of projects to those that helped fund the campaign?

Campaign finance records are public record and have been mapped this election year by such sites as OpenSecrets.org. It would be an interesting exercise to combine this detail with local projects and local influence to correlate if and how government business can be bought.

Cataloging Priorities

Given the enormous amount of investment that’s necessary to rebuild and repair aging infrastructure, a national system to catalog and prioritize that infrastructure seems like a prudent first investment. While the decision on what infrastructure to repair is a local one, the idea to combine needs into one central system would give federal lawmakers a better sense of policy priorities.

GIS has long been an asset management tool that is applied to the maintenance, repair and replacement of infrastructure in such industries as electric, gas and water utilities. The tools are in place to catalog and evaluate large amounts of geographically distributed infrastructure elements, and to identify weaknesses, prioritize replacement, and apply cost/benefit analysis.

The funds from the stimulus plan (ARRA) are already mostly allocated by state and local entities, and projects are underway. These projects could form the foundation of a system that could track our performance on these projects, and could then be applied to all of the other inventory that’s in need of repair or replacement.

Ultimately, the role of transparency is to provide a public measurement of success, and assurance of government efficiency. It’s not enough to release reams of information in spreadsheets and tabular reports that can’t be collated and compared. This information must be in standardized databases and consistent formats for visualization and analysis that’s meaningful and effective.

Moving toward a more transparent government is a bold move that breaks down a myriad of institutional barriers. Similarly GIS breaks down barriers between data from disparate sources to be viewed and analyzed via a map interface. When enacting transparency, let’s be certain that visualization of our data becomes a lasting benefit.

References

* The National Dialogue, A public forum for the use of IT for Recovery.gov (search GIS for various ideas)

Democratizing Data, The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center

Weaving a National Map: Review of the U.S. Geological Survey Concept of the National Map, The National Academies Press, 2003

Add Mapping and Geographic Analysis to Recovery.Gov, ESRI site with video and additional details

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• The Dynamic Duo of Data and Dimensions