What is open data?

Open data is all non-sensitive, public information that is made freely available for public use in an easily readable format. Open data empowers the public to unlock the value of the data. Citizens can develop mobile applications and other tools to use the information in ways which can translate into economic opportunity. The Commonwealth is committed to continue to grow the number of open datasets on the website.

What is data analytics?

In the day to day operations of the Commonwealth, Virginia’s government agencies deal with an increasingly large amount of information. As storage methods have improved, the sheer amount of data has increased to new highs. Institutions need cutting-edge analytic tools to understand what they can learn from their particular data set.

The era of Big Data and Data Analytics has ushered in an exciting wave of new tools and businesses centered on providing meaningful analysis from the endless waves of new data. The Commonwealth can use these analyses to increase ROI of programs and services and improve citizen outcomes by being more data drive and evidenced based in policy and decision making.

Why does it matter for the commonwealth?

Data Analysis is not new for the Commonwealth. The state has already undertaken several initiatives that utilize data analytics, such as the Virginia Longitudinal Data System (VLDS), which has facilitated data analysis on a diverse set of large datasets, including education and workforce development. The Governor’s office is partnering with our universities to bring great data analytic capabilities to our agencies to do more with our data to improve services and outcomes for our citizens.

Below are a few projects underway within the program:

Service delivery analysis for the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, sponsored by the University of Virginia (UVA) -- The interns will continue working to identify factors in communities that contribute to variations in-service allocation and maximize agency investments in services based on community need.

Better use of existing resources for Elections, VCU -- The interns will support Elections in predicting registrar performance, informing allocation decisions by local election officials and better utilizing agency resources to prepare for and implement elections.

Workforce supply and demand for the Virginia Community College System and the Commerce and Trade Secretariat, George Mason University (GMU) and Virginia Tech (VT) -- The interns will support Commonwealth Consortium for Advanced Research and Statistics established under Executive Order 23 to embark on an open jobs data pilot. The goal is to demonstrate how applying the use of open data can lead to increasing the number and quality of matches between job openings and job seekers.

Health Opportunity Index (HOI) modeling for the Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Tech (VT) -- The interns will use advanced analytic and spatial modeling using data from the HOI to examine factors impacting population health in urban communities. This will enhance understanding of how social, economic and environmental conditions impact public health outcomes.

Other projects include the following agencies: Department of Treasury supported by UVA; Virginia Department of Health supported by VT; Department of General Services, and Department of Housing and Community Development supported by VCU.

All of these initiatives and many more show the capacity that data and analytics has to improve efficiency, performance and most importantly, to learn what the Commonwealth can do to best serve her citizens.