Esri Helps Government Agencies Meet New Open Data Law Requirements

REDLANDS, Calif.—January 29, 2019—Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, applauds the enactment of the federal Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act. Title II of this new law, the Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act, sets a presumption that all government information should be open data by default—machine readable and freely reusable. Esri's ArcGIS Hub open data solution enables government customers to more easily and efficiently comply with new policies outlined in the law, as well as engage the public and share important information with stakeholders for better communication and decision-making.

Federal agencies using ArcGIS Hub can share data in open formats with only a few clicks and feed those data catalogs directly to data.gov, the government-wide website supported in the bill. For example, agencies that are in charge of emergency management are able to use ArcGIS Hub to better respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes. Apps and dashboards help responders identify vulnerable population areas, locate resources like shelters and hospitals, and visualize where and when routes to these resources are accessible in real time.
"When authoritative data is unencumbered and interoperable, it enables effective and efficient government programs that save lives and money," said Dr. Jill Saligoe-Simmel, Esri product manager for spatial data infrastructure. "Esri supports the OPEN Government Data Act—combined with the recently passed Geospatial Data Act—as an essential component to modern spatial data infrastructures."

ArcGIS Hub online portals enable government agencies to direct their open data to deepen citizen engagement with apps, data, events, and meaningful collaboration that is focused on specific civic initiatives. ArcGIS Hub lets citizens, businesses, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) take advantage of their governments' spatial analytics capabilities to collaborate and turn data-driven goals into policy.

Over 4,000 organizations have enabled open data through ArcGIS Hub, including 84 US federal agencies and 9 tribal governments. To learn more about how federal government organizations are using ArcGIS Hub to comply with the OPEN Government Data Act, visit go.esri.com/arcgishub-for-federal-government.