![chase-baker-jtaqpbagwd0-unsplash.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum10826/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/datasmart/files/chase-baker-jtaqpbagwd0-unsplash.jpg?itok=3C3P5cno) # Scaling Down to Scale Up Open Data Isn't Just the Domain of Large Cities April 11, 2013 [ Rachel Burstein ](#rachelburstein) The cover of the Center for Digital Government’s research report, [“Big Data, Big Promise,”](http://forms.erepublic.com/gt-paper-step1-default?r=gt-paper-step2-default&contentID=193280651) features a photograph of Philadelphia’s inaugural Chief Data Officer, and promises governmental leaders “a practical approach for participating in the big data revolution.” The report is full of good ideas for city, state and federal employees who want to use data to create more efficient and responsive governments. But many local government staffers won’t get past the cover. “If Philadelphia is doing it, that means I can’t,” they’ll tell themselves. We heard this repeatedly in our recent survey and interviews of city and county administrators in California about [knowledge sharing and the diffusion of innovation](http://ccip.newamerica.net/publications/policy/the_case_for_strengthening_personal_networks_in_california_local_government). It’s not that city and county leaders don’t know about innovations that are out there. Neither is this a problem of turf. Rather, it derives from the impression that solutions that Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco or Chicago are pursuing are inaccessible to smaller, less well-resourced cities. After all, for the acting city manager who also serves as fire chief, the idea of hiring a Chief Data Officer or establishing an [Office of Innovation](http://www.sfmayor.org/index.aspx?page=643) is a pipe dream. > Staffers in smaller cities often assume or claim that certain types of projects are out of reach. But when it comes to open data, this is not the case. Most municipalities in the United States are closer to the acting city manager/fire chief model than to the [Office of New Urban Mechanics](http://www.newurbanmechanics.org/) model. Even [among cities that have more than 50,000 residents](http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2011/index.html), only 40% have populations of 100,000 or more. And the vast majority of 100,000-plus cities can’t justify budget expenditures on embedded projects to experiment with open data and data analytics in the first place. Instead, many are still wrestling with less ambitious -- if not always less costly -- initiatives: transitioning to a new email system, investigating security options for city servers, developing a new city website, or figuring out if and how to digitize paper documents. Open data, they think? Forget it. It’s no surprise that the [Atlantic Cities’ list of the ten best open data releases of 2012](http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/12/best-open-data-releases-2012/4200/) all come from cities with populations of 300,000 or more. ![chart-vert-city-size-projects-positios.png](/sites/g/files/omnuum10826/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/datasmart/files/chart-vert-city-size-projects-positios.png?itok=1PY20mX_) A survey earlier this year by the National League of Cities in partnership with the Public Technology Institute illustrated the disparity in projects between smaller and larger cities. This is partly a perception problem. Staffers in smaller cities often assume or claim that certain types of projects are out of reach. But when it comes to open data, this is not the case. The truth is that city leaders sometimes use cost objections as cover for their concerns that open data will make their administrations vulnerable. Other types of technological projects may not be costly when compared to eventual payoffs, though promises can be a tough sell to critical elected officials and other higher-ups. This is especially true when efficiencies won’t be realized for some time, and when the initial investment -- additional software and a data scientist, for example -- is substantial. In other cases, though, lightweight approaches developed by others can be deployed without much modification. But even if staffers in smaller cities can be convinced that they, too, can use technology to create greater efficiencies and to positively impact the way that their residents engage with local government, it doesn’t mean that they are able to do so. > We should aim to scale the conversation down from big cities in order to help smaller cities scale up. The conversation around civic technology needs to be scaled down. This isn’t just a matter of developing apps that can be used in any city, floating from Boston to nearby Winthrop, Massachusetts. It is also about framing innovation as a series of steps undertaken in response to local problems. We found that 58% of county and city administrators regarded the ability of a new approach to address existing community need as a very important reason for innovating -- the second most important factor after reducing cost and increasing organizational efficiency on a list of ten motivations. Even if they can be scaled down, solutions developed for a big city in the Northeast or Midwest may not be appropriate for a smaller city in the South or the West whose infrastructure, culture and problems may be very different. Maybe [Adopt a Hydrant](http://adoptahydrant.org/) isn’t what a city in which most residents don’t have home internet access or smartphones needs. New America Foundation: Sharing Knowledge to Spur Civic Innovation Scaling down the conversation around civic technology also involves presenting an innovation process as sequential. Going directly from filing cabinets to big data is too big a leap for most cities. Perhaps a smaller city needs to create a website before it can contemplate putting all its contracts online. Maybe a city without a lot of tech support should use a proprietary tool to advance its open data initiatives, rather than using open source products that require expertise to operate. For their part, smaller cities need to play an active role in considering the role of technologies and techniques like open data and data analytics for the problem that they hope to solve. This means not dismissing all technological solutions out-of-hand, or assuming that lightweight solutions like a new app or a public engagement online platform are enough. If the goal is to attract more community input on a proposed project, then maybe an enhanced social media strategy or an online platform are enough. But if the problem is reducing crime, perhaps an investment in data analytics is the way to go, despite the cost. Even small cities spend lots of money on expensive technologies like legacy systems; this may be the right approach, but such communities should have ways of evaluating the value propositions of technology in relation to what they hope to achieve. And those who’ve already gone through the process of experimenting with these new approaches need to share what they’ve learned in order to help these smaller cities make informed decisions. Those of us in the business of promoting innovation in local government need to present more models for civic innovation that do not come from Boston or Philadelphia or San Francisco. This will help overcome the perception that open data and data analytics are the domain of big cities, and present the real costs of open data and data analytics in relation to the problems that they hope to solve. This means reorienting the conversation around transformative technologies to include leaders of smaller cities, developing approaches appropriate for the community in question, and counteracting knee-jerk reactions to technology. We should aim to scale the conversation down from big cities in order to help smaller cities scale up. ## About the Author ### ![bursteinheadshot.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum10826/files/styles/hwp_1_1__100x100_scale/public/datasmart/files/bursteinheadshot.jpg?itok=Pno2mKXL) Rachel Burstein Rachel Burstein is a Research Associate at the[ New America Foundation](http://newamerica.net/)'s [California Civic Innovation Project](http://ccip.newamerica.net/). See also:- [ Civic Data ](/topics/civic-data) - [ Open Data ](/topics/open-data) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)