Oregon launches open data portal

Oregon has launched a new open data portal that will let citizens create a customized view of data from state agencies. Visitors will also be able to leave their comments for agencies on the site. Users will be able to interact with state records and leave requests for datasets they would like to see posted. The website is powered by Socrata, a cloud-based platform also used in Washington state.

The site displays information on a wide range of datasets, including state agencies’ expenditures, salaries and contracts. Forty new datasets are also in the testing and evaluation stage. The state will be adding additional data based on the suggestions left by users.

Visitors will be able to post comments to a dataset as well as create their own visualizations and save them to the site. Forums will also be available for visitors to discuss issues. All of the site data will be available in eight different formats to ensure readability. Developers will also have access to any dataset in real time for use in mobile or web applications that rely on government data.

“Our goal is to enable state government to interact more directly with the citizens of Oregon, and this new site is a powerful way to help make that happen,” said Kris Kautz, acting-director of the state Department of Administrative Services. “We want to transform the way government works, and that means making it easy for Oregonians to get information about agencies and offer their views about what they see.”