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<!doctype html>
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<title>DC Community Resources Data: The Solution.</title>
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<h1>DC Community Resources Data</h1>
<p>(Formerly DC Open 211)</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="/communityresources/solution.html">Read about <strong>Our Plan</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="http://meetup.com/cfabrigade/Washington-DC/">Code for DC <strong>Join Us</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="http://opendatadc.org/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id=81d74b9f-6793-469a-b47d-a097d8ca3a86">View <strong>Our Data</strong></a></li>
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<h3>
<a name="solution-header" class="anchor" href="#solution-header"><span class="octicon octicon-link"></span></a>DC Community Resources Data: The Solution.</h3>
<p>Through a cross-sector, multi-stakeholder collaboration, the DC Community Resource Data working group has merged multiple local service directories into one comprehensive database that includes all of the non-profit agencies and public services in the District of Columbia. (This database is hosted on the Open Data DC catalog -- <a href="http://opendatadc.org/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id=81d74b9f-6793-469a-b47d-a097d8ca3a86">you can access it here</a>.)</p>
<p>Rather than trying to build the ‘Right Application’ to serve this directory, we believe that a truly effective solution must instead establish this service data as <i>a commons</i>—a cooperatively shared resource, accessible by an ecosystem of community stakeholders and applications. </p>
<p>We can do this by making the directory openly available via an Application Programming Interface (API) that enables external programs to access the data. This will make it much easier for anyone to develop a directory service specifically designed for their community’s particular needs. By integrating the data commons into an ecology of stakeholders, we can also distribute the challenge of keeping the data up to date.
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<h3>
<a name="path-forward" class="anchor" href="#path-forward"><span class="octicon octicon-link"></span></a>A Path Forward.</h3>
<p><strong>1) Establish a common data pool</strong> by merging multiple local databases into a single consolidated file in which each organization is assigned a unique ID. <strong>We have already accomplished this step!</strong> <a href="http://opendatadc.org/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id=81d74b9f-6793-469a-b47d-a097d8ca3a86">The data is available here</a>.</p>
<p><strong>2) Apply an “open” taxonomy</strong> to organize the common data pool. Currently, our consolidated directory lacks an established order for its entries (almost all information-and-referral systems currently use the 211/AIRS taxonomy, which is proprietary, so it cannot be used in an open environment). We may be able to use <a href="http://openeligibility.org">OpenEligibility.org</a>, an open source social service taxonomy that has just recently been published. If deemed viable, this <em>open taxonomy</em> would be a common standard through which different applications could share the same "map" of the local service universe.</p>
<p><strong>3) Establish cooperative agreements</strong> for the sustained viability of the common data pool. This step could potentially entail the formation of a “data coop”: a membership organization offering premium services to all local entities for a fee or a commitment of time for data management. <em>See <a href="http://datacommons.find.coop/vision">this recent example of a "data coop" organization.</a></em></p>
<p><strong>4) Demo through a variety of applications</strong>, such as the mobile <a href="https://github.com/open211">Open211</a> project; service-oriented software for case managers and social workers like <a href="http://auntbertha.org">Aunt Bertha</a>; a <a href="http://districtcommons.org">LocalWiki</a> that serves the structured data alongside unstructured space for users to contribute tacit knowledge; etc.</p>
<p><strong>5) Engage users in participation</strong>, through an accompanying set of social programs, anchored in various community spaces and designed for various levels of skills and purposes. For instance: resource mapping projects in social service agencies and civic associations; digital literacy training through "wiki parties" at libraries; and “hackathons" that can bring users, developers, and social workers together to build tools that access the common data pool.</p>
<p>By sharing an open, common directory of DC’s community resources, we can greatly improve access to critical services; in the long run, we can enhance our collective capacity to understand and make decisions about how resources are allocated in our communities.</p>
<h3>
<a name="how-to-get-involved" class="anchor" href="#how-to-get-involved"><span class="octicon octicon-link"></span></a>How to get involved.</h3>
<p>The DC Community Resource Data working group is an ad hoc table of people and organizations interested in solving this problem together. You should join us! We are looking for community leaders, health and social workers, data geeks, and anyone who wants to learn about how these things work and how we can make them better. <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!members/dcresourceplatform">Join our Google group email list here.</a> <a href="http://meetup.com/cfabrigade/Washington-DC/">Join the Code for DC Meetup here.</a></p>
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