Tonight the City of Vancouver took home the top prize from the BC Business Annual Innovators Awards for the open data initiative, described as a “hands down” favourite from a prestigious panel of judges comprised of top innovators from diverse industries and diverse communities around the province.
It was a huge honour and the first time a government has taken home #1 Innovator. It puts Vancouver in the company of the most cutting edge private sector companies in the province, and indeed the world, as BC is an innovative engine on the planet.
While it was gratifying to get the award for the work the city has done opening up government and information in Vancouver, what was most amazing was seeing how this effort has changed the way business looks at municipal government in Vancouver. In the words of BC Business magazine:
“our experts were unanimous in their view that the city’s open-data initiative – which aims to make the city’s vast trove of data publicly available online – is a true breakthrough. As one panellist noted, “I have never seen a municipality open to new ideas in my life. When was the last time any level of government said, Here are our books; fill your boots?”
Of course, the true heros in the open data effort are city staff, who have embraced the policy change and worked tirelessly to move the culture of the city to support open data initiatives across the length and width of our city operations.
And the true results are felt on the ground in communities by residents and community groups who can spend their energy working for change in their neighbourhoods, not trying to get the data they need to do that work.
Thanks are due to everyone involved in the initiative but special thanks go to David Eaves, a leading open government light and big support in getting Vancouver’s policy off the ground, as well as Mayor Gregor Robertson. It’s not every day, or even every decade, you get a Mayor that’s willing to support you in jumping off the “policy cliff” with a truly innovative project like the open data initiative. By taking that risk, Vancouver has built a foundation for 21st century government that shows the potential of what opening up data and government can accomplish for residents and the city.
