The Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), within the District of Columbia (DC) government, manages the District’s data program. This includes open data, business intelligence, data curation, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The open data handbook explains the process and steps the OCTO data program undertakes when an agency submits an open dataset. More importantly, the handbook documents dataset rules, metadata requirements, and policies to make data consistent and standardized. This applies to any dataset submitted for publication on DC’s open data portal.

The CDO annual report documents accomplishments and the Enterprise Dataset Inventory results of the previous calendar year. It assess current progress and shares the District's progress with Open Data and the Data Policy. This is the District of Columbia’s Chief Data Officer’s Annual Report produced within the of context the draft strategic plan for the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO). The Draft Technology Strategic Plan for DC: Unleashing the Possible, though still a draft, is providing direction and clarity to the agency, the District government, and the Chief Data Officer (CDO) program. OCTO is building on a strong foundation and expanding services to help DC Government by providing agencies opportunities to share, store and analyze data to uncover insights to improve services for residents; and the development of this plan has brought renewed energy and mission to OCTO, thus “unleashing the possible.”

The CDO annual report documents accomplishments and the Enterprise Dataset Inventory results of the previous calendar year. It assess current progress and shares the District's progress with Open Data and the Data Policy. Since last year’s report, I was privileged to spend most of my work time serving as the Interim Chief Technology Officer of the District of Columbia, as well as Chief Data Officer. OCTO is a unique and special agency, with a breadth of responsibility that runs from complex statewide applications for sophisticated customers like the Department of Motor Vehicles to hyper-local hands-on tech support in the public schools. That acknowledged, I’d like to thank Mayor Muriel Bowser for trusting me to run the agency that has shaped much of my career, and thanks also to our newly appointed CTO, Lindsey Parker, for diving right into data and open government efforts and supporting our team.

The open data handbook explains the process and steps the OCTO data program undertakes when an agency submits an open dataset. The handbook documents dataset rules, metadata requirements, and policies to make data consistent and standardized.

The CDO annual report documents accomplishments and the Enterprise Dataset Inventory results of the previous calendar year. It assess current progress and shares the District's progress with Open Data and the Data Policy. Mayor Bowser is “making our local government one of the most accessible systems in the country.” To that end, the Mayor issued Executive Order 2017-115, District of Columbia Data Policy, on April 27, 2017, with the stated goal of leading the District of Columbia government toward more open and efficient use and sharing of government data. The policy established these principles acknowledging the value of data to the District and the inherent need to balance openness with other concerns:,

A comprehensive data policy for the District of Columbia government. The data created and managed by the District government are valuable assets and are independent of the information systems in which the data reside.

,On this site the District of Columbia government shares opportunities to explore hundreds of datasets through direct downloads, interactive applications and developer resources through APIs. Engage with the District through government open data.,,

,The Government of the District of Columbia continues its strategic investment in data as a critical asset to support the government, residents, and businesses of Washington, D.C. These investments have proven to be invaluable for Mayoral initiatives, data driven decision making, increasing transparency, and more efficient use and sharing of government data. Making data better through technology, processes, and people, alongside policy, has allowed the District Government to work more cohesively when collecting, integrating, analyzing, and governing its data. This results in improving how the government delivers valuable District services for residents.,In 2024, our data programs continued to provide high value in the city's effort to enhance and improve digital services for District agencies, residents, and businesses including:,,

Amendment. A comprehensive data policy for the District of Columbia government. The data created and managed by the District government are valuable assets and are independent of the information systems in which the data reside.

,The Government of the District of Columbia continues its strategic investment in enterprise data. These investments have proven to be critical in supporting mayoral initiatives, data driven decision making for District Government agency missions, increasing transparency and the more efficient use and sharing of government data. Through the use of both policy and tools, the District Government has been able to work more cohesively to collect, integrate, analyze, and govern its data to deliver valuable services.,In 2023, we achieved some great successes with our data programs and continue to provide data as part of the city's effort to enhance and improve digital services to District agencies, residents, and businesses. We focused on growing our data strategy to support the way agencies can utilize data sharing and governance frameworks to guide their projects to successful outcomes. We have been thoughtful about how we approach the use of generative artificial intelligence, balancing the need for guidance on the associated risks of utilizing tools and solutions with this technology against the benefits of how it can improve government services and the lives of residents and businesses. These tools and solutions are often only as good as the underlying data that powers the models behind them and therefore we know high quality data is key to the implementation of effective generative AI. We continue to work towards closing the digital divide through our efforts to promote access and affordable broadband across the city. Our data helped us inform the true landscape of the divide and as a result will provide the city with resources to support those who lack the use of what today is considered a technology of necessity. We have formed new partnerships with District agencies for programs around the city where data becomes the backbone for the successful outcomes of these programs.,