PART 4 - Analysis of Toronto's Open Government Progress Report

(Above: Screen capture of a section of the Toronto Dashboard)

“They know the words, but they don’t know the music.” - Jimmy Hoffa, 1992 Hoffa, Twentieth Century Fox

This is Part 4 of a series that examines the newly released Toronto City Clerk Open Government progress report. Please keep in mind that the premise for this analysis is that while the City of Toronto does know the principles of Open Government, they do not truly understand its spirit.

For this section I tried to quick-fire a number of things that provide context to statements made in the progress report.

32 NEW DATA SETS PUBLISHED IN 2015
Toronto's Open Data Portal launched in 2009 and to date has a total of 217 data sets. That means the city averages approximate 31 new data sets per year.

Toronto Mayor John Tory made an ambitious election promise to double open data sets every year for the next ten years. Counting backwards, it means that at the time of his win there were approximately 146 data sets in Toronto's Open Data Portal. I now ask you to follow me down the Math Road...

• October 2014, the date Mayor Tory won the election: 146 open data sets
• Multiplied by 2 (doubling from that point forward) bringing us to Oct. 2015
• Multiplied by 1.75 (we're approximate 3/4 through his second term)
• Gives us: 532 total open data sets
• Now, subtract 217 (total open data sets now) from that number.

That means Toronto's Open Data Portal is behind by 297 open data sets. Meanwhile, as of today, the City of Edmonton has 933 open data sets (New York City has over 1500). I feel it is important to also mention that both the Toronto and & Edmonton Open Data Portals launched roughly at the same time.

TORONTO DASHBOARD
This is great! I mean, I am actually floored! For the last few years I have been using the Edmonton Citizen Dashboard as an example of an Open Data application that is not transit. Who knew that I could have used Toronto as an example?

And that is the problem. I have been working on Open Government & Open Data in Toronto for the last five years and I only learned about this now, which means I doubt many Torontonians are aware of its existence. Also, I do not believe the Toronto Dashboard is used by journalists or bloggers to write stories (like they do with DineSafeTO, which oddly enough, is not mentioned in the progress report).

To help clarify my point I offer you an old adage with a modern twist: If an Open Government tool is created in a forest and no one knows about it. Is it still an engagement tool?

BIG DATA INNOVATION
While Big Data in itself is not Open Government, I applaud the city for reaching out and engaging with so many stakeholders. I am not sure of the impact, or how those stakeholders view these efforts, but Open Government is about the public service doing things differently and going out in the "Real World" and this is what they have done here.

This is right-in-line with the Open Government spirit and I can only hope the City uses this framework for other initiatives.

WELLBEING TORONTO
This is a beautiful tool and it is very much in-line with the spirit of Open Government. There's just one problem: It was released in late 2011 and Toronto's Open Government Committee was created in early 2013.

Aside from the fact that this tool is more than four-years-old, it is a shaky argument that Toronto Wellbeing was created due to an official Open Government mandate issued by Toronto's City Clerk. However, I will gladly stand corrected if I am able to find evidence stating otherwise.

OPEN CITIES INDEX
On Page 8 of the progress report there is a blurb stating that Toronto ranks 2nd only to Edmonton on the Canadian Open Cities Index. Rounding out the Top 5 are Surrey, Ottawa, and London.

Let's keep in mind that Toronto has also been ranked as the World's best city to live in. That Toronto is a major international technology centre. That Toronto is a place where people can prosper. While I congratulate Surrey, Ottawa, and London, for their tremendous accomplishments, odds are they will not be found aforementioned rankings.

With this kind of pedigree, it is expected that Toronto be a Canadian leader in Open Government & Open Data.

PROTECTION OF PRIVACY
Forewarning: It was very painful and difficult to keep my objectivity while writing this section.

The City of Toronto felt the need to highlight in its Open Government progress report that it is it is committed to protecting privacy as part of its Open Government initiative. What they fail to mention is that in 1990 the Province of Ontario passed the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. In other words, the City of Toronto believes that not breaking a law that has been in existence for atleast 26 years is Open Government.

It is not, and it certainly is not the spirit of Open Government. If it were then you could make an argument that elections are an example of Open Government. That not embezzling tax payer dollars is an example of Open Government. That issuing permits is... etc.

TORONTO DEMOGRAPHIC PORTAL & PROGRESS PORTAL
This is another example of publishing data online without any planning for engagement or outreach.

The pages are buried inside www.toronto.ca, the interface is rather uninviting, and just about every document is a PDF. What makes matters worse is that once you open a PDF you will find valuable information presented in a very digestible way. But, the vast majority of people will never know about it because it is stuffed in a corner somewhere. Heck, the cookie trail alone is six clicks.

I assume that many of these PDFs can be found in Toronto's Open Data portal as Open Data sets. Thing is, there is nothing linking those PDFs to the Open Data sets. Not only that, but the "Ward Health Profiles" asks people to email or call to get a copy.

However, I will admit that pages come as top results when you search the terms on a search engine. Even DuckDuckGo had no problems. But, I was also using the exact terminology used in the Open Government progress report.

BONUS
In Part 3 I mentioned that Toronto's Open Government Committee is closed to the public and meeting agendas/minutes are not published. I also mentioned that Guelph had an Open Government that includes both citizens and Senior Management. We can now add another city to the list: Maple Ridge, B.C.