Hopefully you do not have to hear about “deflate-gate” anymore now that Super Bowl XLIX is in the books.  The only pressure this post touches on is the increasing pressure on local governments to properly manage data.

With advancements in technology, local governments are spending more time in developing data management policies.  Even a Super Bowl commercial was based on data management. During my four months as an administrative intern in the City of Altoona, Pennsylvania, my main tasks were data management projects, which brought me to the realization that data management is one of the vital tasks of local government.

A quick search on the Internet and the Knowledge Network reveals numerous resources on data management. Here is a list of a few:

1. Alisha Green, former policy associate for Sunlight Foundation, presented on open data policies during the ICMA 100th Annual Conference.  This conference document outlines how open data policies can promote transparency, efficiency, and engagement.
2. This blog post in the #LocalGov Technology Alliance blog summarizes a recent publication on the future of technology in local government by the Florida League of Cities, and a majority of them are data based.
3. In this article, Government Technology provides local governments with 5 tips for getting started in data analytics.
4. Jerry Schulz, from GovHR USA, writes how publishing data should be added to local government managers’ to-do list. 
5. Govloop recently wrote a blog post answering the question: “Is Open Data Worth the Hype?”
6. A local government chief information officer discusses, in this article, that small data management is equally as important as big data management.
7. This blog post discusses the importance of big data in local government.
8. This Government Technology article shows how the city and county governments of Durham, NC use collaboration to deal with the challenges of data management. 
9. ICMA outlines the 5 steps to data-driven management for local government in this article.
10. Robert O’ Neill, ICMA Executive Director, will join other leaders to discuss state and local issues that are driving the nation’s policy agenda in the Outlook 2015 event.  One of the topics will be cutting-edge data management software.

What are some innovative ways your community is managing its data? Is data management the most important task of local government administration? Please post your comments below.

Douglas Shontz

Knowledge Network Intern