Empowering NYC Communities Through the use of NYC Open Data: Evaluating User Experience and Approach

View the Press Release from Mayor's Office

View the NYC MODA published report

New York City Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics (MODA) was searching for ways to promote their “Open Data for All” vision by supporting the use of Open Data among communities and non-technical users in NYC. To assist with this, MODA asked the Capstone team to identify pain points and barriers that non-technical users face in using the New York City Open Data Portal (ODP) and to give insight into current levels of ODP engagement among such users.

The Capstone team worked with community based organizations (CBOs) as proxies for individual users of the ODP because they operate at the root level within communities throughout the city. The goal was to understand the specific needs of non-civic technology users in order to advise MODA on ways to promote the ODP as a valuable tool among civilians.

The research methodology followed a three-step process including background research and interviews with experts on digital technology, an electronic survey among CBOs in NYC; and phone and face-to-face interviews with select CBOs.

Because studies focused on leveraging and supporting community use of open data by non-technical users is somewhat limited, the Capstone team's research is breaking new ground in its focus on users outside of the tech community. Based on the information gathered through the survey and interviews, NYC municipal data is in high demand but more clarity is required for users of the Open Data Portal.  The Capstone team's recommendations focused on improving aspects of the data available in the portal, the portal interface, and targeted outreach to community members.

The team's main findings are the following:

• CBOs expressed general uncertainty in the accuracy or “cleanliness” of the data on the portal;

• “Lack of appropriate data” was identified as the number one obstacle to using the open data portal.

• Interviewees felt that the user interface was complicated and that tools for finding and analyzing data were not obvious to a novice; 

• Community groups see enormous potential benefits of open data and so more outreach should be done in promoting ODP.