Greg Bloom

“Where can I find help?”

• Why is this (still) such a problem?

• What might a solution look like?

• So what are we going to do?

Community Resource Directory Data

What is it:

• What services are available?

• Who is eligible for them?

• How, where, and when can one access them?

● Calling centers: ~250 across North America● Localized (city and county)● Decentralized (each independent)● Often run by or funded by United Way

● Some services: enrollment, case management● Closed systems: call, website, pay-for-data

Web-based Resource Directory projects

Open 211DC Food Finder BRIDGE Project

Emerging ‘Lean’ Startups:

What is ‘Open Data’?

Open Data must be licensed to permit:

reuse,

remixing,

redistribution.

Open Data can be licensed to require:

No changes and/or clear documentation of changes

Preservation of license

Payment for certain kinds of use.

Ownership.

Stewardship.

Build a better system.

Build a healthier ecosystem.

Toward the Community Resource Directory

Data Commons

Establishing this commons will entail:

1. Open data standardso Predictable ways of describing information

2. Open systemsA. APIs = Application Program Interfaces

B. User-generated input

3. Institutional cultural realignment o Cooperation: incentive alignment, reciprocal

commitments, accountability

Schema.org: ‘Civic Services Schema’

“A new vocabulary… has been proposed to improve search engines’ understanding of these services. It is intended to provide enough information to determine the service, the area covered by the service, and relevant information for using the service.” http://blog.schema.org/

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Enter: the Open Referral Initiative

• XML: complex/‘heavy’

• For exchange of data between enterprise calling center systems

AIRS XSD

• HTML markup,recognized by all search engines

• Linked with other standard vocabularies

W3C Civic Services schema

Open Referral

• Lightweight easy-to-use• “Interlingua”• For data exchange between any

system

Enter: the Open Referral Initiative

• A common language

• Open platforms

• A community of practice

Objective: we will develop…

What’s at stake:

● Helping people identify resources and make decisions.

● Making service systems more efficient and effective

● Evaluating non-profit sector and policymaking.

● Crisis management.

● Community development (asset and needs assessment)