Question Two

From Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)

Enter your discussion report-out below:

2. How is “data access” from federal agencies different from “data access” from commercial and other sectors? Where can federal agencies learn from private data/information providers (such as Google Earth and Flickr)?

A.

  • Public and private entities are driven by different interests - profit vs. public good
  • But in some cases there is no difference between commercial and public access
  • Differing levels of transparency
  • We often have different audiences

B.

  • private market research for information products
  • How to make money from data (bad idea)? Studies show that free (or minimum cost) data provide greater economic benefit than charging
  • We can learn about how to make effective, well-packaged information products
  • Accountability is inherent in private sector but needs to be constructed in public sector - we could learn about accountability mechanisms
  • Consider new forms of public private partnerships that transcend existing partnerships