Hot Startups: Turning Government

Data into DollarsChapter 2

Verónica Morales0404557

The U.S. government may turn out to be the largest single source of free Open Data in the world

Some companies have used government data to create entirely new kinds of services

Several cities, for example, have released Open Data on transportation that developers use to build apps for commuters: NextBus app

If Open Data is free, how can anyone build a business on it? ◦ Open Data is the starting point -> The private sector

can then add value by taking Open Data and building something great with it.

Google’s ultimate application of GPS and other mapping data may be its self-driving cars. The technology used in these vehicles could provide significant public benefit.◦ Reduce the number of auto accidents and save drivers huge

amounts of time and fuel lost to traffic jams.

The value of government Open Data is that it’s a long-term, permanent public resource that innovators can use for decades, developing new ideas and new companies as technology makes them possible.

The Climate Corporation in San Francisco: ◦ In the spring of 2013 had recently received a $50

million investment of venture capital◦ In October 2013, the company was sold to Monsanto

for almost $1 billion, described as one of the largest buys of a new-era data analytics company.

The Climate Corporation was started to sell a better kind of weather insurance, but it’s grown into a company that could help farmers around the world adapt to climate change, increase their crop yields, and become part of a new green revolution.

The Climate Corporation: From Insurance to a New Green Revolution

The company began with the simple insight that the weather affects the profits of a large number of businesses every year.

Started by working with data from 200 weather stations across the country. As a prospective policyholder, a business would go to the company’s website, pick a nearby weather station, and buy insurance against bad weather that the station would measure. The company would analyze historical weather data for that station, predict the likely weather mathematically, and write an appropriate policy.

The best market for this model was in agriculture.

 They expanded to get data from 2,000 stations, but that was still not enough. 

So they used what is called Common Land Unit data that shows the location, shape, and size of all the farmed fields in the country.

Used government data to assess the weather at all those fields more precisely. Using Doppler radar, it’s now possible to measure how much rain falls on a given farmer’s field in a day. The company also got maps of terrain and soil type from the U.S. 

The company has developed a service, Climate.com, that is free to policyholders and available to others for a fee.

“On a daily basis, we’ll tell you what fields you can go to work on, what field should have spraying and planting done today, what field is at a growth stage where you should fertilize it, where you should wait five days to plant.”

Next -> Green Revolution 2.0. The U.S. government’s satellite data covers the entire planet

Without government support, none of that innovation could happen

Through an Open Data infrastructure, government can spur innovation by providing the foundation for data-driven businesses. It’s been true for GPS and weather data, and it’s starting to be true for health data as well.

The next boom in using government Open Data is likely to come in health and healthcare. A McKinsey study valued Big Data on health in the United States at $300 to $450 billion

- much is Open Data

Health Datapalooza, one of the largest Open Data events in the world -> launched by Todd Park, now U.S. Chief Technology Officer, popularized the term data liberation

Park has now put on Datapaloozas in other areas, all to encourage the private sector to do “awesome” things with government data at no taxpayer cost.

“An All-Out Crazy Party” of Health Data

It’s your data, you paid for it as taxpayers, and our feeling is that we should give it back to you in easily usable, machine-readable form, for you to use to create.

Archimedes has spent two decades developing algorithms and predictive models for healthcare. Using data from sources including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), databases of clinical trials, and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Archimedes develops models of health status and the effect of medical interventions in different populations and provides tools to help match patients to treatments at the point of care.

The British government, under the Prime Minister’s direction, has provided funding to foster and “incubate” new Open Data companies.

Mastodon C: Open Data Meets Big Data

Locatable: Data on Where to Live

Open Corporates: Tracking Tens of Millions of Companies

Honest Buildings: A LinkedIn for Commercial Real Estate

A Government-Funded Incubator for Open Data Startups

Anyone who wants to use federal data for business development in a serious way should begin by learning what’s there. 

 Data.gov , Data.gov.uk: The website also has a number of communities that bring together datasets in different areas of interest, including business, energy, health, law, and manufacturing. 

Federal agencies are also developing APIs to make their data easier to access and use.

Realizing the Business Potential

The government now sponsors a number of conferences, events, and challenges to encourage the use of federal data. Among the best information sources are:

◦ The White House blog, at www.whitehouse.gov/blog

◦ The blog of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, at www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/blog

◦ The blog of the Open Government Initiative, at www.whitehouse.gov/open/blog

◦ The online publication FedScoop, which covers federal technology issues, at fedscoop.com

◦ Information Week, which covers similar ground, at www.informationweek.com/government

◦ The various federal data challenges posted at Challenge.gov

For healthcare, a number of resources from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can provide access to data and insight about how to use it.

◦ HealthData.gov◦  CMS.gov◦  Medicare.gov 

General strategies can be helpful to anyone hoping to find business value in government data:

◦ Track Information from Agencies of Interest

◦ Push Agencies for the Data You Need

◦ Use Government Data for Business Intelligence