Case Study: Data.gov achieves rapid launch of an open, scalable federal data platform with REI Systems

Increasing public innovation through access to Federal Information

Data.gov, the federal open-data initiative launched under the Office of Management and Budget to implement the Open Government Directive, needed a public-facing website and a secure back-end catalogue to democratize federal datasets, improve transparency, and engage citizens. REI Systems was engaged in 2009 to rapidly design and deliver the platform, recommending Cloud hosting and a hybrid content-management/catalogue architecture and applying its Agile approach to meet tight certification and usability requirements.

REI Systems built the Cloud infrastructure in a five-week sprint, delivered a hybrid CMS/catalogue that lets agencies upload data and the public search across agencies, and has continuously expanded functionality and security protocols. The effort launched in May 2009 with 47 datasets and has since grown to more than 380,000 datasets with roughly 30,000 downloads per week, earned the Intergovernmental Solutions Award, and enabled community features and third-party innovations (for example, PatientsLikeMe) that increased public engagement and practical use of federal data.

Data.gov