November 26, 2014 9:57AM # DATA Act Implementation By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) --- SHARE The administration is working to implement the DATA Act, which, if implemented well, could produce a sea-change in government transparency, and a shift of power from government insiders to the people. Yesterday, I submitted to the Treasury Department’s Fiscal Service our 2012 “[Grading the Government’s Data Publication Practices](https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/PA711.pdf)” study, along with the following comment, which notes the glaring absence of a machine-readable government organization chart. > *In partial response to the notice, I’m pleased to submit the attached study, which may assist your inquiry.* > > > *Over several years, I have been studying transparency, which remains largely undelivered because it has been undefined.* > > > *In “[Grading the Government’s Data Publication Practices](https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/PA711.pdf),” you’ll find the results of that study. Transparency is produced by data that comes from an authoritative source, data that is complete, that is machine-discoverable, and that is machine-readable. When good data publication conditions obtain, the public and government managers alike, through information services, apps, and websites, will make use of the data to make the government more legible.* > > > *The study graded the quality of data publication about key entities in the legislative and budgeting/​spending processes. The striking upshot was the absence of good data about a very elemental topic: the organizational units of the federal government. There is no machine-readable organization chart for the U.S. federal government. The absence of a machine-readable government organization chart stifles public and congressional oversight, and it frustrates internal management.* > > > *Producing machine-readable data that articulates what the organizational units of the federal government are should be a priority. It is probably one of the easier things to do technically, and it will produce important gains in transparency. Failure to produce and maintain a machine-readable federal government organization chart would also stand out if it is not done early on in DATA Act implementation.* > > > *We are currently in the process of re-grading data publication in the areas covered by the prior study. In future iterations of the grading study, I look forward to reporting that there is well-organized, complete information about all agencies, bureaus, programs, and projects, and the relationships among them.* > > > *Thank you!* > > > *Jim Harper* A cynic—and there might be one or two reading this blog!—would say that the government will never make itself transparent. Well, it certainly won’t if you don’t ask it to… ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).