Dear reader,

Of all my many adventures while plying my trade as a humble government employee, all else paled in comparison to seeking to tame the beast of inter-agency data sharing.  Actually, that’s a lie. It was just another incredibly important and difficult thing to do, alongside challenges like hiring through civil service, and navigating contracts through procurement. There are dedicated, smart, talented people trying to solve these challenges, but they are still deeply troubled systems whose opportunity costs are incredibly steep. Believe me, we pay for them in millions of small ways.

The reasons one might wish to share data with another city agency partner are as myriad as they are obvious: improved access to public services and benefits, reduced data input and management, increased communication and collaboration, happier constituents and service users, more productive staff, and the list goes on.