WhatWorksMesa > Achievement in Open Data from City Hall

Open data is data that anyone can access, use or share.
The future will be built on open data – here’s why
Data has the power to revolutionise and disrupt the way societies are governed. None more so than open data, which is free to access, free to use and can be shared by anyone. It’s non-personal and can be used to identify and predict large-scale trends and behaviours. This is as opposed to closed data that is restricted to internal use by an organization.

That is exactly why your MesaZona blogger has been asking when some of the results from joining Bloomberg Philanthropies WhatWorksCities initiative back in August of last year can be made available. Some three months later appointments got announced on Twitter on 05 Nov 2015  by city manager Chris Brady to the inside-City Hall Leadership Board and now six months later with nothing to report about Open Data.

The future of open data is a collaborative process with the aim of providing civic benefits. Organizations need to share their data and work together to create novel uses for it that make our lives easier or richer. Using data that describes the patterns behind how we live can help us solve problems in ways we might not have foreseen.
Theconversation.com

In all these cases, the way to fast-forward innovation and create new solutions to problems is to create open data partnerships with participants who are willing to share and collaborate on new disruptive initiatives [ Blogger's note: that may challenge Mesa City Hall ].
Many of these initiatives have already proven to bring benefits to people, government and businesses. It is a new era of increased transparency and democracy where data is no longer in the hands of only governments and commercial organizations. Using open data presents opportunities for commerce, while also improving communities and everyday living for citizens.
While this particular department is inside City Hall, the public can access the website for the City Purchasing Department that reports to the Business Services Director,
http://www.mesaaz.gov/business/purchasing        

Information about the awarding of contracts or bid solicitations is sometimes a problem in requesting open data. However, those things can be accessed by hitting this link >>
http://mesaaz.gov/business/purchasing/bid-opportunities/open-solicitations/-sortn-RFPNumber/-sortd-desc

Its vision is to be leaders in the field of public procurement and strategic sourcing, bringing value and efficiency to each procurement while at the same time operating within City policy, statute and sound business practices.
Values

• Accountability - Taking ownership and being responsible to stakeholders for our actions...essential to preserve the public trust and protect the public interest.
• Ethics - Acting in a manner true to these values...essential to preserve the public's trust.
• Impartiality - Unbiased decision-making and action...essential to ensure fairness for the public good.
• Professionalism - Upholding high standards of job performance and ethical behavior...essential to balance diverse public interests.
• Service - Obligation to assist stakeholders...essential to support the public good.
• Transparency - Easily accessible and understandable policies and procedures...essential to demonstrate responsible use of public funds.

In 2015, the National Purchasing Institute honored Mesa's Purchasing Division with the "Achievement of Excellence in Procurement" award for the eleventh consecutive year.  This prestigious award recognizes organizational excellence in public procurement and is awarded to those organizations that meet criteria designed to measure innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity and leadership.  We focus on delivering the highest quality of service and value our partnerships with vendors, contractors, employees, supervisors and managers.  We continually seek new ways to improve our services and satisfy the needs of our customers.