Primary Department: Universal Services
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Sindhu Menon, Executive Director & County CIO
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable):
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for discussion and possible action regarding the Harris County Open Data Policy.
end
Background and Discussion:
On December 14, 2021, Commissioners Cout approved the Harris County Open Data Policy that outlined Harris County’s commitment to open data as a standard practice. The purpose of the Policy was to codify Harris County’s commitment to transparent government and provide clarity on its governance of open data. After the passage of the Policy, a pilot Open Data Portal was developed that included publicly available data and dashboards from Harris County webpages. Since that time, the pilot was not scaled, and the full implementation of the Open Data initiative was not realized. HCUS recognizes data governance and data classification gaps, and opportunities for data availability, that can be addressed by reassessing the Open Data Policy implementation.
As an initial step in revitalizing the Open Data initiative, HCUS is requesting an update to the Policy to clearly reflect roles and responsibilities identified in the Policy. Specifically, the Data Team responsible for overseeing the Open Data Portal originally proposed to be managed by a Chief Data Officer within the Office of Court Administration has been transferred to HCUS’s Office of Data and Analytics-Data Governance team.
If passed, HCUS recommends a minimum six-month implementation period to June 1, 2026. This timeframe allows adequate time for departments to receive the necessary awareness, training and guidance to ensure implementation, operating effectiveness, and compliance.
Expected Impact:
This policy will codify Harris County’s commitment to transparent government and provide clarity on its governance of open data. Following passage of the policy, the US Data Governance Team will begin implementation of the Open Data Policy in collaboration with Harris County departments.
Alternative Options:
Harris County’s process for open data governance will remain undefined and implementation of the Open Data Policy will not move forward.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): E1: Modernize data and technology architecture across the legal system.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): F2: Improve data collection, utilization, and availability to drive better transportation safety decision-making.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
12/14/2021 |
20 |
Request for approval of an Open Data Policy for Harris County. |
|
04/10/2025 |
267 |
To formalize a countywide data classification process to ensure the appropriate datasets are protected and return to Commissioners Court on June 12th with a recommendation for data classifications and an implementation plan for an open data platform. |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
|
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
|
CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
|
CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 12/11/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Sindhu Menon, Executive Director & County CIO
Attachments (if applicable): Open Data Policy (PDF)