Data Quality Guide Helps City Deliver More Effective Governance and Improved Outcomes

In the Open Data Department, it’s our mission to publicly share as much data as possible from all City departments while adhering to privacy and security best practices. To ensure this data is reliable and consistent when it comes from so many different sources, the Cambridge Data Quality Guide was developed by the Open Data team. This important guide provides a concrete framework for assessing data quality, including a detailed data planning worksheet for departmental data managers.

The Cambridge Data Quality Guide identifies several key criteria:

• Accuracy: How correct is the data?

• Completeness: What portion of the data is missing?

• Timeliness: How current is the data? How often will it be updated in the future?

• Consistency: How uniform are data formats throughout a dataset and how do field names and formats conform with other, similar datasets?

• Metadata: How well explained and contextualized is the data? No data set is perfect, and documenting any known limitations and problems in the metadata is an important part of data quality.  

The Open Data team helps departments meet these goals in different ways. We conduct spot checks to ensure completeness, perform accuracy audits, develop automated processes to keep datasets current, assist in creating visualizations, and provide guidance on City standards for maintaining consistent data structures and formats.

High-quality data is not just a technical necessity, but a strategic asset. It enables the City of Cambridge to make better decisions that enhance service delivery to residents, drive innovation, and optimize resource allocation. By following the principles laid out in the Cambridge Data Quality Guide, City departments can better align their data practices with their missions, ultimately leading to more effective governance and improved community outcomes.