OPEN DATA: Treasury Could Better Align USAspending.gov with Key Practices and Search RequirementsThis report (1) identifies key practices for transparently reporting government data; and (2) evaluates the extent to which USAspending.gov is consistent with those key practices and other requirements. GAO developed the key practices by systematically evaluating and synthesizing information from literature on open data, as well as interviews with open data experts and good governance groups. GAO used these key practices as well as existing federal website standards and applicable laws to evaluate USAspending.gov. [In this StratML rendition, the practices are documented as values and GAO's recommendations as goals.]Open data can foster accountability and public trust by providing citizens with information on government activities and their outcomes. It can also promote private sector innovation. The DATA Act requires that the federal government collect and present open data on roughly $4 trillion in annual federal spending. The DATA Act also includes a provision requiring GAO to review its implementation.United States Government Accountability OfficeGAO_c090eb6a-92df-11df-b499-6b157a64ea2a_f29f0408-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adTo foster accountability and public trust and promote innovation_f29f04da-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adAccessabilityProvide free and unrestricted data -- Consistent with this key practice, USAspending.gov, as a general matter, provides unrestricted data to the public and Treasury has made all the data available for free. In the course of its work, GAO found that users could only download the complete database after registering for an account with a third-party database host and incurring a charge. In July 2018, in response to GAO’s inquiries, Treasury provided an option for users to download the entire database for free without creating an account.EngagementEngage with users -- Consistent with this key practice, Treasury conducts user research and engages with users of USAspending.gov online and in person. For example, Treasury officials said they have conducted more than 150 interviews with users. Treasury officials also told GAO that they have directly engaged with various audiences about the website through a hackathon and a partnership. UsabilityProvide data in useful formats -- Consistent with this key practice, USAspending.gov provides detailed, machine-readable data in standardized formats and includes several options for downloading the data. However, Treasury lacks a process to ensure that any new pages added to the website are hosted on a .gov domain and encrypted with the secure HTTPS protocol required by OMB. Without such a process Treasury does not have assurance that new pages added to the website meet federal security requirements. StandardizationMachine-ReadabilityDescriptionFully describe the data -- USAspending.gov does not fully reflect this key practice because while it discloses data sources and timeliness, the website does not provide structured metadata. Providing metadata—structured descriptive information about the data—is also an OMB requirement. In addition, while OMB guidance provides that agencies must apply open licenses, the website does not provide comprehensive licensing information for the data. As a result, users may not have the information they need on how the data can be used.DiscoverabilityFacilitate data discovery for all users -- Consistent with this key practice, Treasury facilitates data discovery by providing tools such as interactive maps and visualizations to help users interpret the data. However, users cannot search for city and program source (the unique accounting code used to track federal spending) as required by FFATA. As a result, users may be unable to find certain financial or geographic information related to recipients or federal programs.HTTPSEnsure all pages on the USAspending.gov website use the secure HTTPS protocol_f29f055c-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adRecommendation 1Secretary of the TreasuryThe Secretary of the Treasury should establish a process to ensure all pages on the USAspending.gov website use the secure HTTPS protocol, consistent with OMB requirements._f29f05d4-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adDomainEnsure all content on USAspending.gov is available from a government domain_f29f07f0-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adRecommendation 2Secretary of the TreasuryThe Secretary of the Treasury should establish a process to ensure all content on USAspending.gov is available from a government domain, consistent with OMB requirements._f29f08ae-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adMetadataProvide metadata that are easy to find in a single location _f29f0944-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adRecommendation 3Secretary of the TreasuryThe Secretary of the Treasury should fully comply with OMB’s requirements by providing metadata in a single location that are easy to find on the USAspending.gov website._f29f09d0-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adLicensingCommunicate licensing information_f29f0a52-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adRecommendation 4Secretary of the TreasuryThe Secretary of the Treasury should fully comply with OMB’s requirements by communicating licensing information on USAspending.gov._f29f0ad4-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adSearchabilityEnsure that users can easily search for awards by city and program source_f29f0b60-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96adRecommendation 5Secretary of the TreasuryThe Secretary of the Treasury should ensure that users can easily search for awards by city and program source (TAS), consistent with FFATA requirements._f29f0be2-ffd1-11e8-860b-86f22f6e96ad2018-12-012018-12-14https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/696023.pdfOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net