Aiming for transparency and accountability in city government, the City of Covington has launched a new initiative, COVDATA, which allows anyone to browse datasets and reports of information collected by the City to document government operations.
The COVDATA portal enhances transparency and accountability by sharing the City’s data with citizen’s and the general public. The COVDATA portal is accessible via the City’s website and directly at a new data hub website. A user guide can be found under “About” on the portal homepage.
City Manager David Johnston stated, “Here in Covington we see transparency and openness of our city government as fundamental values as how we serve. As a good steward of the public’s resources, we hope COVDATA provides an effective way to present data in an understandable way. I expect it will further pique the interest of our residents in their government.”
The new platform offers the citizens of Covington, and City officials, with an unprecedented opportunity to reassess the way that City government operates.
Data currently are downloadable in standard spreadsheet and portable document (PDF) formats. Mobile-friendly dashboards are also available to provide a more user-friendly view of data. The dashboards currently cover topics on public safety, the environment, and neighborhood economic development.
Along with the option to download processed data and view interactive dashboards, the City of Covington also provides an official summary report for each dataset.
The COVDATA portal was built in-house by the City’s Manager of Analytics and Intelligence, Dr. Todd Sink. “We recognize that the portal is not yet perfect, but it’s a huge step in the right direction”, said Sink.
The City will continue to add new datasets and reports to the portal to aid improvements across all facets of City government and enhance community engagement.
The public can fill out a feedback form found under “Contact” on the homepage and offer suggestions for datasets and reports they would like to see available on the COVDATA platform.
For general inquiries and questions about COVDATA users can contact the city at covanalytics@covingtonky.gov.
