The Department of Health and Human Services plans to update the HealthData.gov website with the goal of making it easier for users to access public data sets in the repository, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.Jason Miller writes Damon Davis, director of HHS’ Health Data Initiative, said the department’s Idea Lab will help build new tools to refresh the site’s open data platform.
“We want to really attract people to a more sticky, more usable platform that is going to allow them [to] understand how the data can be used from its original way it was collected and curated, and also be supportive of each other,” Davis told his audience during a recent Symantec-sponsored panel discussion in Washington.
He added that HHS wants to build an online community for agency personnel to collaborate and seek ideas from outside professionals, according to Federal News Radio.
Davis told the station Idea Lab will work to transition HealthData.gov to the Drupal-based open data platform D-KAN and that he expects the department to launch the revamped portal this summer.
The D-KAN technology is designed to manage backend data storage as well as facilitate communication among data owners and users.
