According to a new analysis by the Center for Data Innovation, Louisiana ranks 48th for how well-prepared the state is for success in the new data-driven economy, followed only by West Virginia and Mississippi.
The analysis reviewed 25 indicators across three categories considered critical to encourage and enable data-driven innovation, including data, technology, and people and companies.
“While the data economy is rapidly maturing, these are still early days,” said Daniel Castro, the Center’s director and the report’s lead author. “Policymakers in Louisiana have an opportunity to maximize the state’s potential to leverage data for social and economic good if they continue investing now in the data, technology, and people necessary for data-driven innovation to flourish.”
- The Center for Data Innovation offered recommendations for Louisiana to help drive its economy and become a hub in the data economy. They include:
- Publish legislative data in open and machine-readable formats.
- Publish checkbook-level government financial data online in open and machine-readable formats.
- Develop an open data portal and statewide open data policy.
- Develop a publicly accessible all-payer claims database.
- Promote the adoption of e-prescribing for controlled substances, such as through legislative requirements or incentive programs.
- Pass legislation preventing strategic lawsuits against public participation (known as SLAPPs).
- Create a statewide e-government strategy, which includes consideration of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, and work with municipal governments to drive e-government adoption.
- Require public agencies to participate in programs such as submitting data to the Department of Energy’s Building Performance Database.
- Work with state utility commissions and utility providers to accelerate the adoption of smart meters.
- Provide top-down leadership and support to state and municipal departments of transportation to publish transit data in real time using the General Transit Feed Specification standard.
- Support efforts to increase broadband access and improve broadband speeds.
Ranking at the top of the list is Massachusetts, then Washington, Maryland, California, and Delaware. Read the full report here.