Socrata Announces Two Significant Additions to Its Advisory Board

Seattle – January 28, 2015 – Socrata (www.socrata.com), the world leader in cloud solutions for open data and data-driven government, today announced two significant additions to its Advisory Board:

  • David Eaves, an internationally-recognized open innovation expert
  • Stephen Goldsmith, the Daniel Paul Professor of Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University who formerly served as Mayor of Indianapolis and Deputy Mayor of New York City for Operations

Eaves and Goldsmith join an Advisory Board that already includes Bill Bryant, a venture partner with Draper Fisher Jurvetson who has had early and instrumental involvement in over 20 leading software and Internet companies, and François Steiger, a distinguished entrepreneurial leader in the global software and information and communications markets.

“All four members of our Advisory Board offer us an extraordinary wealth of diverse experience and expertise, and we will draw upon their deep and rich global knowledge to accelerate the revolution in data-driven government as well as our growth as a company,” says Kevin Merritt, Founder and CEO of Socrata. “François, Bill, David, and Steve have each been responsible for major breakthroughs in their respective careers, and now they’re going to help us bring change to governments around the world.”

Eaves – Pushing For Open Government and Open Data

David Eaves advises governments on open government and open data, and businesses and nonprofits on open source strategies and community management.

He was an affiliate with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, where he analyzed issues surrounding the politics of data, as well as how negotiation theory can help improve online community management.

A Co-Founder of ReCollect Systems, a technology company specializing in digital solutions for the waste management sector, Eaves also writes on open innovation, public policy, public service sector renewal, open source and network systems.

In 2009, Eaves served as an adviser to the Office of the Mayor of Vancouver on Open Government and Open Data.

He is currently an Advisory Board Member for Code for All, an international network of people and organizations who believe that digital technology opens new channels for citizens to more meaningfully engage in the public sphere and have a positive impact on their communities.

Recently, in October 2014, Eaves was a featured speaker at Socrata’s first-ever Customer Summit (Watch the video here).

“I believe that the rapid spread of data-driven government throughout the world will benefit millions of citizens everywhere,” says Eaves, “so I look forward to working closely with Socrata. I think the potential for global change here is tremendous.”

Goldsmith – Engaging Communities Through Data-Smart Governance

Stephen Goldsmith currently directs Data-Smart City Solutions, a project at Harvard that highlights local government efforts to use new technologies that connect big-data analytics with community input to reshape the relationship between government and citizen. The Data-Smart City Solutions project is powered by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

As Mayor of Indianapolis and Deputy Mayor of New York, Goldsmith earned a reputation as one of the country’s leaders in public-private partnerships, competition and privatization.

Goldsmith’s most recent book is “The Responsive City: Engaging Communities Through Data-Smart Governance,” co-authored with Susan Crawford. And he was a key speaker at Socrata’s Customer Summit in late 2014 (More info here and watch the video here).

“We now have the ability to transform how government works at all levels using open data and predictive analytics,” says Goldsmith. “And there’s a huge opportunity for the public sector to become internally proactive, and, simultaneously, leverage open data and transparency to more actively connect with the public. That’s one of the main reasons why I’m so pleased to collaborate with Socrata.”

About Socrata

Socrata is the world leader in cloud solutions for open data and data-driven governments. Its innovative customers include the cities of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Eindhoven; the states of New York, Illinois and Texas; US Health and Human Services; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; the UN, the European Commission, and the World Bank. Socrata’s solutions – including the recently launched Open Data Network™ which unleashes the full potential of government data to help drive connected communities around the world – assist government leaders in improving transparency, modernizing citizen access to information and bringing data into every decision, all with unprecedented speed and cost savings. Delivered as turnkey services, Socrata’s technologies unlock data trapped in enterprise silos, mobilize and transform it into useful information that everyone can easily access, visualize, share and reuse. To learn more about Socrata, visit www.socrata.com.