Philadelphia’s Open Data Program is a citywide effort to make government data easier to find and use, with the stated aim of improving transparency and enabling public use of information such as 311 requests, property assessments and language-access services.1 The City directs departments to share data through OpenDataPhilly, a public portal that predates the municipal program.113
The program was formally established on April 26, 2012, when Mayor Michael Nutter signed an executive order creating the City’s open-data policy.5 The order called for a Chief Data Officer, a city data portal, an open-data working group and an advisory board, among other measures.212 Mark Headd became the City’s first Chief Data Officer in 2012; during his tenure, the City released more than 50 datasets, including crime, property-assessment, bike-theft and campaign-finance data.3
The work has since included publishing datasets, automating regular updates and creating visualizations. A 2020 City survey found that 90% of respondents considered open data important to their projects, while 92% found the City’s visualizations helpful.6 In 2021, Philadelphia introduced a public dashboard to show dataset releases, updates and program metrics; at that point, the City reported 354 datasets released, 77 automated and 58 visualized.811 A 2025 report described a dashboard count of 552 released datasets, while noting that the figure included multiple versions of previously released data.2
The program has operated through different City offices over time. In 2018, Mayor Jim Kenney announced that it would return to the Office of Innovation and Technology after the restructuring of the Office of Open Data & Digital Transformation.4 The City’s current program page describes its role as helping departments share data with the public.1