February 22, 2014 is International Open Data Day, a day for citizens around the world to gather and encourage the adoption of open data policies by local, regional, and national governments.

Open Data: The Foundation of Our Work

NPP’s interactive budget tools wouldn’t be possible without open data. Back in January, we highlighted some of our favorite ways to bring the federal budget closer to home:

• Trade-Offs estimates how much your state, county, congressional district, or city contributes to pieces of the federal budget like Medicaid, interest on the debt, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• The Cost of National Security Counters tick away at the amount your state, county, district, and city spend on security-related programs like foreign military assistance, health care, and education.
• The Federal Priorities Database creates custom maps of state and county-level federal spending for more than 25 specific programs, like school lunches and Community Development Block Grants.

 Open Data: The Future

Open data is critical to our work, but unfortunately, the quality of local federal spending data has declined in recent years. That’s why we partner with other organizations to advocate for data standards and accountability, and that’s why we support a strong version of the DATA Act.

You can celebrate Open Data Day by participating in one of the many events across the country. Alternately, you can get a receipt for your taxes, visit our tax break visualization, run a trade-off, or make a Federal Priorities map. And tell your friends to do the same. Every time you use NPP’s tools, you’re voting for open data and the right of citizens to understand the priorities of our country.