The Opportunity Project – Unleashing the power of open data to build stronger ladders of opportunity for all Americans

The White House is announcing the expansion of the Opportunity Project and the launch of twenty-nine new digital tools built by companies and non-profit organizations to increase access to opportunity in communities across the country.

Although the poverty rate declined more rapidly in 2015 than in nearly fifty years, too many communities still do not have access to the resources and opportunities that residents need to thrive. The unprecedented combination of open data and technological talent that has emerged in recent years can play a critical role in closing that gap, as technologists partner with community leaders to expand access to opportunity in ways that were not previously possible. Key components of today’s announcements include:

• Twenty-nine new digital tools built by non-profits, companies, and students, use federal and local data to address a set of national priorities identified by six federal agencies, specifically the Departments of Labor, Transportation, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, and the Office of the Surgeon General with support from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• The Department of Commerce announces its commitment to lead the Opportunity Project moving forward and create a lasting platform for technologists to collaborate with government and local communities using federal open data.
• New and easier ways to access high-value Federal data on civil rights and course access through the Department of Education’s new Civil Rights Data Collection Application Program Interfaces (APIs), and combined jobs, skills, training and wage data through the Department of Labor’s new OpenSkills API.
• New commitments from federal government, non-profits, tech companies, coding boot camps, and academic institutions to use the Opportunity Project data and create or use digital tools to build stronger ladders of opportunity nationwide.
• A call to action from the White House for members of the public to develop new tools, offer additional sources of data, and invent new ways of using open data to make our communities more prosperous, equitable, and just. We want to hear what new steps you are taking or programs you are implementing in your community.