An Assessment of the Community Information Infrastructure in the Chicago Metropolitan Area

The Chicago area benefits from state, county and local governments committed to open data and a wealth of institutions working with neighborhood-level data for civic purposes. To enhance the area’s community information infrastructure and reduce the current fragmentation, we recommend a set of actions based on the experiences of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership. These include additional convening opportunities, increased public communication, and selected new services. A new regional cross-sector network for community data stakeholders could be hosted by an existing organization, manage the recommended activities, and plan for the future as the city's policy and technological environment evolves.