Draft Cambridge Open Data Strategic Plan (2026–2028) Now Available for Public Review

The City’s Open Data Program is releasing the draft 2026–2028 Strategic Plan and inviting community feedback through Monday, December 22.

Cambridge’s Open Data Program makes hundreds of public datasets freely available for residents, researchers, journalists, students, and anyone curious about how the City works. We also offer regular workshops and classes—both in person at the Cambridge Public Library and online—to help people explore and use these datasets.

In mid-2025, over 200 residents, City employees, researchers, and community members completed our strategic planning survey. That feedback directly shaped our priorities. Now we're asking for your input again as we finalize the plan.

What’s in the Plan?
This new draft plan centers on a metaphor that came up again and again in conversations with the public and the Open Data Review Board: the data ecosystem. In this ecosystem, open data—the actual datasets we publish, like budget information, building permits, traffic counts, and crime statistics—is the soil, the foundational layer from which everything else grows. Analyses, visualizations, dashboards, and AI tools are all important, but they rely on the strength and health of that foundational soil. Our top priorities reflect a commitment to tend that layer carefully and sustainably.

The draft plan outlines six strategic priorities for the next three years:

How to Provide Feedback

Your input matters. Whether you're a regular user of Cambridge's open data or didn't even know it existed until now, whether you have deep technical expertise or are simply a resident curious about how the City works, we want to hear from you.

Questions? Email opendata@cambridgema.gov.