OCTO reaches beyond the DC government by continuing to make DC spatial and non-spatial datasets freely and publicly available to the fullest extent possible in consideration of privacy and security.
OCTO distributes publicly available datasets on the DC Open Data Catalog and is accessible by file download (KML, CSV or Shapefile) or direct connection using API (GeoJSON, OGS WMS and GeoService). The same are also available as ArcGIS Server Map Services (JSON, SOAP, WMS and REST). These datasets are distributed by OCTO as a centralized repository for District agencies as authoritative originators.
The safety, privacy, and security of residents, agency workforce members, clients, partners, or anyone else identified in the datasets are paramount concerns. OCTO and DC government agencies work on an ongoing basis toward meeting protection standards listed in Section VI: Minimum Data Protection Standards of the District’s Data Policy enacted by Mayor's Order 2017-115 effective April 27, 2018.
Therefore, datasets are classified as follows and defined in Section III: Definitions in the data policy.
- Level 0, Open
- Level 1, Public Not Proactively Released
- Level 2, For District Government Use
- Level 3, Confidential
- Level 4, Restricted Confidential
Refer to Open Government and FOIA at OCTO with regard to FOIA requests.