Key usage statistics and features
Key Usage Statistics
In 2016, there were 33,000 government dataset downloads from Data.gov.sg, and about 2 million API calls per month from the Developer’s portal. As of January 2017, the one-stop portal provides access to around 1000 high quality datasets from 70 public agencies.
Key features:
• Dashboards for quick reference – The homepage and nine topic pages feature dashboards with interactive charts, visualisations and stories that are topical and relevant to the public. For example, when the haze affected Singapore in September and October 2015, the homepage and Environment page were updated to show charts on PM2.5 concentration and PSI readings. When the dengue outbreak occurred in early 2016, the homepage depicted – via a heatmap - all the hotspots to avoid.
• Preview and share datasets through charts and tables – Users can now preview the contents of each dataset without downloading them. For example, users can compare electricity consumption between households and industry by checking out the line chart on the “Monthly Electricity Consumption by Sector” dataset page . Users can also easily embed Data.gov.sg charts on their own websites using the “embed” feature, or download the charts for offline use.
• Data.gov.sg blog – The blog section (https://blog.data.gov.sg) aims to illustrate trends and importance of the use of data to improve the daily lives of citizens, through narratives and visualisations. The latest article, published in December 2016, showcased how GovTech data scientists played a key role in resolving the mysterious disruptions on the MRT Circle Line.
• High quality data – The quality of the data on the portal is enhanced by standardising formats, ensuring machine-readability and improving documentation. This ensures that data users can easily analyse, mash up and visualise datasets from Data.gov.sg without spending time unnecessarily on data scrubbing. Public officers can also use the data and analysis to drive policy and operations, ultimately delivering more anticipatory, citizen-centric solutions to help improve the lives of Singaporeans.
• Developer’s Portal – A portal for developers (https://developers.data.gov.sg) was launched in April 2016. Developers and analysts can now access real-time government open data APIs from different agencies via the portal instead of signing up with individual agencies. As of December 2016, 13 high-frequency APIs were made available, including PSI readings from the National Environment Agency and taxi locations and availability from the Land Transport Authority. More APIs from different public agencies will be made available progressively.