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EnglishWho provides the data on OpenDataPhilly?
Updated
OpenDataPhilly is the official open data repository for the City of Philadelphia, but its data does not come from the City alone. The catalog also includes datasets published by many organizations across the Philadelphia region, so the provider behind any given dataset depends on which organization released it.
Two broad groups of data providers
1. The City of Philadelphia
OpenDataPhilly serves as the City's official open data repository. Datasets published under this role come from municipal government sources and carry the authority of the City as the publishing body.
2. Regional organizations
Beyond City government, the catalog includes datasets from many organizations in the Philadelphia region. These are independent providers — not City agencies — that have chosen to publish their data through the same catalog.
What this means for judging authority
Because OpenDataPhilly is a catalog rather than a single publisher, "authoritative" is a per-dataset question, not a site-wide one:
| Question | What to check |
|---|---|
| Is this City data? | Whether the provider is the City of Philadelphia |
| Is this from another organization? | Which regional organization published it |
| Can I cite it as official municipal data? | Only if the City is the provider |
The catalog's own description is explicit on this point: it is "a catalog of open data in the Philadelphia region" and, in addition to being the City's official repository, "includes data sets from many organizations in the region."
Practical takeaway
If your work requires City of Philadelphia data specifically, confirm the provider for each dataset rather than assuming everything on the site is municipal. If you are open to regional sources, the catalog gives you City and non-City data in one place — but you should still attribute each dataset to the organization that actually published it.