FAQ Category: Strategic Questions

No. Open Referral is not a database or a platform. We help other organizations evolve their resource databases into open platforms.  For what it’s worth, we reject the idea that community resource data can or should be treated like private … Continue reading →

No. We recognize that this is a local problem that should entail local solutions. That’s why we’ve developed an open data standard, which can be used by any community to find locally-appropriate methods of data sharing.

By standards, we refer to common ways of doing things. In the case of data standards, that means an agreed-upon set of terms and relationships that define and structure information, so that it can be readily transferred between systems.  With … Continue reading →

Broadly speaking, people seek ‘referrals’ to resources that can help them meet their needs. Community resource data is comprised of information about health, human, and social services available to people in need — which organizations provide these services, and how … Continue reading →

Open means ‘free,’ as in ‘free speech.’ We are all entitled to it by fundamental right. Open means accessible. We have “open access” to things like roads and libraries — these are public goods, and anyone is able to use … Continue reading →

See our strategic overview here.

See our Strategic Overview here.