In another first for Louisiana state government’s online transparency and accountability portal, LaTrac has now added a downloadable data feature.

In addition to other unique features of LaTrac (the inclusion of Higher Education expenditure information and a link to performance measures) the expenditure data behind the site is now available for download.  This feature will allow individuals, organizations, and academic researchers to combine the expenditure data with other sources to conduct more sophisticated analysis and examination of spending patterns.

The feature can be accessed by visiting www.latrac.la.gov and selecting “download data” within the “Statewide,” “Higher Education,” and “DOTD” information boxes, or accessed directly by clicking here.

Due to the size of the datasets (over 60,000 records in some cases) people will have to use Excel 2007 to view the data.  Older versions cannot accommodate the size of the files.

The downloadable data feature follows other upgrades to LaTrac announced in March that included a vendor search tool and online grants database.  Stay tuned for other LaTrac improvements and upgrades in the coming months.