Blog by Andrew Young and Stefaan Verhulst: “Earlier this year we launched the Contracts for Data Collaboration (C4DC) initiative — an open collaborative with charter members from The GovLab, UN SDSN Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (TReNDS), University of Washington and the World Economic Forum. C4DC seeks to address the inefficiencies of developing contractual agreements for public-private data collaboration by informing and guiding those seeking to establish a data collaborative by developing and making available a shared repository of relevant contractual clauses taken from existing legal agreements. Today TReNDS published “Partnerships Founded on Trust,” a brief capturing... (More >)
Access to Algorithms
Paper by Hannah Bloch-Wehba: “Federal, state, and local governments increasingly depend on automated systems — often procured from the private sector — to make key decisions about civil rights and civil liberties. When individuals affected by these decisions seek access to information about the algorithmic methodologies that produced them, governments frequently assert that this information is proprietary and cannot be disclosed. Recognizing that opaque algorithmic governance poses a threat to civil rights and liberties, scholars have called for a renewed focus on transparency and accountability for automated decision making. But scholars have neglected a critical avenue for promoting public... (More >)
Big data needs big governance: best practices from Brain-CODE, the Ontario Brain Institute’s neuroinformatics platform
Shannon C. Lefaivre et al in Frontiers of Genetics: “The Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) has begun to catalyze scientific discovery in the field of neuroscience through its large-scale informatics platform, known as Brain-CODE. The platform supports the capture, storage, federation, sharing and analysis of different data types across several brain disorders. Underlying the platform is a robust and scalable data governance structure which allows for the flexibility to advance scientific understanding, while protecting the privacy of research participants. Recognizing the value of an open science approach to enabling discovery, the governance structure was designed not only to support collaborative... (More >)
Using Data Sharing Agreements as Tools of Indigenous Data Governance: Current Uses and Future Options
Paper by Martinez, A. and Rainie, S. C.: “Indigenous communities and scholars have been influencing a shift in participation and inclusion in academic and agency research over the past two decades. As a response, Indigenous peoples are increasingly asking research questions and developing their own studies rooted in their cultural values. They use the study results to rebuild their communities and to protect their lands. This process of Indigenous-driven research has led to partnering with academic institutions, establishing research review boards, and entering into data sharing agreements to protect environmental data, community information, and local and traditional knowledges. Data... (More >)
Shutting down the internet doesn’t work – but governments keep doing it
George Ogola in The Conversation: “As the internet continues to gain considerable power and agency around the world, many governments have moved to regulate it. And where regulation fails, some states resort to internet shutdowns or deliberate disruptions. The statistics are staggering. In India alone, there were 154 internet shutdowns between January 2016 and May 2018. This is the most of any country in the world. But similar shutdowns are becoming common on the African continent. Already in 2019 there have been shutdowns in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Chad, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Last year... (More >)
Dirty Data, Bad Predictions: How Civil Rights Violations Impact Police Data, Predictive Policing Systems, and Justice
Paper by Rashida Richardson, Jason Schultz, and Kate Crawford: “Law enforcement agencies are increasingly using algorithmic predictive policing systems to forecast criminal activity and allocate police resources. Yet in numerous jurisdictions, these systems are built on data produced within the context of flawed, racially fraught and sometimes unlawful practices (‘dirty policing’). This can include systemic data manipulation, falsifying police reports, unlawful use of force, planted evidence, and unconstitutional searches. These policing practices shape the environment and the methodology by which data is created, which leads to inaccuracies, skews, and forms of systemic bias embedded in the data (‘dirty data’).... (More >)
Fact-Based Policy: How Do State and Local Governments Accomplish It?
Report and Proposal by Justine Hastings: “Fact-based policy is essential to making government more effective and more efficient, and many states could benefit from more extensive use of data and evidence when making policy. Private companies have taken advantage of declining computing costs and vast data resources to solve problems in a fact-based way, but state and local governments have not made as much progress…. Drawing on her experience in Rhode Island, Hastings proposes that states build secure, comprehensive, integrated databases, and that they transform those databases into data lakes that are optimized for developing insights. Policymakers can then... (More >)
Saying yes to State Longitudinal Data Systems: building and maintaining cross agency relationships
Report by the National Skills Coalition: “In order to provide actionable information to stakeholders, state longitudinal data systems use administrative data that state agencies collect through administering programs. Thus, state longitudinal data systems must maintain strong working relationships with the state agencies collecting necessary administrative data. These state agencies can include K-12 and higher education agencies, workforce agencies, and those administering social service programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. When state longitudinal data systems have strong relationships with agencies, agencies willingly and promptly share their data with the system, engage with... (More >)
Index: Open Data
By Alexandra Shaw, Michelle Winowatan, Andrew Young, and Stefaan Verhulst The Living Library Index – inspired by the Harper’s Index – provides important statistics and highlights global trends in governance innovation. This installment focuses on open data and was originally published in 2018. Value and Impact Direct market value of open data in EU from 2016 to 2020: estimated EUR 325 billion Predicted number of Open Data jobs in Europe by 2020: 100,000 (35% increase) The projected year at which all 28+ EU member countries will have a fully operating open data portal: 2020 Between 2016 and 2020, the... (More >)
Distributed, privacy-enhancing technologies in the 2017 Catalan referendum on independence: New tactics and models of participatory democracy
M. Poblet at First Monday: “This paper examines new civic engagement practices unfolding during the 2017 referendum on independence in Catalonia. These practices constitute one of the first signs of some emerging trends in the use of the Internet for civic and political action: the adoption of horizontal, distributed, and privacy-enhancing technologies that rely on P2P networks and advanced cryptographic tools. In this regard, the case of the 2017 Catalan referendum, framed within conflicting political dynamics, can be considered a first-of-its kind in participatory democracy. The case also offers an opportunity to reflect on an interesting paradox that twenty-first... (More >)
