Paper by Barker, Matthew; Wolff, Annika and van der Linden, Janet: “The smart city has been envisioned as a place where citizens can participate in city decision making and in the design of city services. As a key part of this vision, pervasive digital technology and open data legislation are being framed as vehicles for citizens to access rich data about their city. It has become apparent though, that simply providing access to these resources does not automatically lead to the development of data-driven applications. If we are going to engage more of the citizenry in smart city design... (More >)
Open Data Workspace for Analyzing Hate Crime Trends
Press Release: “The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and data.world today announced the launch of a public, open data workspace to help understand and combat the rise of hate crimes. The new workspace offers instant access to ADL data alongside relevant data from the FBI and other authoritative sources, and provides citizens, journalists and lawmakers with tools to more effectively analyze, visualize and discuss hate crimes across the United States. The new workspace was unveiled at ADL’s inaugural “Never Is Now” Summit on Anti-Semitism, a daylong event bringing together nearly 1,000 people in New York City to hear from an array... (More >)
From Tech-Driven to Human-Centred: Opengov has a Bright Future Ahead
Essay by Martin Tisné: ” The anti-corruption and transparency field ten years ago was in pre-iPhone mode. Few if any of us spoke of the impact or relevance of technology to what would become known as the open government movement. When the wave of smart phone and other technology hit from the late 2000s onwards, it hit hard, and scaled fast. The ability of technology to create ‘impact at scale’ became the obvious truism of our sector, so much so that pointing out the failures of techno-utopianism became a favorite pastime for pundits and academics. The technological developments of... (More >)
Open Data Collection (PLOS)
Daniella Lowenberg, Amy Ross, Emma Ganley at PLOS: “In the spirit of Open Con and highlighting the state of Open Data, PLOS is proud to release our Open Data Collection. The many values of Open Data are becoming increasingly apparent, and as a result, we are seeing an adoption of Open Data policies across publishers, funders and organizations. Open Data has proven a fantastic tool to help evaluate the replicability of published research, and even politicians are taking a stand in favor of Open Data as a mechanism to advance science rapidly. In March of 2014, PLOS updated our... (More >)
Open data aims to boost food security prospects
Mark Kinver at BBC News: “Rothamsted Research, a leading agricultural research institution, is attempting to make data from long-term experiments available to all. In partnership with a data consultancy, is it developing a method to make complex results accessible and useable. The institution is a member of the Godan Initiative that aims to make data available to the scientific community. In September, Godan called on the public to sign its global petition to open agricultural research data. “The continuing challenge we face is that the raw data alone is not sufficient enough on its own for people to make... (More >)
Three ways to grow the open data economy
Nigel Shadbolt in The Guardian: “…here are three areas where action by the UK government can help to support and promote a flourishing open data economy Strengthen our data infrastructure We are used to thinking of areas like transport and energy requiring physical infrastructure. From roads and rail networks to the national grid and power stations, we understand that investment and management of these vital parts of an infrastructure are essential to the economic wellbeing and future prosperity of the nation. This is no less true of key data assets. Our data infrastructure is a core part of our... (More >)
Tackling Corruption with People-Powered Data
Sandra Prüfer at Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth: “Informal fees plague India’s “free” maternal health services. In Nigeria, village households don’t receive the clean cookstoves their government paid for. Around the world, corruption – coupled with the inability to find and share information about it – stymies development in low-income communities. Now, digital transparency platforms – supplemented with features illiterate and rural populations can use – make it possible for traditionally excluded groups to make their voices heard and access tools they need to grow. Mapping Corruption Hot Spots in India One of the problems surrounding access to information... (More >)
Open parliament policy applied to the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies
Paper by Cristiano Faria & Malena Rehbein in The Journal of Legislative Studies:”…analyse the implementation of an open parliament policy that is taking place at the Chamber of Deputies, in accordance with the guidelines of the Open Government Partnership international programme (OGP), regarding the action plan of the Opening Parliament Work Group in particular, one of the subgroups of OGP. The authors will evaluate two blocks of initiatives for open parliaments executed by the Chamber in the last few years, that is, digital participation in the legislative process and Transparency 2.0, in order to observe their impasses and results... (More >)
The Potential and Reality of Data Journalism in Developing Media Markets
Internews Report: “Data has the potential to help communities understand their biggest challenges – why people become sick or well, why development initiatives succeed or fail, how government actions align with citizens’ priorities. However, most people do not have the skills or inclination to engage with data directly. That’s where data journalists and the open data community come in. This report explains the role of data journalists and open data, and lays out the key considerations that can help predict the success or failure of new data journalism initiatives…. Read the report“ ... (More >)
Making Open Data more evidence-based
Essay by Stefaan G. Verhulst and Danny Lämmerhirt: “…To realize its potential there is a need for more evidence on the full life cycle of open data – within and across settings and sectors…. In particular, three substantive areas were identified that could benefit from interdisciplinary and comparative research: Demand and use: First, many expressed a need to become smarter about the demand and use-side of open data. Much of the focus, given the nascent nature of many initiatives around the world, has been on the supply-side of open data. Yet to be more responsive and sustainable more insight... (More >)
