Viewpoints: Stanford University professor Jeremy Weinstein and Princeton University professor Joshua Goldstein, write an article, “The Benefits of a Big Tent: Opening Up Government in Developing Countries,” as a reply to Harlan Yu and David Robinson’s The New Ambiguity of “Open Government.” The abstract says
Bringing open data and open government under a single banner, Yu and Robinson argue,leads to conceptual muddling that ultimately impedes progress for both projects. They express a concern that superficial commitments to open data “can placate the public’s appetite for transparency.” Drawing on our experiences with the Kenya Open Data Initiative and the Open Government Partnership, we argue that this need not be the case for three reasons. First, a commitment to open data involves reorienting the production of information in a public bureaucracy in ways that have the potential to institutionalize a commitment to openness.Second, an open data campaign can accelerate demand for information and generate a public conversation about what kind of data matter for accountability. Finally, the two movements may be stronger together. The open data movement helps open government advocates focus on the end user’s needs and the possibilities of new technologies, while open government campaigners challenge open data advocates to focus on how transparency and technology can be leveraged for civic accountability. While it is too early to tell how these movements will play out, we believe that bringing these movements under the same big tent, coherently aligning their strategies, goals, and priorities, might ultimately be helpful for citizens interested in promoting openness in their own countries.
Open Data Research: “The Dynamics of Opening Government Data,” by Natalie C. Helbig, Anthony M. Cresswell, G. Brian Burke, and Luis Luna-Reyes. (Download PDF)
The information polity perspective described in this paper provides government a way to identify the various stakeholders and their patterns of interaction that influence or control the generation, flows, and uses of enhanced information resources in open data initiatives. The dynamic modeling techniques used highlight the ways different constraints can impact the system as a whole and affect value creation. These tools support planners’ ability to generate informed hypotheses about changing patterns of interaction among existing and potential new stakeholders. In this way, governments can better evaluate the costs, risks, and benefits of a wide variety of open data initiatives.
Job: Publish What You Fund, the global campaign for aid transparency, is seeking a detail-oriented, numerate researcher to provide support within the research and monitoring workstream. The successful candidate will assist in particular with the production of the annual Aid Transparency Index, from design to publication; and will also provide general support for other research and monitoring projects being undertaken by Publish What You Fund–for example by analyzing donor organizations and the quality of their aid information, contributing to analytical reports, and designing tools to facilitate the campaign’s open data work.
Canada: The open dialogue launched by the Canadian Information Commissioner on Right to Know Day will close on Dec 21, 2012). Submissions can be made via the website.
Open Data: The Finnish Institute in London and the Open Knowledge Foundation are planning a book, “a crowd-sourced publication which will contextualise the international open knowledge movement in the
UNEP Survey: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is undertaking an online survey with stakeholders (to collect feedback on UNEP’s current engagement system and inputs on new models of participation that can respond to the needs of all stakeholders. The survey will be open until Dec. 31. Interested organizations and networks, including those who do not yet engage with UNEP, are invited to participate in the consultation here: http://obsurvey.com/S2.aspx?id=1709BF46-57AF-41C0-A894-5F6DF3EAAFEA. The survey is also available into French and Spanish on the following links:
French: http://obsurvey.com/S2.aspx?id=c3819dc6-d80d-4ae9-bdc3-b7c76db3ad84
Spanish: http://obsurvey.com/S2.aspx?id=0f877a74-15eb-4930-9643-64c270a8c5c8
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