[@OKFNau] a perspective from local government

Wed Mar 25 09:23:24 UTC 2015

Cobi

Happy to publish user guides etc on OKNau if I can get me access resolved.
If not I will email them anyone interested.

Regards
Rebecca

On Fri, Mar 20, 2015 at 2:26 PM, Cobi Alison Smith <
cobi.smith at unimelb.edu.au> wrote:

>  Thank you so much for sharing Will! It would be great if your
> recommendations could be shared on the OKFNau website. Data standards are
> really important! Given my research linking local governance to global
> governance, what you shared brought to mind the emerging HXL standards:
> http://docs.hdx.rwlabs.org/standards/ and my frustration with Australia’s
> lack of follow-through on its IATI commitments. It’s embarrassing we have
> nothing on this map:
> http://www.aidtransparency.net/news/unesco-publishes-to-iati-launches-transparency-portal
>
>
>
> it’s increasingly recognised internationally that governments are not
> going to solve all our problems and nor should they – so open data is a way
> to allow “civil society” (buzzword cringe) to do things that government
> can’t or won’t. Open data is useful because it helps separate the can’t
> from the won’t – for example, governments or companies that won’t release
> data might reasonably be suspected of corruption. I’m as interested in
> community development within Australia as I am international development,
> so I consider councils sharing data to be an important step towards a more
> equitable and just world with accountable & legitimate local governance.
>
>
>
> *From:* okfn-au [mailto:okfn-au-bounces at lists.okfn.org] *On Behalf Of *William
> McIntosh
> *Sent:* Friday, 20 March 2015 10:29 AM
> *To:* Open Knowledge discussion list for Australia.
> *Subject:* [@OKFNau] a perspective from local government
>
>
>
> Hello all, short time subscriber first time replier…
>
>
>
> I might chime in here to add a view from inside government.
>
>
>
> A lot of us in government are working very hard to open up as much of our
> data as possible. From my perspective change is happening, but possibly not
> as fast as some people had hoped. This is for a whole range of reasons but
> partly because I think we’re only seeing Open data becoming ‘mainstream’
> for Australian government in the last couple of years. Perhaps its simply
> taken some time to penetrate the different levels of government. I did see
> an example of this  at a recent meeting where some councils had been hit
> over the head with the idea of embracing Open Data. I like to call this
> ‘positively agitating’ councils into action. This is done by actively
> promoting the benefits of open data to each council’s community and giving
> them some clear achievable objectives to start their journey and the MAV
> <http://www.mav.asn.au/Pages/default.aspx> has done a very good job of
> this. You will see that even though some councils won’t embrace it straight
> away we are starting to see the light bulb flick on across many different
> councils right now (Manningham have just uploaded some of their data
> <https://data.gov.au/dataset?q=manningham&sort=extras_harvest_portal+asc>
> this month).
>
>
>
> It’s important to note that its not unique to those outside government to
> be frustrated with the rate of change with Open Data, this is something
> people inside government face also. All we can do is advocate the benefits
> to change the way of thinking.
>
>
>
> *Types of things that helps government become active open data
> participants:*
>
>
>
> Steve Bennett’s help creating data schema standards
> <http://okfnau.github.io/open-council-data/> for common datasets across
> councils has been a huge help. This helps in different ways such as
> councils have a clear objective to what their data could be cleaned up to
> look like, allows for easy combination of data across the state and also
> can be used to help list the metadata. This is only early days yet, but its
> important that these are communicated (and debated) now so that we end up
> with a well thought out and very functional spec for different data.
>
>
>
> Thinking further ahead to when most councils are uploading their data
> online and having ~50 – 70 datasets online (hopefully to an repository like
> data.gov.au) they will be looking at ways to automate this process. So
> creation of python/CKAN scripts to automatically update their data online
> could potentially be of huge value across many different organisations. At
> the moment besides talking to Surrey council I haven’t found many other
> people looking at this and willing to share.
>
>
>
> Hopefully this provides some useful information happy to field any
> questions/comments and chat further,
>
>
>
> Looking forward to attending an OKFNau event in the coming months,
>
>
>
> be awesome,
>
>
>
> Will McIntosh
>
>
>
> Coordinator Spatial Information Systems
>
> City of Greater Geelong
>
> Phone: 03 5272 4062
>
>
>
> *From:* okfn-au [mailto:okfn-au-bounces at lists.okfn.org
> <okfn-au-bounces at lists.okfn.org>] *On Behalf Of *Cobi Alison Smith
> *Sent:* Thursday, 19 March 2015 3:05 PM
> *To:* Open Knowledge discussion list for Australia.
> *Subject:* [@OKFNau] speaking of values...
>
>
>
> To throw the cat among the pigeons, I’m going to add a couple of points:
>
>
>
> -          I don’t think OKFNau is in a great position to be pushing for
> change right now, given lack of transparency about upcoming plans &
> governance changes in the wake of broader OK changes. It’s easy to
> criticise; it’s harder to lead by example. Consider how hard it is for
> OKFNau to manage this – then consider government departments which have way
> more inertia & less knowledge. Yes, OK folk are volunteers whereas
> government employees get paid, and yes change should and will happen – but
> I think OKFNau is unintentionally complacent in the same way governments
> can be.
>
>
>
> -          I want to echo and amplify Rosie’s comment that you can speak
> but that doesn’t mean people will hear. And when people express frustration
> via jokes about violence, it means those of us who are trying to be heard
> and create change within organizations have to deal with more barriers. The
> last thing we need in Australia is for transparency to be further
> undermined by perceived risks of kneecapping, kidnapping, or any kind of
> bogus security paranoia. Less hostility and more inclusivity please. The
> more folk from government who are on this list asking for help the better;
> making them feel unwelcome via sneers & such isn’t conducive to positive
> change.
>
>
>
> Incidentally, Rosie have you considered a Shuttleworth Fellowship?
> https://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/applications/ I was being
> encouraged to apply while I was in Geneva last year – I think you deserve
> it much more.
>
>
>
> Cheers, Cobi
>
>
>
> *From:* okfn-au [mailto:okfn-au-bounces at lists.okfn.org
> <okfn-au-bounces at lists.okfn.org>] *On Behalf Of *Rosie Williams
> *Sent:* Thursday, 19 March 2015 12:19 PM
> *To:* Open Knowledge discussion list for Australia.
> *Subject:* Re: [@OKFNau] Examples of Use of Commercial Government Data
>
>
>
> Just this week I had to try to convince a New Enterprise Incentive Scheme
> business advisor that what I do has value. His first comment to me was ' I
> suspect there might copyright issues'. I then explained to him the
> definition of open data and it's relationship to copyright. He seemed
> unaware of the concept, not to mention a bit sceptical. How he would
> 'advise' me remains to be seen. I spent a fair bit of the time trying to
> explain to him that tenders and grants data are actually different things.
> I didn't get far.
>
>
>
> If I am not able to convince this person of the value of what I do I will
> be put to work cleaning hospitals. I don't mind the work but it would be
> sad if I have to stop doing what is so valuable for society because of the
> lack of appreciation of open data in wider society. I guess when it comes
> to convincing people of something you can speak but that does not guarantee
> the recipient will hear what you say. Still, I live in hope ;-)
>
>
>
> Apologies if you've been visiting BudgetAus this week, I've been making
> huge changes and for long periods and both at home and the library where I
> work the internet has been up and down like a yo-yo.  It's starting to look
> good now though and giving me the opportunity to try new things.
>
> Rosie Williams BA (Sociology)
>
> ________________________________________
>
>
>
>  NoFibs.com.au <http://nofibs.com.au> - Open Data Reporter
>
>  InfoAus.net <http://infoaus.net> - Founder and Developer
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 02:54:03 +1100
> From: steven.decosta at linkdigital.com.au
> To: okfn-au at lists.okfn.org
> Subject: Re: [@OKFNau] Examples of Use of Commercial Government Data
>
> You folks are cool :) great discussion going on here.
>
>
>
> After being in Kiev and spending a lot of time with Government officials
> there I now realize just how lucky we are in Australia. Ukraine has 1,200
> government services and of those only two are currently delivered via a
> digital medium.
>
>
>
> There is zero bureaucratic latitude to do anything outside the law so
> every process change starts with a change to legislation.
>
>
>
> Having said that I still hold to the belief that eGovernment is inevitable
> and open data that is generated by transparently operated digital
> government services is the 'killer app' for today's democracy.
>
>
>
> I expect the Federal Digital Transformation Office will help create a wave
> of change through all levels of Australian Government and digital
> bureaucrats will become the norm in all agencies.
>
>
>
> Going 'native' now has a new meaning.
>
>
>
> Hoots!
>
> On Wednesday, March 18, 2015, Tennessee Leeuwenburg <
> tleeuwenburg at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Lachlan,
>
>
>
> In my frustrated moments, I think that about the whole world, not just
> government :). I think it's amazing when anyone manages to find a way to be
> successful through openness, and it's the way of the future. If only we
> could get there :)
>
>
>
> You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...
>
>
>
> -T
>
>
>
> On 16 March 2015 at 15:02, Lachlan Musicman <datakid at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I deserve that rebuke and I think Pia makes a good point. But it's
> also true that from *outside* government, it can be hard to be
> anything but cynical, and I am not often seeing that change of
> attitude that you claim - as someone bubbling with impatience on the
> outside, I see feet draggers and excuse makers. I think that different
> levels of government (Fed, State, Local) probably have different
> opinions and different levels of commitment as well. I know I should
> be differentiating between them, but in reality, I just see a wall of
> Government.
>
> Good to see the discussion take off ;)
>
> Cheers
>
> L.
>
>
>
> ------
> The totalitarian society envisioned by George Orwell in 1984 should
> have arrived by now. The electronic gadgets are here. The government
> is here, ready to do what Orwell anticipated. So the power exists, the
> motive, and the electronic hardware. But these mean nothing, because,
> progressively more and more so, no one is listening. The new youth
> that I see is too stupid to read, too restless and bored to watch, too
> preoccupied to remember. The collective voice of the authorities is
> wasted on him; he rebels. But rebels not out of theoretical,
> ideological considerations, only out of what might be called pure
> selfishness. Plus a careless lack of regard for the dread consequences
> the authorities promise him if he fails to obey. He cannot be bribed
> because what he wants he can build, steal, or in some curious,
> intricate way acquire for himself. He cannot be intimidated because on
> the streets and in his home he has seen and participated in so much
> violence that it fails to cow him. He merely gets out of its way when
> it threatens, or, if he can't escape, he fights back. When the locked
> police van comes to carry him off to the concentration camp the guards
> will discover that while loading the van they have failed to note that
> another equally hopeless juvenile has slashed the tires. The van is
> out of commission. And while the tires are being replaced, the other
> youth siphons out all the gas from the gas tank for his souped-up
> Chevrolet Impala and has sped off long ago.
> ----
> The Android and the Human, Philip K. Dick
> sourced from
> http://boingboing.net/2015/03/10/philip-k-dicks-androids-blu.html
>
> On 15 March 2015 at 11:22, Pia Waugh <pia.waugh at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Just a quick one:
> >
> > On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 3:30 PM, Lachlan Musicman <datakid at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Government officials. I cannot express how grateful I am that there are
> >> people in this organisation who can talk pretty because I just want to
> break
> >> their kneecaps and push them into puddles with a sneer.
> >
> >
> > It'd be really cool if people could remember that "government officials"
> are
> > not a faceless enemy. There are a lot of us working in government to
> improve
> > things, and comments like this certainly don't help. If you make it a
> > "you're either with us or agin us" then you make it very hard to
> > collaborate, educate or change the status quo. Personally I'm finding
> > attitudes are changing within Australian governments (fed,
> state/territory
> > and local) quite rapidly and I'm cautiously optimistic things will
> continue
> > to get better. Meanwhile, I guess we'll start issuing knee protectors as
> > standard issue across the public service ;)
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Pia
> >
>
> > _______________________________________________
> > okfn-au mailing list
> > okfn-au at lists.okfn.org
> > https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-au
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-au
> >
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> Tennessee Leeuwenburg
> http://myownhat.blogspot.com/
> "Don't believe everything you think"
>
>
>
> --
>
> *STEVEN DE COSTA *|
> *EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR *www.linkdigital.com.au
>
>
>
> [image: Image removed by sender.]  [image: Image removed by sender.] [image:
> Image removed by sender.]
>
>
>
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