No subject


Sun Dec 12 18:29:16 GMT 2010


portunity for communities and civil society to use open data to; hold the s=
tate to account, contribute to design and review/evaluation of public servi=
ces and to inform their own work/activities. [that's not to say we're not i=
nterested in how civil society becomes more open and accountable to benefic=
iaries by adopting an open data approach. We are....just haven't expended a=
s much brain time to that as to the civic participation/community involveme=
nt side of things].

Some of the key challenges we see at present in relation to open data are:

1)     That the sector is woefully unaware of the whole agenda (aside from =
a small minority...who I suspect are those on this list!). And even our 'ch=
ampions' in Whitehall - OCS - are (by their own, private, admission) pretty=
 clueless about what government is doing and how it relates to the sector.

2)     Open data is for the most part being led by/left to techies and data=
geeks...and the implications of are that a developer-led agenda will delive=
r developer-based solutions (ie for the geeks by the geeks)...and the real =
potential for opendata to be transformative will be lost.

3)     The government (and much of the debate) is couched in terms of 'tran=
sparency' as if this is an end in itself...rather than this being a precurs=
or for greater accountability. Transparency can be hugely disempowering - e=
g publishing 125,000 lines of public spending data without any context/expl=
anation, is worthless (and worse than that, it creates an expectation that =
we're missing something if we don't try and interrogate it to find the 'kil=
ler fact' needle in the proverbial haystack. We must move the debate on and=
 challenge this type of thinking if we are to use opendata in any meaningfu=
l way.

4)     We currently don't have (or don't know of) the necessary tools to us=
e opendata effectively - and by tools I mean ones that are designed for cit=
izens and community organisations to use...not people with Phd.s in GIS!

5)     The real potential in opendata lies in integrating/using different p=
ublic data sets, along with civil society's own data (and that from the pri=
vate sector).

6)     If we do nothing the private sector will be all over this agenda lik=
e a rash and we will be so far behind it will be impossible to ever catch u=
p.


Anyway...that's some thoughts from me.

Look forward to hearing what others think

Best wishes

toby

Toby Blume
Chief Executive
Urban Forum

E-Mail: toby at urbanforum.org.uk<mailto:toby at urbanforum.org.uk>  Web: www.urb=
anforum.org.uk<http://www.urbanforum.org.uk>
Tel: 020 7253 4816                     Fax: 020 7253 4817
Urban Forum is the trading name of Diverse Cities, a company limited by gua=
rantee, number 3418682, and a registered charity, number 1096131. Registere=
d address: 33 Corsham Street, London N1 6DR.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tobyblume/

From: open-civil-society-bounces at lists.okfn.org [mailto:open-civil-society-=
bounces at lists.okfn.org] On Behalf Of David Pidsley
Sent: 04 August 2011 11:18
To: List for Open Civil Society
Subject: Re: [open-civil-society] Introducing open-civil-society {Scanned b=
y Mailsafe}

Further to Dave's summary, I'd like to welcome everyone to the list and enc=
ourage you to use:

our Civil Society Data Hub at http://thedatahub.org/group/civil-society whi=
ch is a group for anyone interested in sharing open data related to Civil S=
ociety (voluntary, civic and social organisations); it is a great place to =
start moving datasets into, for example from http://data.ncvo-vol.org.uk; a=
nd

OKF's Civil Society Interest Group http://okfn.org/groups/civil-society/ fo=
r members and meeting people.

By way of a definition:

"Civil Society is composed of the totality of voluntary civic and social or=
ganizations and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, =
as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state (regardless of that=
 state's political system) and commercial institutions of the market." Wiki=
pedia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_society>

For anyone just getting started in this space, you might like to read this =
article from October on Options for young volunteers: 'scrape vs. scrounge'=
 for open charity data<http://davidpidsley.com/open-our-future>.

Feel free to contact me on anything open civil society related.

Kindest regards,

David

David Pidsley
Ambassador for Civil Society,
Open Knowledge Foundation

davidpids at gmail.com<mailto:davidpids at gmail.com>
Mobile: 07967 488604
Skype: davidpids
Twitter.com/davidpidsley<http://twitter.com/davidpidsley>
Facebook.com/davidpidsley<http://Facebook.com/davidpidsley>
LinkedIn.com/in/davidpidsley<http://linkedin.com/in/davidpidsley>
Blog: http://davidpidsley.com<http://davidpidsley.com/>


On 4 August 2011 10:53, David Kane <David.Kane at ncvo-vol.org.uk<mailto:David=
.Kane at ncvo-vol.org.uk>> wrote:

Hello - if you're receiving this email, it's because you've signed up to
the open-civil-society email discussion list.

A little background to the list - it came about as the result of a
conversation between myself and Jonathan from the Open Knowledge
Foundation. We talked about how there seemed to be a growing community
of people coming together who were interested in open data/open
knowledge and charities/civil society/social enterprise.

Jonathan very kindly offered OKFN's services in terms of hosting an
email discussion list - and so open-civil-society was born, as an
attempt to connect those people. But with no greater masterplan than
that.

What the list is specifically for is up to the list members. I think I'm
particularly interested in a few things:

 - how do open data and civil society work together? - what happens when
the practical collides with the technical? I'd be really interested in
case studies that people have of open data working for charities-
whether that's helping them become more accountable or improve their
services, or how they use open data to hold others to account.

 - sharing any events, reports, websites or data sets that are released
- it's always useful to be kept up to date with *relevant* material.

 - 'theoretical' discussion - what does open data mean for civil
society? Does civil society have an obligation to be more open? Where
are the boundaries between being a private organisation and being
accountable? Do the arguments for government becoming more open apply to
civil society or are there different ones? Are the benefits the same?
What are the downsides?

That's my starter for 10 - but I'm sure there are lots of other ideas.
Interested in thoughts that you have.

I'd also encourage you all to promote the list to others who might be
interested. It's been very informal and twitter-based so far (and the
list has actually been set up for a long time without any promotion!)
I'm the only moderator on the list so far - so any other volunteers for
that are welcome!

Thanks

David


David Kane
Research Officer
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
david.kane at ncvo-vol.org.uk<mailto:david.kane at ncvo-vol.org.uk> | 020 7520 25=
79
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/almanac<http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/almanac> | @kanedr

_______________________________________________
open-civil-society mailing list
open-civil-society at lists.okfn.org<mailto:open-civil-society at lists.okfn.org>
http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-civil-society


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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=3DEN-GB link=3Dblue vli=
nk=3Dpurple><div class=3DWordSection1><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'f=
ont-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Thanks David and David fo=
r kicking this off&#8230;.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:=
p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-fami=
ly:"Arial","sans-serif"'>We&#8217;ve been having lots of disparate conversa=
tions about open data and so it&#8217;s great to help and pull things into =
a more contained space (and hopefully a more coherent and connected discuss=
ion).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10=
.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p class=
=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-seri=
f"'>A couple of thoughts and a couple of questions:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p=
 class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","san=
s-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'f=
ont-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>David P &#8211; can you e=
xplain a little more about the groups you&#8217;ve mentioned please. as I&#=
8217;m now slightly confused about the difference between them and this lis=
t. do they not do the same thing (ie connect people and conversation around=
 open data and civil society?). I&#8217;m sure there are differences, or yo=
u wouldn&#8217;t have set up this list, but I&#8217;m not sure I quite unde=
rstand them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-=
size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><br>David K &#8211; do you se=
e this group as focussing on how civil society uses public data? How civil =
society opens up its own data? Or both? clearly they are related and both n=
eeded, I just wasn&#8217;t sure what you were proposing.<o:p></o:p></span><=
/p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial"=
,"sans-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=
=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>From Urban Forum&#82=
17;s point of view, we&#8217;re very interested in the potential opportunit=
y for communities and civil society to use open data to; hold the state to =
account, contribute to design and review/evaluation of public services and =
to inform their own work/activities. [that&#8217;s not to say we&#8217;re n=
ot interested in how civil society becomes more open and accountable to ben=
eficiaries by adopting an open data approach. We are&#8230;.just haven&#821=
7;t expended as much brain time to that as to the civic participation/commu=
nity involvement side of things].<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal=
><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p>&nb=
sp;</o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;fo=
nt-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Some of the key challenges we see at presen=
t in relation to open data are:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoListPara=
graph style=3D'text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportL=
ists]><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><sp=
an style=3D'mso-list:Ignore'>1)<span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'=
>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><![endif]><span style=3D'fon=
t-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>That the sector is woefully=
 unaware of the whole agenda (aside from a small minority&#8230;who I suspe=
ct are those on this list!). And even our &#8216;champions&#8217; in Whiteh=
all &#8211; OCS &#8211; are (by their own, <i>private</i>, admission) prett=
y clueless about what government is doing and how it relates to the sector.=
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoListParagraph style=3D'text-indent:-18.=
0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style=3D'font-size:=
10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><span style=3D'mso-list:Ignore'>2)=
<span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </spa=
n></span></span><![endif]><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Aria=
l","sans-serif"'>Open data is for the most part being led by/left to techie=
s and datageeks&#8230;and the implications of are that a developer-led agen=
da will deliver developer-based solutions (ie for the geeks by the geeks)&#=
8230;and the real potential for opendata to be transformative will be lost.=
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoListParagraph style=3D'text-indent:-18.=
0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style=3D'font-size:=
10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><span style=3D'mso-list:Ignore'>3)=
<span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </spa=
n></span></span><![endif]><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Aria=
l","sans-serif"'>The government (and much of the debate) is couched in term=
s of &#8216;transparency&#8217; as if this is an end in itself&#8230;rather=
 than this being a precursor for greater accountability. Transparency can b=
e hugely disempowering &#8211; eg publishing 125,000 lines of public spendi=
ng data without any context/explanation, is worthless (and worse than that,=
 it creates an expectation that we&#8217;re missing something if we don&#82=
17;t try and interrogate it to find the &#8216;killer fact&#8217; needle in=
 the proverbial haystack. We must move the debate on and challenge this typ=
e of thinking if we are to use opendata in any meaningful way. <o:p></o:p><=
/span></p><p class=3DMsoListParagraph style=3D'text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list=
:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-=
family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><span style=3D'mso-list:Ignore'>4)<span style=
=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></=
span><![endif]><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-se=
rif"'>We currently don&#8217;t have (or don&#8217;t know of) the necessary =
tools to use opendata effectively &#8211; and by tools I mean ones that are=
 designed for citizens and community organisations to use&#8230;not people =
with Phd.s in GIS!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoListParagraph style=
=3D'text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span=
 style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><span style=3D=
'mso-list:Ignore'>5)<span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbs=
p;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><![endif]><span style=3D'font-size:10.0=
pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The real potential in opendata lies in=
 integrating/using different public data sets, along with civil society&#82=
17;s own data (and that from the private sector).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p c=
lass=3DMsoListParagraph style=3D'text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo=
1'><![if !supportLists]><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial"=
,"sans-serif"'><span style=3D'mso-list:Ignore'>6)<span style=3D'font:7.0pt =
"Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><![endif]>=
<span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>If we do =
nothing the private sector will be all over this agenda like a rash and we =
will be so far behind it will be impossible to ever catch up.<o:p></o:p></s=
pan></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"A=
rial","sans-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:=
p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-fami=
ly:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Anyway&#8230;that&#8217;s some thoughts from me.<o=
:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;fo=
nt-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoN=
ormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Loo=
k forward to hearing what others think<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoN=
ormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:=
p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0=
pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Best wishes<o:p></o:p></span></p><p cl=
ass=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-s=
erif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font=
-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>toby<o:p></o:p></span></p><p=
 class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","san=
s-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'f=
ont-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><ns0:PersonName><span style=3D'color:red'>=
Toby </span><span style=3D'color:red'>Blume</span></ns0:PersonName><span st=
yle=3D'color:red'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><i><spa=
n style=3D'font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Chief Executive</span></i><i><=
o:p></o:p></i></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><b><span style=3D'font-family:"Arial=
","sans-serif"'>Urban Forum<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><=
span style=3D'font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p>&nb=
sp;</o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:7.5pt;fon=
t-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>E-Mail: <a href=3D"mailto:toby at urbanforum.or=
g.uk">toby at urbanforum.org.uk</a>&nbsp; Web: <a href=3D"http://www.urbanforu=
m.org.uk">www.urbanforum.org.uk</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNor=
mal><span style=3D'font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Tel: 0=
20 7253 4816&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nb=
sp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fax: 020 7253 481=
7</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:7.5pt;=
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Urban Forum is the trading name of <i>Div=
erse Cities,</i> a company limited by guarantee, number 3418682, and a regi=
stered charity, number 1096131. Registered address: 33 Corsham Street, Lond=
on N1 6DR.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-si=
ze:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p c=
lass=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","san=
s-serif"'>Twitter: <a href=3D"http://twitter.com/tobyblume/">http://twitter=
.com/tobyblume/</a>&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:=
p></span></p><div style=3D'border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;paddi=
ng:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=3DMsoNormal><b><span lang=3DEN-US style=3D'f=
ont-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span la=
ng=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> op=
en-civil-society-bounces at lists.okfn.org [mailto:open-civil-society-bounces@=
lists.okfn.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>David Pidsley<br><b>Sent:</b> 04 August=
 2011 11:18<br><b>To:</b> List for Open Civil Society<br><b>Subject:</b> Re=
: [open-civil-society] Introducing open-civil-society {Scanned by Mailsafe}=
<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p><p cl=
ass=3DMsoNormal>Further to Dave's summary, I'd like to welcome everyone to =
the list and encourage you to use:<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=3DMsoNormal>=
<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal>our Civil Society Data=
 Hub at&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://thedatahub.org/group/civil-society">http://t=
hedatahub.org/group/civil-society</a>&nbsp;which is a group for anyone inte=
rested in sharing open data related to Civil Society (voluntary, civic and =
social organisations); it is a great place to start moving datasets into, f=
or example from <a href=3D"http://data.ncvo-vol.org.uk">http://data.ncvo-vo=
l.org.uk</a>;&nbsp;and<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&=
nbsp;</o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal>OKF's Civil Society Interest=
&nbsp;Group <a href=3D"http://okfn.org/groups/civil-society/">http://okfn.o=
rg/groups/civil-society/</a> for members and meeting people.<o:p></o:p></p>=
</div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p></div><div><p class=3D=
MsoNormal>By way of a definition:<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNo=
rmal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal>&quot;Civil Socie=
ty is composed of the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations =
and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct =
from the force-backed structures of a state (regardless of that state's pol=
itical system) and commercial institutions of the market.&quot; <a href=3D"=
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_society">Wikipedia</a><o:p></o:p></p></d=
iv><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMso=
Normal>For anyone just getting started in this space, you might like to rea=
d this&nbsp;article&nbsp;from October on&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://davidpidsle=
y.com/open-our-future">Options for young volunteers: 'scrape vs. scrounge' =
for open charity data</a>.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><o=
:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal>Feel free to contact me =
on anything open civil society&nbsp;related.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><div>=
<p class=3DMsoNormal><br clear=3Dall><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=3DMsoNorm=
al>Kindest regards,<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbs=
p;</o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal>David<o:p></o:p></p></div><div>=
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p></div><p class=3DMsoNormal>David =
Pidsley<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=3DMsoNormal>Ambassador for Civil Societ=
y,<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal>Open Knowledge&nbsp;Founda=
tion<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p></d=
iv><div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><a href=3D"mailto:davidpids at gmail.com" ta=
rget=3D"_blank"><span style=3D'color:#333333'>davidpids at gmail.com</span></a=
><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'color:#33333=
3'>Mobile: 07967 488604</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNorma=
l><span style=3D'color:#333333'>Skype: davidpids</span><o:p></o:p></p></div=
><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><a href=3D"http://twitter.com/davidpidsley" targ=
et=3D"_blank"><span style=3D'color:#333333'>Twitter.com/davidpidsley</span>=
</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><a href=3D"http://Facebo=
ok.com/davidpidsley" target=3D"_blank"><span style=3D'color:#333333'>Facebo=
ok.com/davidpidsley</span></a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNorma=
l><a href=3D"http://linkedin.com/in/davidpidsley" target=3D"_blank"><span s=
tyle=3D'color:#333333'>LinkedIn.com/in/davidpidsley</span></a><o:p></o:p></=
p></div></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'color:#333333'>Blog:=
&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://davidpidsley.com/" target=3D"_blank">http://davidpi=
dsley.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'marg=
in-bottom:12.0pt'><br><br><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=3DMsoNormal>On 4 Aug=
ust 2011 10:53, David Kane &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:David.Kane at ncvo-vol.org.uk=
">David.Kane at ncvo-vol.org.uk</a>&gt; wrote:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=3DMsoNor=
mal><br>Hello - if you're receiving this email, it's because you've signed =
up to<br>the open-civil-society email discussion list.<br><br>A little back=
ground to the list - it came about as the result of a<br>conversation betwe=
en myself and Jonathan from the Open Knowledge<br>Foundation. We talked abo=
ut how there seemed to be a growing community<br>of people coming together =
who were interested in open data/open<br>knowledge and charities/civil soci=
ety/social enterprise.<br><br>Jonathan very kindly offered OKFN's services =
in terms of hosting an<br>email discussion list - and so open-civil-society=
 was born, as an<br>attempt to connect those people. But with no greater ma=
sterplan than<br>that.<br><br>What the list is specifically for is up to th=
e list members. I think I'm<br>particularly interested in a few things:<br>=
<br>&nbsp;- how do open data and civil society work together? - what happen=
s when<br>the practical collides with the technical? I'd be really interest=
ed in<br>case studies that people have of open data working for charities-<=
br>whether that's helping them become more accountable or improve their<br>=
services, or how they use open data to hold others to account.<br><br>&nbsp=
;- sharing any events, reports, websites or data sets that are released<br>=
- it's always useful to be kept up to date with *relevant* material.<br><br=
>&nbsp;- 'theoretical' discussion - what does open data mean for civil<br>s=
ociety? Does civil society have an obligation to be more open? Where<br>are=
 the boundaries between being a private organisation and being<br>accountab=
le? Do the arguments for government becoming more open apply to<br>civil so=
ciety or are there different ones? Are the benefits the same?<br>What are t=
he downsides?<br><br>That's my starter for 10 - but I'm sure there are lots=
 of other ideas.<br>Interested in thoughts that you have.<br><br>I'd also e=
ncourage you all to promote the list to others who might be<br>interested. =
It's been very informal and twitter-based so far (and the<br>list has actua=
lly been set up for a long time without any promotion!)<br>I'm the only mod=
erator on the list so far - so any other volunteers for<br>that are welcome=
!<br><br>Thanks<br><br>David<br><br><br>David Kane<br>Research Officer<br>N=
ational Council for Voluntary Organisations<br><a href=3D"mailto:david.kane=
@ncvo-vol.org.uk">david.kane at ncvo-vol.org.uk</a> | 020 7520 2579<br><a href=
=3D"http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/almanac" target=3D"_blank">www.ncvo-vol.org.=
uk/almanac</a> | @kanedr<br><br>___________________________________________=
____<br>open-civil-society mailing list<br><a href=3D"mailto:open-civil-soc=
iety at lists.okfn.org">open-civil-society at lists.okfn.org</a><br><a href=3D"ht=
tp://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-civil-society" target=3D"_blank">=
http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-civil-society</a><o:p></o:p></p=
></div><p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p></div></div><p class=3DMso=
Normal><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",=
"sans-serif"'>This message has been scanned by Mailsafe</span> <o:p></o:p><=
/p></div></body></html>=

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