[open-civil-society] Introducing open-civil-society

[Tim Davies]

Hello David and all,

Thanks for getting the list active. It would be great to hear introductions
from people on the list on what brings them here - always useful to know who
is in the discussion.

My main focus in this space at the moment is via a cross-over with the
open-development working group, looking at Aid Information through
http://www.aidinfolabs.org - but I'm also really interested in how open data
plays a role in civil society campaigning and political action, and the role
civil society has to play as an intermediary, enabling citizens to make use
of data and use it to be more empowered in their interactions with
governments, companies and communities.

Another thing for useful discussion here might be how the governments open
data consultation published today could impact civil society organisations,
particularly those working with government. You can find the consultation
here:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/making-open-data-real-public-consultation

Looking forward to future list discussions,

All the best

Tim

On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 10:53 AM, David Kane <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 | 020 7520 2579
> www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/almanac | @kanedr
>
> _______________________________________________
> open-civil-society mailing list
> open-civil-society at lists.okfn.org
> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-civil-society
>



-- 


http://www.timdavies.org.uk
07834 856 303.
@timdavies

Co-director of Practical Participation:
http://www.practicalparticipation.co.uk
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