[open-development] [open-government] Announcing Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries project

Tue Feb 19 21:11:16 UTC 2013

This is exciting to hear, Tim! Sunlight recently announced a program of
case studies that we'll be pursuing thanks to support from Google.org:

http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/02/12/whytransparencymatters/

We're focusing on transparency, broadly construed, and we don't have a
specific geographic focus for this work. Still, I suspect that there might
be some useful overlap here. I'll stay tuned to the project, but please let
me know if you think an introduction between the teams would be worthwhile
and possible to arrange.

On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 10:16 AM, Tim Davies <
tim at practicalparticipation.co.uk> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I thought you might be interested in the project below;  I shared the call
> for proposals relating to this last year, and we've now selected a great
> network of case study partners working with us to track the way open data
> is being used in the global south over the next year. We'll be sharing
> regular updates through the project newsletter and website (
> www.opendataresearch.org / @odrnetwork) and welcome your thoughts on the
> key issues for research through the Linked In group at
> http://linkd.in/XrF4zV
>
> I've been working with Web Foundation on putting the project together, and
> will be working as the research coordinator for the project over the coming
> year. I'm looking forward to engaging with various members of this
> community as we explore the important research questions, and how to ensure
> the findings emerging from our work can inform practical work on open data
> across the world.
>
> Tim Davies
>
> ---
> Announcement from the Web Foundation site:
> http://www.webfoundation.org/2013/02/launching-research-exploring-the-emerging-impacts-of-open-data-in-developing-countries-oddc/
>
>
> Announcing research programme into open data in developing countries
>
> We are pleased to announce the launch of ‘Exploring the Emerging Impacts
> of Open Data in Developing Countries <http://www.opendataresearch.org/>‘
> (ODDC), a two-year research programme co-ordinated by the World Wide Web
> Foundation <http://www.webfoundation.org/> and established with funding
> from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada).<http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Pages/default.aspx> See
> www.opendataresearch.org for more details.
>
> In few short years open data has moved from being a niche interest in a
> few countries, to become part of the global policy mainstream, promoted
> widely by civil society, multilateral institutions, and by the Open
> Government Partnership. The ODDC project seeks to understand the dynamics
> of both open data policy and practice across the developing world, paying
> attention to the dynamics of open data use across different geographies and
> contexts, and looking at both positive impacts of open data, and unintended
> consequences. Through southern-led research cases, it seeks to develop a
> deeper understanding of developing country contexts and to determine the
> potential benefits and challenges of open data in such locations,
> supporting comparisons and contrasts to be drawn with early open data
> models from the US (data.gov <http://www.data.gov/>) and the UK (
> data.gov.uk).
>
> Armed with deeper insight and analysis of open data in a developing world
> context, ODDC project partners and stakeholders will be able to more
> efficiently engage global and local policymakers and practitioners to
> improve the developmental outcomes of open data initiatives in the
> developing world.
> The Research Agenda
>
> The core research objectives of this project aim to:
>
>    -
>
>    Support critical evaluation of the claims made for the benefits of
>    open data;
>    -
>
>    Identify strategies through which open data can be employed as a tool
>    of pro-poor and sustainable development;
>    -
>
>    Identify unintended consequences of open data policies and practices,
>    and highlight strategies to mitigate these;
>    -
>
>    Identify the mechanisms through which open data can bring about
>    change, and the factors that affect their successful operation, paying
>    particular attention to the wider institutional, political and social
>    systems in which open data use is embedded;
>    -
>
>    Inform the significant investments of money and time being put into
>    open data by national governments, funders, multilateral institutions and
>    grassroots groups, and contribute to the efficient and effective targeting
>    of resources, based on reasonable expectations about the potential returns
>    from open data.
>
> Studying Case Countries
>
> ODDC will conduct 17 independent case studies in 14 countries, drawing
> diverse samples and contexts to explore the emerging impacts of open data
> in relation to particular governance issues – from budget monitoring or
> regulation of extractive industries, to management of city infrastructure
> or involvement of marginalised communities in decision-making. Each study
> will include a number of shared components, supporting a broad, comparative
> analysis of how open data is developing in various locations, and in
> relation to different substantive issues.
>
> Initial case-study countries include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India,
> Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Nepal, Paraguay, Philippines, Sierra Leone,
> South Africa, Uganda and Uruguay.
> Building the Open Data Research Network
>
> To better realize the positive benefits of open data, much work is needed
> to fill the gaps in empirical evidence upon which open data initiatives are
> based. ODDC will continue to host researchers from the global south to
> explore open data in action, where it meets the processes of governance,
> and to provide a critical perspective on whether the promised outcomes do
> indeed occur and under what circumstances.
>
> Learn more about the Open Data Research Network and join the Network’s
> LinkedIn group<http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Open-Data-Research-Network-4790214>
>  (http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Open-Data-Research-Network-4790214) or
> follow the conversation at @odrnetwork <http://twitter.com/odrnetwork>
> Developing a Common Assessment for Measuring Open Data
>
> A key outcome of the ODDC project will be a robust, methodologically sound
> Common Assessment tool measuring the shared components of open data
> initiatives in the developing world. This Common Assessment tool will
> provide the analytical foundation upon which to build further assessment
> models and will greatly assist the field of open data research.
>
> Visit  <http://www.opendataresearch.org/>www.opendataresearch.org to
> learn more about this exciting exploration into open data and for details
> on how to get involved.
> Be sure to sign up for the quarterly newsletter <http://eepurl.com/sjNpH> to
> stay up to date on research developments and publications.
>
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