[open-government] Citizens Engagement in Open Gov't Data

Tue May 1 21:49:08 UTC 2012

Hello Fabio,

Incidentally I just blogged about a similar topic and think that it might
be of interest -
http://inferringvalue.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/circles-of-open-government-data/

In the blog I talk about how surveys can be useful in places where OGD is a
developed domain. I argue that using surveys to choose the datasets right
from the outset of an OGD implementation in a country may not be the best
of idea. Also, I am extremely keen in this topic and will be interested to
know what conclusions you draw from your research.

Best wishes,
Ankit

On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 11:55 PM, michael gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com>wrote:

> Interesting and important question and I'ld like to offer a couple of
> comments.
>
> First comment is that be cautious of being exclusively "demand" driven.
>  One
> problem in "technical" areas is that people often don't know what they
> don't
> know... If people have little or no knowledge of data they will have little
> means to identify what data they might want or need to have access to. And
> there is a corrolary which is that people who already know about data, know
> very well what additional data might be useful for them.
>
> This is a problem as it means that those who are already making use of data
> will be those who will be able to identify what further information they
> would like to make use of while those currently at a disadvantage won't,
> without some sort of external intervention reach a position where they can
> identify and usefully articulate a demand for data.
>
> The general observation I think is that one should not begin and end with a
> "demand" or "consumer" driven approach, rather better to begin with the
> notion of what information is required for active and effective citizenship
> as a baseline and then use that as a tool to inform and engage the broader
> community in identifying what additional information might desireably and
> usefully be made available.
>
> Best,
>
> Mike
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: open-government-bounces at lists.okfn.org
> [mailto:open-government-bounces at lists.okfn.org] On Behalf Of Rufus Pollock
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 3:03 PM
> To: Fabio Shida Fukuda
> Cc: Open Government WG List
> Subject: Re: [open-government] Citizens Engagement in Open Gov't Data
>
>
> The Open Data Handbook has:
>
> <http://opendatahandbook.org/en/how-to-open-up-data/choose-datasets.html>
>
> As that suggests, and as Tim highlighted asking people is always a great
> idea! This is something, for example the UK government did very early on
> and
> you always get some interesting suggestions -- at the same time you have to
> be ready (if you are a government) to deal with the problem of not being
> able to make available some datasets people will want (though at least you
> can know what to prioritise internally).
>
> I'd also be wary of arguments about resource constraints -- while it is
> true
> that some datasets may be costly to open up, in many cases opening up
> datasets may be an immediate net cost reduction for government via reduced
> FOI requests, greater inter-agency efficiency etc.
>
> Rufus
>
> On 28 April 2012 12:36, Fabio Shida Fukuda <shidafukuda at un.org> wrote:
> >
> > Dear All:
> >
> > I would like to have some comments and ideas on how to capture and
> > measure social and citizens demands to the design of strategies of
> > Open Gov't Data.
> >
> > In many countries, opening data might be a costly process due to human
> > and financial resources constraints - thus selecting the datasets
> > which respond to civil society demands can be a good way to start the
> > design the strategy since many public bodies are/can be involved in
> > this process.
> >
> > Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts!
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Fabio
> >
> >
> > Fabio Enzo Shida Fukuda
> >
> > UNPAN Management Unit
> >
> > Division for Public Administration and Development Management | DPADM
> >
> > United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | UN DESA
> >
> > ) shidafukuda at un.org |  fabio.fukuda1 (skype)
> >
> > É +1 212 963 1070 (office) | +1 917 283 0429  (mobile)
> >
> > G  2 United Nations Plaza | Room DC2-1726 | New York, NY | 10017 USA
> >
> >
> >
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> >
>
>
>
> --
> Co-Founder, Open Knowledge Foundation
> Promoting Open Knowledge in a Digital Age
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-- 
Ankit Sharma
Masters | London School of Economics '10
http://inferringvalue.wordpress.com | http://obscurekashmiri.wordpress.com
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