[wdmmg-discuss] Does anyone have any thoughts for this post on open data?

Mon Jun 21 10:59:54 UTC 2010

On 21 June 2010 10:56, K Corrick <kathryn.corrick at googlemail.com> wrote:
> Hello,
> This article by Dan McQuillan:
>
> Open data doesn't empower communities
>
> http://www.internetartizans.co.uk/open_data_does_not_empower
> "Open data doesn't empower communities. I'm not saying open data is a bad
> thing, but we need to highlight the gap between the semantic web and social
> impact. Otherwise we'll continue to get swept along on a tide of
> technocratic enthusiasm where hope lies in 'a flood of data to create a
> data-literate citizenry'...."
> Its currently getting a lot of attention on Twitter and some interesting
> feeback. I was just wondering if anyone from the WDMMG team like to post a
> comment to give our take on what he's saying?

I don't have as much time now to write a full on reply but:

1. Open data will help make the *delivery* of a whole bunch of public
services better (and perhaps cheaper). To take one *very* obvious
example: travel and transport planning.

2. Open data (plus FOI) also are a significant benefit to the
"enlarged" fourth estate (media + bloggers + citizen activists ...)
and will help them do their job of monitoring, critiquing (and
praising where deserved!) government.

3. But open data isn't a magic potion for democratic governance (what
is?!):it won't make participation (or empowerment or agency ...)
*automatically* run faster, jump higher etc (to paraphrase a po-mo ad
of the 90s).

4. If what you are after is more participation/collaborative
government/etc then open data can be a valuable ingredient but far
more important IMO is the actual governance structures you've got in
place. Sure, technology (+ open data) can make it easier to find out
what planning stuff is going on -- and possibly to make your views
known -- but if that doesn't actually feed into the decision making
process it won't make a huge difference to individual empowerment
(plus you've got to remember that there is a big cost in becoming
informed that technology doesn't automatically take away). [^1]

So to summarize:

  * Open data does deliver clear, concrete benefits including a better
"enlarged" fourth estate
  * But it won't "magically" empower people without work on the
actually machinery of governance

Rufus

[^1]: And conversely, most changes in governance structures aren't
that dependent on tech or open data -- the Conservatives "open source
planning" approach would have been applicable in 1910 as well as
today. (BTW: this is not an endorsement or otherwise of said approach
-- just an example that governance change and open data can sometimes
be fairly orthogonal).
<http://www.conservatives.com/news/news_stories/2010/02/new_homes_and_jobs_through_open_source_planning.aspx>