[wdmmg-discuss] Interested in spending data?

[Jonathan Gray]

Eric: thanks for this!

We were planning to do a mini project to document open source
visualisation tools here:

http://ideas.okfn.org/ideas/80/visokfnorg-a-simple-guide-to-open-source-data-visualisation-tools

Rufus also spent time looking into JS visualisation [1].

Please do keep us in the loop with what you're doing - as I think
we're thinking of doing some non-flash stuff in future, especially
with OpenSpending.org. It would be great to swap notes and share code!
;-)

All the best,

Jonathan

[1] http://rufuspollock.org/wdmmg/explorer.html

On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 7:50 AM, Eric Barrett <eric at omc.ge> wrote:
> hey all,
> i wanted to share some ideas for visualizations that we want to do with
> Tbilisi's budget.
> http://thejit.org/demos/
> i think
> both http://thejit.org/static/v20/Jit/Examples/Treemap/example2.html# and http://thejit.org/static/v20/Jit/Examples/Sunburst/example2.html are
> both good and easy to understand and comprehend visualizations for the
> tbilisi budget. we just heard back from the mayor and i have a meeting today
> to discuss our project. basically, the goal is to simply present who we are
> and what we have done, then present our project with the ultimate goal of
> discussing who we need to directly interact with to get the information we
> need.
>
> in case i haven't outlined it, our project is called TbiliCity ( a merge on
> Tbilisi, the capital, and City ). this will be a place that organizes data
> around five main areas:
>
> the city budget;
> city services;
> public transportation;
> public utilities; and
> waste management.
>
> the project is 12 months and is quite ambitious. it seeks to organize the
> data, make it more accessible and create interactive web applications that
> engage the public in a way that is useful to their needs.
>
> we are excited about the visualizations and are seeking a non-Flash /
> javascript approach. the js library is one of many around now and there is
> always room to develop new ones to meet specific needs for visualizations
> that are less cookie-cutter.
> if y'all have any insight or ideas, let me know.
> all the best,
> eric
> jumpstart georgia
> proj. man and it team leader
> +995 95 13 92 69
> On Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 11:45 AM, Eric Barrett <eric at omc.ge> wrote:
>>
>> Hey Jonathan,
>> Great to meet y'all. I'll send an introductory email to the newsletter. I
>> am still waiting to hear back from the office of the mayor about a more
>> detailed budget. honestly, i am not too confident. still, will have to try
>> harder. it has been eight days, so i'll wait at least 10 business days
>> before I send a follow up email. That email will touch on a broader 'data
>> directive' perspective which might be more appealing, like we discussed.
>> Also, I am still interested about a country comparative approach that
>> might motivate the office to open up a bit more. I am not sure how to
>> initiate that, though.
>> Transparency International Georgia (http://transparency.ge) launched
>> fixmystreet.ge yesterday. The mayor was there and he dominated the entire
>> press event :( when he left, not a single reporter remained to talk to
>> transparency international, at least not any with cameras. Ah, such is our
>> media. He did not understand the idea completely and, of course, approached
>> from a politician's perspective, not a citizen's.
>> Let me know if you have any more ideas. I am trying to find alternative
>> sources for information, but haven't found any org that has detailed city
>> budget/spending data.
>> Hoping you are well,
>> Eric
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 5:38 AM, Jonathan Gray <jonathan.gray at okfn.org>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> It was great to meet you all in Budapest last week! This is just a
>>> quick note for any of you who are interested in spending data. If you
>>> are potentially interested in working with the Open Knowledge
>>> Foundation to explore or visually represent spending data in your
>>> country, we'd *very* much like to hear from you as soon as possible!
>>>
>>> If you'd like to take this further, we'd be most grateful if you (or
>>> someone from your end) could write a brief note of introduction to our
>>> wdmmg-discuss mailing list at your earliest convenience, stating:
>>>
>>>  * Your country, affiliation, and your general interest in spending data
>>>  * Any URLs with spending datasets in them
>>>  * Any further information about spending data in your country - or
>>> what particular datasets you are interested in
>>>
>>> You can join the list here:
>>>
>>>  http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/wdmmg-discuss
>>>
>>> If you'd prefer not to join the list, you can write back to me, and to
>>> Friedrich, Jason, Rufus (who are all in carbon copy) and let us know
>>> directly.
>>>
>>> We will be writing up a short post about the event soon.
>>>
>>> In any case - it was great to meet you all, and I hope you arrived
>>> home safely after the event!
>>>
>>> All the best,
>>>
>>> Jonathan
>>>
>>> --
>>> Jonathan Gray
>>>
>>> Community Coordinator
>>> The Open Knowledge Foundation
>>> http://blog.okfn.org
>>>
>>> http://twitter.com/jwyg
>>> http://identi.ca/jwyg
>>
>
>



-- 
Jonathan Gray

Community Coordinator
The Open Knowledge Foundation
http://blog.okfn.org

http://twitter.com/jwyg
http://identi.ca/jwyg