why should think tanks and advocacy groups care about open government data?
DESCRIPTION
Talk given at "Use of Information and Data for Enhanced Communication and Advocacy" workshop in Budapest, 17th March 2011.TRANSCRIPT
Why should think tanks andadvocacy groups care about open government data?
Jonathan GrayOpen Knowledge Foundation
2011/03/17/Budapest/OSI
Some cautionary reminders
Datasets don'tchange the world
(People do)
Government datasets don'tfall out of the sky
(They are generated by people)
Datasets don't tell us the whole truth,and nothing but the truth
(They are partial)
[Drumroll]
What is 'open government data'?
Re-use
From legal uncertainty...
… to legal clarity.
Open data: free for anyone to reuse orredistribute for any purpose
“open” =
usereuseredistributioncommercial reusederivative works
“do what you like”
may require:- attribution
- sharing back
C
opendefinition.org
Why?
Enable people to make useful,valuable things with government data
New ways of representing data
Put policies into context
New ways of delivering data
Personalised services
A richer data ecosystem
Not just about government
More pairs of eyes
Harness external expertise
Collaborate more effectively
Government data isn't always perfect– but it is often a good place to start
Open government data isn't a panacea– but it can help us to create a richer
picture of the world around us
How?
What data is collectedpublished by government?
What laws and policiesgovern the reuse of public
information?
What datasets do you need?
What kinds of questions do youwant to be able to answer?
Help to open up governmentdata in your country:
http://www.opendatamanual.org
Help to map the data landscape:
http://www.ckan.nethttp://publicdata.eu
http://www.opendatasearch.org
Image credits
Images by Otto Neurath and the Isotype Institute from FulltablePierre Vivant's Traffic Light Tree by William WarbyThe Green Light by Ted Percival
Further links
Open Knowledge Foundation - http://www.okfn.orgWhere Does My Money Go? - http://www.wheredoesmymoneygo.orgOpen Spending - http://www.openspending.orgEuropean Energy - http://energy.publicdata.euOpen Government Data - http://www.opengovernmentdata.orgCKAN - http://www.ckan.netOpen Knowledge Definition - http://www.opendefinition.orgGet The Data - http://www.getthedata.org
These slides are available under a Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike License. While most imagesare available under an open license (see above) some are used for illustrative purposes and rights may bereserved by their creators.