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The Politics of Open Data: Past, Present and Future

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Jonathan Gray

The document discusses the politics and evolution of open data in the context of democratic transparency and public information, structured around its past, present, and future. It analyzes the transformation of open data from a niche concept to a global political movement, identifying key actors and moments that shaped its development. Furthermore, it emphasizes the socio-technical implications of data infrastructures and the changing roles of citizens and governments in the context of civic engagement and accountability.

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The Politics of Open Data:! Past, Present and Future 22nd June 2015, Data Power, University of Sheffield Jonathan Gray | jonathangray.org | @jwyg
Ongoing research agenda on the politics of “digital transparency” and “open data”.
What is the role of transparency and public information in democratic politics after the “digital turn”?
Combination of historical, empirical and theoretical research to complicate, challenge and rethink contemporary “politics of public information”.
The project is not just descriptive.
It aims to inform emerging genres of democratic intervention around data infrastructures and public information systems as socio-technical assemblages.
What is at stake?
The politics of how information systems organise collective life.
Three parts of presentation.
1. Past 2. Present 3. Future
1. Unpacking different historical threads which contribute to contemporary ideals and practises of open data. 2. Tracing current constellations of different actors, concerns and political projects associated with open data on digital media. 3. Rethinking politics of public information - looking beyond disclosure to emerging forms of interventions into data infrastructures.
1. Past 2. Present 3. Future
1. Past! 2. Present 3. Future
What is open data?
Definitions and principles.
The Open Definition (2005):! http://opendefinition.org
Open Government Data Principles (2007):! https://public.resource.org/8_principles.html
UK Government Public Data Principles (2012):! http://data.gov.uk/library/public-data-principles
How information is disclosed.
Legal and technical re-usability.
What does this mean in practise?
Licenses and legal statements.
Open Definition - Conformant Licenses! http://opendefinition.org/licenses/
“Machine readable” formats.
Data portals.
Data.gov! http://data.gov
Data.gov.uk! http://data.gov.uk
Data Catalogs! http://datacatalogs.org/
Encouraging re-use, including through:
 • Hackdays • App competitions • Fellowships
National Day of Civic Hacking! http://hackforchange.org/report/
How is open data put to work?
 To what end?
Open data is not a free-floating, ahistorical concept, but a malleable idea whose meaning is continually reconfigured in response to shifting conceptions and practices of governance and democracy in different contexts.
Open data as a reflection of different visions, ideals, norms and practises.
Studying open data as a way to explore “organising mythologies” of Western modernity.
Evolving constellations of ideas and practises associated with citizenship, democracy, communication, participation, knowledge, technology, innovation, information, markets, economics, governance and science.
The unlikely rise of open data.
From niche idea in legal/tech circles to international political stage.
Familiar histories of open data.
Key actors, key moments,
 coherent rhetoric and programme.
Open Government Advocates in Sebastopol, California (December 2007) Government data shall be considered open if it is made public in a way that complies with the following principles… !
President Obama’s Open Government Initiative (January 2009) My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s “Transparency Revolution” (May 2010) I want our government to be one of the most open and transparent in the world.
Open Government Partnership (September 2011) We embrace principles of transparency and open government with a view toward achieving greater prosperity, well- being, and human dignity in our own countries and in an increasingly interconnected world.
G8 Open Data Charter (June 2013) Open data sit at the heart of a global movement to create more accountable, efficient, responsive, and effective governments and businesses, and to spur economic growth.
UN “Data Revolution” (August 2014) Data are the lifeblood of decision-making and the raw material for accountability.
How has this happened?
Gray, J. (2014), “Towards a Genealogy of Open Data”.! Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=260582
Raymond Geuss Giving a ‘genealogy’ is for Nietzsche the exact reverse of what we might call ‘tracing a pedigree’.
A pedigree A genealogy 1. Aims towards the positive valorization of some item Does not aim to be legitimising (and may be taken as de-legitimising) 2. Singular origin Multiple, contested, diverse threads of development 3. Origin is an actual source of value Threads of development will likely not be a source of value 4. Unbroken line of succession from origin to present Unlikely to be a single unbroken line of succession from multiple threads of development to the present 5. Series of steps that preserve value in question Different lines of development will not transmit value “down the genealogical line to the present”
How did the concept of open data come to possess the meanings that has for different actors today?
• economic value • enabling new markets • unlocking innovation • smart cities • “opening up” public services • government efficiency and cost savings • public sector reform • “smarter states” • open source and open access • civic hacking • transparency and accountability • e-democracy and public participation • data journalism and data activism • technical standards and formats • digital rights • copyright reform • access to information rights
Tracing different threads…
Political economics of information?
Joseph Stiglitz Governments should only provide a service on-line if private provision with regulation or appropriate taxation would not be more efficient. The “consensus view” in the US
Data is the new oil for the digital age. Neelie Kroes! Former Vice-President of European Commission
Role of state in collective life?
Tim O’Reilly! Founder, O’Reilly Media What if, instead of a vending machine, we thought of government as the manager of a marketplace?
Francis Maude! Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General Openness is the first of my “five principles for public service reform” that I developed when advising Spain about how to manage austerity in public finances.
Role of information in democratic politics?
1800s: Information visualisation for advocacy 1950s: Computer Assisted Reporting (CAR) 1960s: Social Survey movements 1990s: Access to Information/FOI movements 2000s: “Radical transparency” activism, civic hacking and data journalism
Influence Explorer: http://influenceexplorer.com/
They Work For You: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/
Redistribution of responsibility from states onto citizens, civil society and private sector?
New ideals of citizenship?
1939 2009
1943 2013
New kinds of “data subjects”- from
 “armchair auditors” to “civic entrepreneurs”?
1. Past 2. Present! 3. Future
How do these different historical threads play out in the present?
Open data as a highly digitally mediated policy issue.
Rogers, R. (2013) Digital Methods.
 Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Winner of 2014 Outstanding Book Award given by the International Communication Association.
Digital methods are “methods of the medium” designed to repurpose digital objects such as tags, likes, links and hashtags to study issues. – Digital Methods Initiative,
 University of Amsterdam
Unpicking and mapping the constellation! of actors, issues, visions, values, practises and projects associated with open data in various forms of digital media.
Cross-platform analysis, including: ! • Official documents • News media • Web • Wikipedia • Twitter • Github
A few examples from research in progress…
Open Data on Wikipedia
Timeline of creation of Wikipedia articles on open data
Top arguments for open data on different language Wikipedia editions
Top arguments for open data on different language Wikipedia editions
Economic growth is less prominent on Wikipedia than it is in other digital media.
Network of Wikipedia pages linking to open data page
Open data is more of a digital commons issue than an open government issue on Wikipedia.
Open Data in News Media
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 INVESTIGATIONS PUBLIC FINANCE COMPANIES DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS CRIME POLITICS WORKER CATEGORIES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS EXECUTIVES GOVERNMENT CITIES INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANISATIONS NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN RELATIONS ECONOMICS CHARITIES PHILANTHROPY SOCIETY SCIENCE AND RESEARCH CLIMATE CHANGE LAW INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Topics of media articles on open data in Lexis Nexis
TOP SUBJECTS LINKED TO SPECIFIC ARGUMENTS IN LEXIS NEXIS DATABASE * Africa News telegraph.co.uk TechWeb* The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Guardian (London) The Toronto Star BBC Monitoring The Irish Times The Times (London) The Australian The New York Times Independent.co.uk The Daily Telegraph (London) The Washington Post International New York Times Haymarket ITAR-TASS The Observer Business Daily (Nairobi)* The Courier Mail and The Sunday Mail (Australia) The Globe and Mail (Canada) The Nation (Nairobi)* This Day (Lagos) Business Monitor News South China Morning Post The Sunday Times (London) BusinessWorld New Scientist The New Zealand Herald The Star (Nairobi) thetimes.co.uk The East African (Nairobi)* M2 Communications National Post (12 hour delay) Australian Financial Review CommWeb* The Independent (London) Korea Herald The Moscow News (RIA Novosti)* The Nation (Thailand) The New Times (Kigali) Tampa Bay Times Vanguard (Lagos) Africa News The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Toronto Star The Observer BBC Monitoring The Guardian (London) The Irish Times The Times (London) The Washington Post Australian Financial Review Independent.co.uk International New York Times ITAR-TASS The Nation (Thailand) The New York Times TechWeb* This Day (Lagos) Africa News The Guardian (London) The Times (London) telegraph.co.uk The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Toronto Star The Irish Times M2 Communications The Daily Telegraph (London) Haymarket The Australian Birmingham Post Independent.co.uk The Observer The Star (Nairobi) thetimes.co.uk The Nation (Thailand) This Day (Lagos) The Washington Post BBC Monitoring Business Daily (Nairobi)* Business Monitor News The Business Times Singapore BusinessWorld The East African (Nairobi)* The Globe and Mail (Canada) Korea Herald The Sunday Times (London) Vanguard (Lagos) Africa News telegraph.co.uk The Irish Times The Australian TechWeb* M2 Communications This Day (Lagos) The Guardian (London) The New York Times The Toronto Star The Daily Telegraph (London) Haymarket The Observer The Times (London) The Washington Post Australian Financial Review The Gazette (12 hour delay) InformationWeek International New York Times The Moscow News (RIA Novosti)* National Post (12 hour delay) Africa News telegraph.co.uk The Irish Times TechWeb* The Washington Post The Guardian (London) Haymarket The Times (London) The Australian Independent.co.uk The Observer Australian Financial Review The New York Times This Day (Lagos) The Toronto Star InformationWeek M2 Communications The Daily Telegraph (London) The Straits Times (Singapore) The Advertiser/Sunday Mail (Australia) BBC Monitoring Birmingham Post Business Daily (Nairobi)* The Nation (Nairobi)* The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Independent (London) International New York Times The Nation (Thailand) New Straits Times (Malaysia) The New Zealand Herald standard.co.uk The Star (Nairobi) thetimes.co.uk Vanguard (Lagos) The Age (Melbourne, Australia) Business Monitor News The Business Times Singapore Daily Trust (Abuja) Europolitics (daily in English)* Foreign Direct Investment (fDi) The Globe and Mail (Canada) The Moscow News (RIA Novosti)* National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing (12 hour delay) The New Times (Kigali) The Sunday Times (London) Africa News telegraph.co.uk The Guardian (London) The Irish Times The Washington Post M2 Communications The Times (London) International New York Times Haymarket The New York Times Australian Financial Review Independent.co.uk The Australian The Daily Telegraph (London) TechWeb* This Day (Lagos) The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Nation (Nairobi)* BBC Monitoring Business Daily (Nairobi)* National Post (12 hour delay) The Observer The Star (Nairobi) The Business Times Singapore City A.M. The Globe and Mail (Canada) The New Times (Kigali) thetimes.co.uk BusinessWorld InformationWeek Korea Times The Nation (Thailand) New Straits Times (Malaysia) TechNews* Vanguard (Lagos) The Advertiser/Sunday Mail (Australia) Birmingham Post Business Day (South Africa) Business Monitor News Computer Reseller News Europolitics (daily in English)* Foreign Direct Investment (fDi) The Moscow News (RIA Novosti)* National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing (12 hour delay) standard.co.uk The Straits Times (Singapore) The Sunday Telegraph (London) Transparency, anti-corruption and accountability Democracy, participation and empowerment Public service delivery, decision making and policy-making Efficiency and waste Unlocking innovation and enabling new applications and services Economic growth and new businesses
The most frequently mentioned arguments for open data in mainstream media are innovation and economic growth.
Open Data on Twitter
There are distinct groups of actors with different concerns around open data on Twitter.
The two most prominent topics are transparency and innovation.
10km3x2 accountability africa agendadigitale agriculture aihit aihitdata ains amcto analysis analytics anticorruption api apis app apps apps4finland arcgis archeologia archives arduino art avoindata b2bdata barcelona bari bdf4data bilbao biodiversity bluemix bmta2014 boston btada bto2014 bus business canada carbon cartographie cdnpoli census cern cfabrigade chicago china circulareconomy cities citizen citizenscience cittadini civichacking civicinnovation civictech ckan ckx climate clinicaltrials cloud code4catania coding collaboration commons community contribuez corruption corruzione creativecommons crime crowdfunding crowdsourcing csv cultura culture dadesobertes dadosabertos dataconnexions dataeh datajournalism datajournalisme datamanagement datamining datarev datarevolution datarmor datascience dataset datasharing dataviz dati datos datosabiertos ddj ddjs democracy démocratie design developer developers development devops digital digitale digitalgov digitalhealth données donnéesouvertes donnéespubliques droit ebola ecommerce economy education egov egovernment emx energy engagement entrepreneur environment epsi esri ess essi eu europe event excel expo2015 facebook farm fb ff finance finodex fintech fiware fiwarebcu flashhacks foi foia food forumsmartcity france free freedata frenchtech funding futurecities gallery genova gis gisday globaldev globalhealth gobcn gobiernoabierto godan google goonbas gov gov2 gov20 governance government gtec h2020 hack hackathon hackathon22 hackday hackmyride hamburg hamont hcsm health healthcare helsinki heritage history hr iati ict ict4d india indicators information innovachallenge innovation innovations innovazione internet internetofthings investment iot it italia izod14 jobs js json knowledge kosovo lab4city latam lavoro lecce legalhack lhc libre linked linkeddata linkedopendata linux lobbying localgov lod london machinelearning mafiacapitale map mapping maps marketing matera matera2019 mhoo14 microdata mobile mobility moers montpellier mooc mozfest museum nantes nc nhs nigeria novagob2014 numerique nyc oa ocovaivrea odata odcdel14 odcs odi odiawards odisummit odjam2014 odsc oer ogap2 ogd ogov ogp ogpsanjose okfn online open openaccess openaid openbilanci openbudgets opencon2014 opencontent opencontracting opendatairl opendataitaly opendatakg opendev openeducation openglam opengovernment opengovuk openhardware openindex14 openinnovation openknowledge openlaw openmodels openness openpolicy openscience openstreetmap opentransport openup14 openweb oppnadata osm owf14 pa palermo paris partecipazione participación periodismodatos pitch policy politics poverty prato privacy procurement psi public publichealth queensland ratp rdf realestate rennes renzi rer research researchdata reynolda risp roma rt rubicity santé sce2014 science security selfie semaineip semanticweb senegal sharepsi simplification singapore site smartcities smartcity smartcityexpo smartdata smem sncf socent social socialmedia startup startups statistics stats storytelling sustainable tbt tech technology tic topoli tourism training transit transparence transparencia transparency transparenz transport trasparenza travel trends turismo twcrpi uk university village water web webinar websummit wsnc yeg yesweopen Co-hashtag network for #opendata on Twitter
Transparency network cluster
Open government network cluster
Innovation network cluster
Smart cities network cluster
The UN “Data Revolution” and international development topics appear to be more closely associated with innovation than transparency.
Open Budget Data
Most prominent actors are intergovernmental organisations, multilateral initiatives, and international civil society organisations.
.org .com .eu .net .fr .edu .dk size = weighted degree OPEN BUDGET DATA WEBSITES INTERLINK ANALYSIS / degree > 5; edge weight > 5 tracker.publishwhatyoufund.org usaid.gov wbi.worldbank.org web.worldbank.org worldbank.org wri.org makingallvoicescount.org internationalbudget.org iatistandard.org foiadvocates.net fiscaltransparency.net developmentcheck.org datauy.org data.worldbank.org blogs.worldbank.org blog-pfm.imf.org ati.publishwhatyoufund.org article19.org aidtransparency.net aiddata.org access-info.org whitehouse.gov weforum.org twitter.com twaweza.org transparency.org transparency-initiative.org sida.se right2info.org republiquecitoyenne.fr opensocietyfoundations.org opendemocracy.org.za open-contracting.org one.org okfn.org oecd.org odi.org observingbrazil.com law-democracy.org interaction.org imf.org iatiregistry.org hewlett.org gavi.org gatesfoundation.org freedominfo.org fatf-gafi.org ec.europa.eu dfid.gov.uk cgdev.org tisne.org sunlightfoundation.com soros.org rti-rating.org publishwhatyoufund.org pefa.org openingparliament.org opengovpartnership.org opengovguide.com ogphub.org cabri-sbo.org afdb.org accessinitiative.org
MFAN News Development Progress CGD World Bank Data Oxfam America Friedrich Lindenberg openDemocracy IRIN News Global Development WBGLeadLearnInnovate GovLoop FTC Jay Naidoo The GovLab School of Data Global Partnership Opening Government Guardian Public ARTICLE19 right2info MPT David Cabo Integrity Action Victoria Vlad Duncan Edwards DFID USAID Follow the Money Joe Powell Felipe Estefan GSDRC Indaba platform team Ory Okolloh Mwangi Amanda Glassman Reboot Oxfam International Open Gov Guide Global Fin Integrity How Matters Gates Foundation Ford Foundation Nicholas Kristof OpeningParliament Albert @ IBP Anders Pedersen Laura Bacon Tim Hughes Ben Taylor MakingAllVoicesCount T/A Initiative Personal Democracy Juan Pablo Guerrero Development Pros IMF BeyondBudgets Open Contracting Robert Hunja Andrew Palmer Andrew Clarke Matt Andrews OpenGov Indonesia World Bank Gov Alex Howard Jane Dudman Liz Ford Alan Beattie UNDP Europe and CIS CKAN Global Movement BTAP OpenGov Hub TechForTransparency World Bank Save the Children US Sunlight Foundation giulio quaggiotto Paul Maassen AsianDevelopmentBank Access Info Europe Poder Ciudadano Integrity Watch David Hall-Matthews Joe Williams Rachel Rank Transparency Int'lUK Aleem Walji AfDB_Group Claire Provost katherine maher Daniel Dietrich Chile Transparente DI Team Sida Transparency Germany Development Gateway CoST Tim Kelsey Melinda Gates Karin ChristiansenMo Ibrahim Fdn Graham Gordon Hapee Marija Novkovic ÁlvaroRamírez-Alujas Helen Darbishire Claire Melamed Mark Tran Robert Palmer John Wonderlich Digital Democracy WDMMG ARTICLE 19 Helen Clark OKCon Accountability Lab Transparency France 16iacc WB DigitalEngagement Georg Neumann Open Government NIR-Integrity Action Transparency USA Fiscal Transparency ePSIplatform Lucy Chambers Simon Rogers Integrity Action CEO Shanta Devarajan Ellen Miller Andy Sumner Anne-Marie Slaughter Justin Arenstein Juliana Rotich IATI TI EU Office The Indigo Trust Africa Research Inst Daniel Kaufmann Claudia Schwegmann Ashoka Changemakers Jed Miller Linda Raftree Pernilla Näsfors eric gundersen Jonathan Gray Rufus Pollock Transparency Int'l FreeBalance Delaine McCullough Steve Davenport Jamie Drummond warren krafchik David Sasaki EITI International Open Knowledge OpenSpending Hewlett Foundation G20 Transparency Fundar BudgIT Alan Hudson Open Gov Partnership IPA ONE Duncan Green Global Witness Public Sphere WB Omidyar Network IDS UK Publish What You Pay Center on Budget ODI Jeffrey D. Sachs Martin Tisne Lawrence Haddad Nathaniel Heller NRGI Rakesh Rajani aidinfo Brookings FP Open Society CGAP Global Integrity William Easterly Tiago Peixoto PublishWhatYouFund OpenBudgets Owen Barder Dambisa Moyo World Bank ECA European Commission Beth Simone Noveck Peace Corps CAFOD Policy For Effective Gov Restless Development FAO statistics AfricaProgressPanel Grameen Foundation OECD Development Ctr Dominic Campbell Eleanor Stewart Panthea Lee The Associated Press Ethan Zuckerman Renata Avila Global Voices ONE Campaign UK NDI AidData Ushahidi Silvana Fumega TR Foundation IICD LA NACION Data NDItech Public Integrity Gavin Hayman Human Rights Watch DFID Research Open Data Research Open Gov Standards Pia Waugh Fabrizio Scrollini Project Open Data Code for America OpenSecrets.org Creative Commons Oleg Petrov Sarah Schacht Hudson Hollister Data.gov Socrata Paul Maltby Carlos Iglesias Sandra Moscoso the Sam S. Lee Open Institute DataKind OD4D Data Innovation Open Data Institute Tim Davies TransparencyCamp FutureEverything Guardian Data EC Open Data Policy Neelie Kroes Denis Parfnov Opendata.ch UK Open Public Data Sophia Oliver Open Knowledge US Zara Rahman Tim Berners-Lee Open Knowledge Italy Christian Kreutz OpenKnowledge Brasil Tariq Khokhar OKFN Labs Chris Taggart OKFestival Andrew Stott Jose M. Alonso Gavin Starks Joseph Kraus Simon Burall OECD mysociety UNOCHA UN Spokesperson UN Human Rights The Economist UNESCO The White House The Guardian World Economic Forum UNCTAD WTO Ravi Nepal Justine Greening MY World Millennium Campaign Raj Shah World Bank Education World Bank Live World Bank Cities AlertNet GlobalGiving World Bank Research Dennis Whittle Christine Lagarde IFC Hans Rosling Calestous Juma Josette Sheeran World Bank Water World Bank ICT Banque mondiale Nancy M. Birdsall WIRED United Nations Photo UK Prime Minister Alec Ross Global Pulse CFR AmnestyInternational IDRC | CRDI Tim O'Reilly developmentseed Doctors w/o Borders AmnestyInternational Reuters Top News Al Jazeera English Paul Krugman @NonprofitOrgs Change.org American Red Cross (RED) Jon Gosier Harvard Biz Review CARE (care.org) Oxfam Ian Thorpe UNAIDS Clinton Foundation charity: water Rania Al Abdullah Department of State Matthew Bishop Erik Hersman Adele Waugaman Foreign Policy Financial Times Foreign Affairs Devex allAfrica.com WWF BBC News (World) BBC Breaking News Bill Gates IFAD Washington Post Africa Renewal UN UN Women FAO Newsroom Ashoka ICT4D WHO UNFCCC Wall Street Journal We Can End Poverty World Resources Inst The Economist UN Refugee Agency Financial Times World Economic Forum UNICEF GEF Kiva Huffington Post UN Publications The New York Times FightPoverty UN Environment UN Foundation ICT_Works Ken Banks UN Development Aid Watch infoDev World Bank Africa United Nations WB Dev. Marketplace World Food Programme World Bank PSD World Bank EduTech World Bank Photos World Bank Climate World Bank Videos World Bank Pubs World Bank Asia PWYP US TrustLaw Governance IEG - WB Group UN Global Compact Open data UNdata Reuters Africa IFC Africa Millennium Challenge InterAction UN Sustainable Dev. The Economist Charles Kenny Forbes Save the Children UK IIED Skoll Foundation Chris Blattman World Policy sunlightlabs Anderson Cooper UN News Centre BBC Africa Hootsuite Vijaya Ramachandran Olav Kjorven whydev.org Ezra Klein Global Justice Now Alanna Shaikh Tom Murphy David Eaves Mark Cardwell Maya Forstater Think Africa Press Erik Solheim Co-creation Hub Foreign Office (FCO) Post2015.org Lauren Renee Pfeifer Social Innovation Eliza Anyangwe Caroline Kende-Robb Andris Piebalgs Jon Snow Barack Obama G8 Presidency TOP BUDGET ACTORS-FOLLOWEES NETWORK (5 or more followers only)
Most prominent topics are technical.
NETWORK OF TOPICS AND SECTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OPEN BUDGET DATA IN SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS - Which issues are associated with open budget data in different sectors? Can we profile sectors according to their concerns around open budget data? SECTOR SIZE OF SECTOR = NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THE SECTOR RELATES TO SIZE OF CATEGORY = WEIGHTED IN-DEGREE OF CONNECTION, A VALUE THAT SHOWS THE OVERALL RELEVANCE OF THE CATEGORY ISSUE AROUND OPEN BUDGET DATA Company Open Government Data Reuse Data portal Data formats Accessible Data quality Analysis Software Data visualisation Technology Innovation National Local Financial transparency Transparency Public administration Trust and legitimacy Civil society Citizens Democracy Social change International development Health Education Efficiency Financial management Economic growth CSO Machine readable Legal openness Linked data Complete Timely Accuracy Ease of use Data standards Reconciliation Intergovernmental organization Multilateral open International Accountability Participation Participatory budgeting Open budgeting Open government Index Law Access to information Social justice Human rights Poverty Poor Marginalised Social movements Public services Resource allocation Agriculture Journalism Corruption Waste Auditing Discussion of figures Government IGO Fiscal discipline Multilateral News Personal Political Party Reference Research Tax justice
More substantive social and political issues are comparatively marginal.
Corruption (24.4%) Journalism (22.2%) Democracy (20.0%) Access to information (20.0%) Public services (20.0%) Health (18.9%) Resource allocation (16.7%) Participatory budgeting (15.6%) Poverty (15.6%) Trust and legitimacy (12.2%) Human rights (7.8%) Agriculture (6.7%) The poor (5.6%) Tax justice (2.2%) Social justice (1.1%)
NETWORK OF TOPICS AND SECTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OPEN BUDGET DATA IN SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS - Which issues are associated with open budget data in different sectors? Can we profile sectors according to their concerns around open budget data? SECTOR SIZE OF SECTOR = NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THE SECTOR RELATES TO SIZE OF CATEGORY = WEIGHTED IN-DEGREE OF CONNECTION, A VALUE THAT SHOWS THE OVERALL RELEVANCE OF THE CATEGORY ISSUE AROUND OPEN BUDGET DATA Company Open Government Data Reuse Data portal Data formats Accessible Data quality Analysis Software Data visualisation Technology Innovation National Local Financial transparency Transparency Public administration Trust and legitimacy Civil society Citizens Democracy Social change International development Health Education Efficiency Financial management Economic growth CSO Machine readable Legal openness Linked data Complete Timely Accuracy Ease of use Data standards Reconciliation Intergovernmental organization Multilateral open International Accountability Participation Participatory budgeting Open budgeting Open government Index Law Access to information Social justice Human rights Poverty Poor Marginalised Social movements Public services Resource allocation Agriculture Journalism Corruption Waste Auditing Discussion of figures Government IGO Fiscal discipline Multilateral News Personal Political Party Reference Research Tax justice
• Governments: public administration, financial management and efficiency. • Civil society organisations: accessibility, ease of use and analysis. • Margins: social movements, social justice, human rights, tax justice.
Analysis of sample of 120 projects associated with open budget data.
Data visualisations to increase! public understanding of public finance
Citizen budget monitoring
Following the money in journalism
Data for advocacy
Some data types and applications receive more attention that others.
Efficiency over resource allocation? Fiscal discipline over fiscal distribution? Granular spending data over revenue?
1. Past 2. Present 3. Future
1. Past 2. Present 3. Future
The politics of public information
Talk of “release”, “disclosure”, “publication”, “transparency”, “opening up” of public data
From the disclosure of datasets
 to shaping data infrastructures?
Based on two papers and research projects in progress.
1. Gray, J. & Venturini, T. (forthcoming) “Rethinking the Politics of Public Information: From Opening Up Datasets to Recomposing Data Infrastructures?”.
 
 2. Gray. J. & Davies, T. (2015) “Fighting Phantom Firms in the UK: From Opening Up Datasets to Reshaping Data Infrastructures?”. Working paper available on SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2610937
Gray. J. & Davies, T. (2015) “Fighting Phantom Firms in the UK: From Opening Up Datasets to Reshaping Data Infrastructures?”. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2610937
In case of campaigning around company ownership, the disclosure of existing datasets was not enough.
Civil society organisations had to undertake a more creative, sustained and holistic engagement with shaping and influencing the development of data infrastructures as socio-technical systems.
This included research and advocacy around: ! • Costs, functionalities and user interfaces of software systems that would run the register; • Changes to primary and secondary legislation; • Additional administrative requirements and their impacts on different actors inside and outside the public sector.
Campaigners had to look beyond the question of what information is released, towards the question of what information is collected and generated by the public sector in the first place, how this is information is generated through data infrastructures.
To what extent do data infrastructures address needs and interests of civil society actors?
How to broaden the publics that shape data as well as the publics that use it?
Legal, social and technical measures for making open data initiatives more responsive to concerns of civil society?
ROUTE TO PA: http://routetopa.eu
Bringing data infrastructures into orbits of democratic political life?
“Statactivism”
Bruno, I. and Didier, E. and Vitale, T. (2014) “Statactivism: Forms of Action between Disclosure and Affirmation”. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2466882
Not just blanket critique or withdrawal of quantification and “metrification”.
Highlighting limitations of existing forms of measurement and proposing alternatives.
For example, gender equality, climate change, working conditions and health.
What should be measured and how?
What is not currently being measured?
Recent examples from data journalism.
The Politics of Open Data: Past, Present and Future
The Politics of Open Data: Past, Present and Future
New “action repertoires” for civil society actors to shape data infrastructures.
Role of not just datasets but data infrastructures in addressing major global challenges -
 from climate change to tax base erosion.
Not just dataset literacy, but data infrastructure literacy?
Not just dataset activism, but data infrastructure activism?
Conclusion
“The Politics of Open Data: Past, Present and Future”
1. Past 2. Present 3. Future
1. Unpacking different historical threads which contribute to contemporary ideals and practises of open data. 2. Tracing current constellations of different actors, concerns and political projects associated with open data on digital media. 3. Rethinking politics of public information - looking beyond disclosure to emerging forms of interventions into data infrastructures.
! Jonathan Gray | jonathangray.org | @jwyg!

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The Politics of Open Data: Past, Present and Future

  • 1. The Politics of Open Data:! Past, Present and Future 22nd June 2015, Data Power, University of Sheffield Jonathan Gray | jonathangray.org | @jwyg
  • 2. Ongoing research agenda on the politics of “digital transparency” and “open data”.
  • 3. What is the role of transparency and public information in democratic politics after the “digital turn”?
  • 4. Combination of historical, empirical and theoretical research to complicate, challenge and rethink contemporary “politics of public information”.
  • 5. The project is not just descriptive.
  • 6. It aims to inform emerging genres of democratic intervention around data infrastructures and public information systems as socio-technical assemblages.
  • 7. What is at stake?
  • 8. The politics of how information systems organise collective life.
  • 9. Three parts of presentation.
  • 11. 1. Unpacking different historical threads which contribute to contemporary ideals and practises of open data. 2. Tracing current constellations of different actors, concerns and political projects associated with open data on digital media. 3. Rethinking politics of public information - looking beyond disclosure to emerging forms of interventions into data infrastructures.
  • 14. What is open data?
  • 16. The Open Definition (2005):! http://opendefinition.org
  • 17. Open Government Data Principles (2007):! https://public.resource.org/8_principles.html
  • 18. UK Government Public Data Principles (2012):! http://data.gov.uk/library/public-data-principles
  • 19. How information is disclosed.
  • 20. Legal and technical re-usability.
  • 21. What does this mean in practise?
  • 22. Licenses and legal statements.
  • 23. Open Definition - Conformant Licenses! http://opendefinition.org/licenses/
  • 29. Encouraging re-use, including through:
 • Hackdays • App competitions • Fellowships
  • 30. National Day of Civic Hacking! http://hackforchange.org/report/
  • 31. How is open data put to work?
 To what end?
  • 32. Open data is not a free-floating, ahistorical concept, but a malleable idea whose meaning is continually reconfigured in response to shifting conceptions and practices of governance and democracy in different contexts.
  • 33. Open data as a reflection of different visions, ideals, norms and practises.
  • 34. Studying open data as a way to explore “organising mythologies” of Western modernity.
  • 35. Evolving constellations of ideas and practises associated with citizenship, democracy, communication, participation, knowledge, technology, innovation, information, markets, economics, governance and science.
  • 36. The unlikely rise of open data.
  • 37. From niche idea in legal/tech circles to international political stage.
  • 38. Familiar histories of open data.
  • 39. Key actors, key moments,
 coherent rhetoric and programme.
  • 40. Open Government Advocates in Sebastopol, California (December 2007) Government data shall be considered open if it is made public in a way that complies with the following principles… !
  • 41. President Obama’s Open Government Initiative (January 2009) My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.
  • 42. Prime Minister David Cameron’s “Transparency Revolution” (May 2010) I want our government to be one of the most open and transparent in the world.
  • 43. Open Government Partnership (September 2011) We embrace principles of transparency and open government with a view toward achieving greater prosperity, well- being, and human dignity in our own countries and in an increasingly interconnected world.
  • 44. G8 Open Data Charter (June 2013) Open data sit at the heart of a global movement to create more accountable, efficient, responsive, and effective governments and businesses, and to spur economic growth.
  • 45. UN “Data Revolution” (August 2014) Data are the lifeblood of decision-making and the raw material for accountability.
  • 46. How has this happened?
  • 47. Gray, J. (2014), “Towards a Genealogy of Open Data”.! Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=260582
  • 48. Raymond Geuss Giving a ‘genealogy’ is for Nietzsche the exact reverse of what we might call ‘tracing a pedigree’.
  • 49. A pedigree A genealogy 1. Aims towards the positive valorization of some item Does not aim to be legitimising (and may be taken as de-legitimising) 2. Singular origin Multiple, contested, diverse threads of development 3. Origin is an actual source of value Threads of development will likely not be a source of value 4. Unbroken line of succession from origin to present Unlikely to be a single unbroken line of succession from multiple threads of development to the present 5. Series of steps that preserve value in question Different lines of development will not transmit value “down the genealogical line to the present”
  • 50. How did the concept of open data come to possess the meanings that has for different actors today?
  • 51. • economic value • enabling new markets • unlocking innovation • smart cities • “opening up” public services • government efficiency and cost savings • public sector reform • “smarter states” • open source and open access • civic hacking • transparency and accountability • e-democracy and public participation • data journalism and data activism • technical standards and formats • digital rights • copyright reform • access to information rights
  • 53. Political economics of information?
  • 54. Joseph Stiglitz Governments should only provide a service on-line if private provision with regulation or appropriate taxation would not be more efficient. The “consensus view” in the US
  • 55. Data is the new oil for the digital age. Neelie Kroes! Former Vice-President of European Commission
  • 56. Role of state in collective life?
  • 57. Tim O’Reilly! Founder, O’Reilly Media What if, instead of a vending machine, we thought of government as the manager of a marketplace?
  • 58. Francis Maude! Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General Openness is the first of my “five principles for public service reform” that I developed when advising Spain about how to manage austerity in public finances.
  • 59. Role of information in democratic politics?
  • 60. 1800s: Information visualisation for advocacy 1950s: Computer Assisted Reporting (CAR) 1960s: Social Survey movements 1990s: Access to Information/FOI movements 2000s: “Radical transparency” activism, civic hacking and data journalism
  • 62. They Work For You: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/
  • 63. Redistribution of responsibility from states onto citizens, civil society and private sector?
  • 64. New ideals of citizenship?
  • 67. New kinds of “data subjects”- from
 “armchair auditors” to “civic entrepreneurs”?
  • 69. How do these different historical threads play out in the present?
  • 70. Open data as a highly digitally mediated policy issue.
  • 71. Rogers, R. (2013) Digital Methods.
 Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Winner of 2014 Outstanding Book Award given by the International Communication Association.
  • 72. Digital methods are “methods of the medium” designed to repurpose digital objects such as tags, likes, links and hashtags to study issues. – Digital Methods Initiative,
 University of Amsterdam
  • 73. Unpicking and mapping the constellation! of actors, issues, visions, values, practises and projects associated with open data in various forms of digital media.
  • 74. Cross-platform analysis, including: ! • Official documents • News media • Web • Wikipedia • Twitter • Github
  • 75. A few examples from research in progress…
  • 76. Open Data on Wikipedia
  • 77. Timeline of creation of Wikipedia articles on open data
  • 78. Top arguments for open data on different language Wikipedia editions
  • 79. Top arguments for open data on different language Wikipedia editions
  • 80. Economic growth is less prominent on Wikipedia than it is in other digital media.
  • 81. Network of Wikipedia pages linking to open data page
  • 82. Open data is more of a digital commons issue than an open government issue on Wikipedia.
  • 83. Open Data in News Media
  • 84. 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 INVESTIGATIONS PUBLIC FINANCE COMPANIES DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS CRIME POLITICS WORKER CATEGORIES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS EXECUTIVES GOVERNMENT CITIES INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANISATIONS NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN RELATIONS ECONOMICS CHARITIES PHILANTHROPY SOCIETY SCIENCE AND RESEARCH CLIMATE CHANGE LAW INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Topics of media articles on open data in Lexis Nexis
  • 85. TOP SUBJECTS LINKED TO SPECIFIC ARGUMENTS IN LEXIS NEXIS DATABASE * Africa News telegraph.co.uk TechWeb* The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Guardian (London) The Toronto Star BBC Monitoring The Irish Times The Times (London) The Australian The New York Times Independent.co.uk The Daily Telegraph (London) The Washington Post International New York Times Haymarket ITAR-TASS The Observer Business Daily (Nairobi)* The Courier Mail and The Sunday Mail (Australia) The Globe and Mail (Canada) The Nation (Nairobi)* This Day (Lagos) Business Monitor News South China Morning Post The Sunday Times (London) BusinessWorld New Scientist The New Zealand Herald The Star (Nairobi) thetimes.co.uk The East African (Nairobi)* M2 Communications National Post (12 hour delay) Australian Financial Review CommWeb* The Independent (London) Korea Herald The Moscow News (RIA Novosti)* The Nation (Thailand) The New Times (Kigali) Tampa Bay Times Vanguard (Lagos) Africa News The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Toronto Star The Observer BBC Monitoring The Guardian (London) The Irish Times The Times (London) The Washington Post Australian Financial Review Independent.co.uk International New York Times ITAR-TASS The Nation (Thailand) The New York Times TechWeb* This Day (Lagos) Africa News The Guardian (London) The Times (London) telegraph.co.uk The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Toronto Star The Irish Times M2 Communications The Daily Telegraph (London) Haymarket The Australian Birmingham Post Independent.co.uk The Observer The Star (Nairobi) thetimes.co.uk The Nation (Thailand) This Day (Lagos) The Washington Post BBC Monitoring Business Daily (Nairobi)* Business Monitor News The Business Times Singapore BusinessWorld The East African (Nairobi)* The Globe and Mail (Canada) Korea Herald The Sunday Times (London) Vanguard (Lagos) Africa News telegraph.co.uk The Irish Times The Australian TechWeb* M2 Communications This Day (Lagos) The Guardian (London) The New York Times The Toronto Star The Daily Telegraph (London) Haymarket The Observer The Times (London) The Washington Post Australian Financial Review The Gazette (12 hour delay) InformationWeek International New York Times The Moscow News (RIA Novosti)* National Post (12 hour delay) Africa News telegraph.co.uk The Irish Times TechWeb* The Washington Post The Guardian (London) Haymarket The Times (London) The Australian Independent.co.uk The Observer Australian Financial Review The New York Times This Day (Lagos) The Toronto Star InformationWeek M2 Communications The Daily Telegraph (London) The Straits Times (Singapore) The Advertiser/Sunday Mail (Australia) BBC Monitoring Birmingham Post Business Daily (Nairobi)* The Nation (Nairobi)* The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Independent (London) International New York Times The Nation (Thailand) New Straits Times (Malaysia) The New Zealand Herald standard.co.uk The Star (Nairobi) thetimes.co.uk Vanguard (Lagos) The Age (Melbourne, Australia) Business Monitor News The Business Times Singapore Daily Trust (Abuja) Europolitics (daily in English)* Foreign Direct Investment (fDi) The Globe and Mail (Canada) The Moscow News (RIA Novosti)* National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing (12 hour delay) The New Times (Kigali) The Sunday Times (London) Africa News telegraph.co.uk The Guardian (London) The Irish Times The Washington Post M2 Communications The Times (London) International New York Times Haymarket The New York Times Australian Financial Review Independent.co.uk The Australian The Daily Telegraph (London) TechWeb* This Day (Lagos) The Gazette (12 hour delay) The Nation (Nairobi)* BBC Monitoring Business Daily (Nairobi)* National Post (12 hour delay) The Observer The Star (Nairobi) The Business Times Singapore City A.M. The Globe and Mail (Canada) The New Times (Kigali) thetimes.co.uk BusinessWorld InformationWeek Korea Times The Nation (Thailand) New Straits Times (Malaysia) TechNews* Vanguard (Lagos) The Advertiser/Sunday Mail (Australia) Birmingham Post Business Day (South Africa) Business Monitor News Computer Reseller News Europolitics (daily in English)* Foreign Direct Investment (fDi) The Moscow News (RIA Novosti)* National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing (12 hour delay) standard.co.uk The Straits Times (Singapore) The Sunday Telegraph (London) Transparency, anti-corruption and accountability Democracy, participation and empowerment Public service delivery, decision making and policy-making Efficiency and waste Unlocking innovation and enabling new applications and services Economic growth and new businesses
  • 86. The most frequently mentioned arguments for open data in mainstream media are innovation and economic growth.
  • 87. Open Data on Twitter
  • 88. There are distinct groups of actors with different concerns around open data on Twitter.
  • 89. The two most prominent topics are transparency and innovation.
  • 90. 10km3x2 accountability africa agendadigitale agriculture aihit aihitdata ains amcto analysis analytics anticorruption api apis app apps apps4finland arcgis archeologia archives arduino art avoindata b2bdata barcelona bari bdf4data bilbao biodiversity bluemix bmta2014 boston btada bto2014 bus business canada carbon cartographie cdnpoli census cern cfabrigade chicago china circulareconomy cities citizen citizenscience cittadini civichacking civicinnovation civictech ckan ckx climate clinicaltrials cloud code4catania coding collaboration commons community contribuez corruption corruzione creativecommons crime crowdfunding crowdsourcing csv cultura culture dadesobertes dadosabertos dataconnexions dataeh datajournalism datajournalisme datamanagement datamining datarev datarevolution datarmor datascience dataset datasharing dataviz dati datos datosabiertos ddj ddjs democracy démocratie design developer developers development devops digital digitale digitalgov digitalhealth données donnéesouvertes donnéespubliques droit ebola ecommerce economy education egov egovernment emx energy engagement entrepreneur environment epsi esri ess essi eu europe event excel expo2015 facebook farm fb ff finance finodex fintech fiware fiwarebcu flashhacks foi foia food forumsmartcity france free freedata frenchtech funding futurecities gallery genova gis gisday globaldev globalhealth gobcn gobiernoabierto godan google goonbas gov gov2 gov20 governance government gtec h2020 hack hackathon hackathon22 hackday hackmyride hamburg hamont hcsm health healthcare helsinki heritage history hr iati ict ict4d india indicators information innovachallenge innovation innovations innovazione internet internetofthings investment iot it italia izod14 jobs js json knowledge kosovo lab4city latam lavoro lecce legalhack lhc libre linked linkeddata linkedopendata linux lobbying localgov lod london machinelearning mafiacapitale map mapping maps marketing matera matera2019 mhoo14 microdata mobile mobility moers montpellier mooc mozfest museum nantes nc nhs nigeria novagob2014 numerique nyc oa ocovaivrea odata odcdel14 odcs odi odiawards odisummit odjam2014 odsc oer ogap2 ogd ogov ogp ogpsanjose okfn online open openaccess openaid openbilanci openbudgets opencon2014 opencontent opencontracting opendatairl opendataitaly opendatakg opendev openeducation openglam opengovernment opengovuk openhardware openindex14 openinnovation openknowledge openlaw openmodels openness openpolicy openscience openstreetmap opentransport openup14 openweb oppnadata osm owf14 pa palermo paris partecipazione participación periodismodatos pitch policy politics poverty prato privacy procurement psi public publichealth queensland ratp rdf realestate rennes renzi rer research researchdata reynolda risp roma rt rubicity santé sce2014 science security selfie semaineip semanticweb senegal sharepsi simplification singapore site smartcities smartcity smartcityexpo smartdata smem sncf socent social socialmedia startup startups statistics stats storytelling sustainable tbt tech technology tic topoli tourism training transit transparence transparencia transparency transparenz transport trasparenza travel trends turismo twcrpi uk university village water web webinar websummit wsnc yeg yesweopen Co-hashtag network for #opendata on Twitter
  • 95. The UN “Data Revolution” and international development topics appear to be more closely associated with innovation than transparency.
  • 97. Most prominent actors are intergovernmental organisations, multilateral initiatives, and international civil society organisations.
  • 98. .org .com .eu .net .fr .edu .dk size = weighted degree OPEN BUDGET DATA WEBSITES INTERLINK ANALYSIS / degree > 5; edge weight > 5 tracker.publishwhatyoufund.org usaid.gov wbi.worldbank.org web.worldbank.org worldbank.org wri.org makingallvoicescount.org internationalbudget.org iatistandard.org foiadvocates.net fiscaltransparency.net developmentcheck.org datauy.org data.worldbank.org blogs.worldbank.org blog-pfm.imf.org ati.publishwhatyoufund.org article19.org aidtransparency.net aiddata.org access-info.org whitehouse.gov weforum.org twitter.com twaweza.org transparency.org transparency-initiative.org sida.se right2info.org republiquecitoyenne.fr opensocietyfoundations.org opendemocracy.org.za open-contracting.org one.org okfn.org oecd.org odi.org observingbrazil.com law-democracy.org interaction.org imf.org iatiregistry.org hewlett.org gavi.org gatesfoundation.org freedominfo.org fatf-gafi.org ec.europa.eu dfid.gov.uk cgdev.org tisne.org sunlightfoundation.com soros.org rti-rating.org publishwhatyoufund.org pefa.org openingparliament.org opengovpartnership.org opengovguide.com ogphub.org cabri-sbo.org afdb.org accessinitiative.org
  • 99. MFAN News Development Progress CGD World Bank Data Oxfam America Friedrich Lindenberg openDemocracy IRIN News Global Development WBGLeadLearnInnovate GovLoop FTC Jay Naidoo The GovLab School of Data Global Partnership Opening Government Guardian Public ARTICLE19 right2info MPT David Cabo Integrity Action Victoria Vlad Duncan Edwards DFID USAID Follow the Money Joe Powell Felipe Estefan GSDRC Indaba platform team Ory Okolloh Mwangi Amanda Glassman Reboot Oxfam International Open Gov Guide Global Fin Integrity How Matters Gates Foundation Ford Foundation Nicholas Kristof OpeningParliament Albert @ IBP Anders Pedersen Laura Bacon Tim Hughes Ben Taylor MakingAllVoicesCount T/A Initiative Personal Democracy Juan Pablo Guerrero Development Pros IMF BeyondBudgets Open Contracting Robert Hunja Andrew Palmer Andrew Clarke Matt Andrews OpenGov Indonesia World Bank Gov Alex Howard Jane Dudman Liz Ford Alan Beattie UNDP Europe and CIS CKAN Global Movement BTAP OpenGov Hub TechForTransparency World Bank Save the Children US Sunlight Foundation giulio quaggiotto Paul Maassen AsianDevelopmentBank Access Info Europe Poder Ciudadano Integrity Watch David Hall-Matthews Joe Williams Rachel Rank Transparency Int'lUK Aleem Walji AfDB_Group Claire Provost katherine maher Daniel Dietrich Chile Transparente DI Team Sida Transparency Germany Development Gateway CoST Tim Kelsey Melinda Gates Karin ChristiansenMo Ibrahim Fdn Graham Gordon Hapee Marija Novkovic ÁlvaroRamírez-Alujas Helen Darbishire Claire Melamed Mark Tran Robert Palmer John Wonderlich Digital Democracy WDMMG ARTICLE 19 Helen Clark OKCon Accountability Lab Transparency France 16iacc WB DigitalEngagement Georg Neumann Open Government NIR-Integrity Action Transparency USA Fiscal Transparency ePSIplatform Lucy Chambers Simon Rogers Integrity Action CEO Shanta Devarajan Ellen Miller Andy Sumner Anne-Marie Slaughter Justin Arenstein Juliana Rotich IATI TI EU Office The Indigo Trust Africa Research Inst Daniel Kaufmann Claudia Schwegmann Ashoka Changemakers Jed Miller Linda Raftree Pernilla Näsfors eric gundersen Jonathan Gray Rufus Pollock Transparency Int'l FreeBalance Delaine McCullough Steve Davenport Jamie Drummond warren krafchik David Sasaki EITI International Open Knowledge OpenSpending Hewlett Foundation G20 Transparency Fundar BudgIT Alan Hudson Open Gov Partnership IPA ONE Duncan Green Global Witness Public Sphere WB Omidyar Network IDS UK Publish What You Pay Center on Budget ODI Jeffrey D. Sachs Martin Tisne Lawrence Haddad Nathaniel Heller NRGI Rakesh Rajani aidinfo Brookings FP Open Society CGAP Global Integrity William Easterly Tiago Peixoto PublishWhatYouFund OpenBudgets Owen Barder Dambisa Moyo World Bank ECA European Commission Beth Simone Noveck Peace Corps CAFOD Policy For Effective Gov Restless Development FAO statistics AfricaProgressPanel Grameen Foundation OECD Development Ctr Dominic Campbell Eleanor Stewart Panthea Lee The Associated Press Ethan Zuckerman Renata Avila Global Voices ONE Campaign UK NDI AidData Ushahidi Silvana Fumega TR Foundation IICD LA NACION Data NDItech Public Integrity Gavin Hayman Human Rights Watch DFID Research Open Data Research Open Gov Standards Pia Waugh Fabrizio Scrollini Project Open Data Code for America OpenSecrets.org Creative Commons Oleg Petrov Sarah Schacht Hudson Hollister Data.gov Socrata Paul Maltby Carlos Iglesias Sandra Moscoso the Sam S. Lee Open Institute DataKind OD4D Data Innovation Open Data Institute Tim Davies TransparencyCamp FutureEverything Guardian Data EC Open Data Policy Neelie Kroes Denis Parfnov Opendata.ch UK Open Public Data Sophia Oliver Open Knowledge US Zara Rahman Tim Berners-Lee Open Knowledge Italy Christian Kreutz OpenKnowledge Brasil Tariq Khokhar OKFN Labs Chris Taggart OKFestival Andrew Stott Jose M. Alonso Gavin Starks Joseph Kraus Simon Burall OECD mysociety UNOCHA UN Spokesperson UN Human Rights The Economist UNESCO The White House The Guardian World Economic Forum UNCTAD WTO Ravi Nepal Justine Greening MY World Millennium Campaign Raj Shah World Bank Education World Bank Live World Bank Cities AlertNet GlobalGiving World Bank Research Dennis Whittle Christine Lagarde IFC Hans Rosling Calestous Juma Josette Sheeran World Bank Water World Bank ICT Banque mondiale Nancy M. Birdsall WIRED United Nations Photo UK Prime Minister Alec Ross Global Pulse CFR AmnestyInternational IDRC | CRDI Tim O'Reilly developmentseed Doctors w/o Borders AmnestyInternational Reuters Top News Al Jazeera English Paul Krugman @NonprofitOrgs Change.org American Red Cross (RED) Jon Gosier Harvard Biz Review CARE (care.org) Oxfam Ian Thorpe UNAIDS Clinton Foundation charity: water Rania Al Abdullah Department of State Matthew Bishop Erik Hersman Adele Waugaman Foreign Policy Financial Times Foreign Affairs Devex allAfrica.com WWF BBC News (World) BBC Breaking News Bill Gates IFAD Washington Post Africa Renewal UN UN Women FAO Newsroom Ashoka ICT4D WHO UNFCCC Wall Street Journal We Can End Poverty World Resources Inst The Economist UN Refugee Agency Financial Times World Economic Forum UNICEF GEF Kiva Huffington Post UN Publications The New York Times FightPoverty UN Environment UN Foundation ICT_Works Ken Banks UN Development Aid Watch infoDev World Bank Africa United Nations WB Dev. Marketplace World Food Programme World Bank PSD World Bank EduTech World Bank Photos World Bank Climate World Bank Videos World Bank Pubs World Bank Asia PWYP US TrustLaw Governance IEG - WB Group UN Global Compact Open data UNdata Reuters Africa IFC Africa Millennium Challenge InterAction UN Sustainable Dev. The Economist Charles Kenny Forbes Save the Children UK IIED Skoll Foundation Chris Blattman World Policy sunlightlabs Anderson Cooper UN News Centre BBC Africa Hootsuite Vijaya Ramachandran Olav Kjorven whydev.org Ezra Klein Global Justice Now Alanna Shaikh Tom Murphy David Eaves Mark Cardwell Maya Forstater Think Africa Press Erik Solheim Co-creation Hub Foreign Office (FCO) Post2015.org Lauren Renee Pfeifer Social Innovation Eliza Anyangwe Caroline Kende-Robb Andris Piebalgs Jon Snow Barack Obama G8 Presidency TOP BUDGET ACTORS-FOLLOWEES NETWORK (5 or more followers only)
  • 100. Most prominent topics are technical.
  • 101. NETWORK OF TOPICS AND SECTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OPEN BUDGET DATA IN SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS - Which issues are associated with open budget data in different sectors? Can we profile sectors according to their concerns around open budget data? SECTOR SIZE OF SECTOR = NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THE SECTOR RELATES TO SIZE OF CATEGORY = WEIGHTED IN-DEGREE OF CONNECTION, A VALUE THAT SHOWS THE OVERALL RELEVANCE OF THE CATEGORY ISSUE AROUND OPEN BUDGET DATA Company Open Government Data Reuse Data portal Data formats Accessible Data quality Analysis Software Data visualisation Technology Innovation National Local Financial transparency Transparency Public administration Trust and legitimacy Civil society Citizens Democracy Social change International development Health Education Efficiency Financial management Economic growth CSO Machine readable Legal openness Linked data Complete Timely Accuracy Ease of use Data standards Reconciliation Intergovernmental organization Multilateral open International Accountability Participation Participatory budgeting Open budgeting Open government Index Law Access to information Social justice Human rights Poverty Poor Marginalised Social movements Public services Resource allocation Agriculture Journalism Corruption Waste Auditing Discussion of figures Government IGO Fiscal discipline Multilateral News Personal Political Party Reference Research Tax justice
  • 102. More substantive social and political issues are comparatively marginal.
  • 103. Corruption (24.4%) Journalism (22.2%) Democracy (20.0%) Access to information (20.0%) Public services (20.0%) Health (18.9%) Resource allocation (16.7%) Participatory budgeting (15.6%) Poverty (15.6%) Trust and legitimacy (12.2%) Human rights (7.8%) Agriculture (6.7%) The poor (5.6%) Tax justice (2.2%) Social justice (1.1%)
  • 104. NETWORK OF TOPICS AND SECTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OPEN BUDGET DATA IN SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS - Which issues are associated with open budget data in different sectors? Can we profile sectors according to their concerns around open budget data? SECTOR SIZE OF SECTOR = NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THE SECTOR RELATES TO SIZE OF CATEGORY = WEIGHTED IN-DEGREE OF CONNECTION, A VALUE THAT SHOWS THE OVERALL RELEVANCE OF THE CATEGORY ISSUE AROUND OPEN BUDGET DATA Company Open Government Data Reuse Data portal Data formats Accessible Data quality Analysis Software Data visualisation Technology Innovation National Local Financial transparency Transparency Public administration Trust and legitimacy Civil society Citizens Democracy Social change International development Health Education Efficiency Financial management Economic growth CSO Machine readable Legal openness Linked data Complete Timely Accuracy Ease of use Data standards Reconciliation Intergovernmental organization Multilateral open International Accountability Participation Participatory budgeting Open budgeting Open government Index Law Access to information Social justice Human rights Poverty Poor Marginalised Social movements Public services Resource allocation Agriculture Journalism Corruption Waste Auditing Discussion of figures Government IGO Fiscal discipline Multilateral News Personal Political Party Reference Research Tax justice
  • 105. • Governments: public administration, financial management and efficiency. • Civil society organisations: accessibility, ease of use and analysis. • Margins: social movements, social justice, human rights, tax justice.
  • 106. Analysis of sample of 120 projects associated with open budget data.
  • 107. Data visualisations to increase! public understanding of public finance
  • 109. Following the money in journalism
  • 111. Some data types and applications receive more attention that others.
  • 112. Efficiency over resource allocation? Fiscal discipline over fiscal distribution? Granular spending data over revenue?
  • 115. The politics of public information
  • 116. Talk of “release”, “disclosure”, “publication”, “transparency”, “opening up” of public data
  • 117. From the disclosure of datasets
 to shaping data infrastructures?
  • 118. Based on two papers and research projects in progress.
  • 119. 1. Gray, J. & Venturini, T. (forthcoming) “Rethinking the Politics of Public Information: From Opening Up Datasets to Recomposing Data Infrastructures?”.
 
 2. Gray. J. & Davies, T. (2015) “Fighting Phantom Firms in the UK: From Opening Up Datasets to Reshaping Data Infrastructures?”. Working paper available on SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2610937
  • 120. Gray. J. & Davies, T. (2015) “Fighting Phantom Firms in the UK: From Opening Up Datasets to Reshaping Data Infrastructures?”. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2610937
  • 121. In case of campaigning around company ownership, the disclosure of existing datasets was not enough.
  • 122. Civil society organisations had to undertake a more creative, sustained and holistic engagement with shaping and influencing the development of data infrastructures as socio-technical systems.
  • 123. This included research and advocacy around: ! • Costs, functionalities and user interfaces of software systems that would run the register; • Changes to primary and secondary legislation; • Additional administrative requirements and their impacts on different actors inside and outside the public sector.
  • 124. Campaigners had to look beyond the question of what information is released, towards the question of what information is collected and generated by the public sector in the first place, how this is information is generated through data infrastructures.
  • 125. To what extent do data infrastructures address needs and interests of civil society actors?
  • 126. How to broaden the publics that shape data as well as the publics that use it?
  • 127. Legal, social and technical measures for making open data initiatives more responsive to concerns of civil society?
  • 129. Bringing data infrastructures into orbits of democratic political life?
  • 131. Bruno, I. and Didier, E. and Vitale, T. (2014) “Statactivism: Forms of Action between Disclosure and Affirmation”. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2466882
  • 132. Not just blanket critique or withdrawal of quantification and “metrification”.
  • 133. Highlighting limitations of existing forms of measurement and proposing alternatives.
  • 134. For example, gender equality, climate change, working conditions and health.
  • 135. What should be measured and how?
  • 136. What is not currently being measured?
  • 137. Recent examples from data journalism.
  • 140. New “action repertoires” for civil society actors to shape data infrastructures.
  • 141. Role of not just datasets but data infrastructures in addressing major global challenges -
 from climate change to tax base erosion.
  • 142. Not just dataset literacy, but data infrastructure literacy?
  • 143. Not just dataset activism, but data infrastructure activism?
  • 145. “The Politics of Open Data: Past, Present and Future”
  • 147. 1. Unpacking different historical threads which contribute to contemporary ideals and practises of open data. 2. Tracing current constellations of different actors, concerns and political projects associated with open data on digital media. 3. Rethinking politics of public information - looking beyond disclosure to emerging forms of interventions into data infrastructures.
  • 148. ! Jonathan Gray | jonathangray.org | @jwyg!