Hi Tim, thanks for the response,
On 04/03/2014 17:24, Tim Davies wrote:
> More and more my research is leading me to look at how, whilst open data
> has seem substantial policy progress at the global level, the
> connections between data being made available, and different forms of
> civic engagement remain weak - in part because not many open data
> projects are not engaging with the wider cultural change needed
> alongside making data available.
This is interesting - I think the question of _why_ people would engage
with data is still an underlying, unanswered question which ODE needs to
tackle. Would you say most people who have something to gain from
sharing data (publicly or privately) already do so?
I ask the question because I think it starts to set out a scale of
'rationale for engagement'. On the one hand, open data can be used as a
point of interaction to connect up people who are interested in the same
problem, but are either unaware the other exists, or don't know where to
begin an open, collaborative process.
On the other hand, there is the 'new potential' aspect of opening up
data which is a lot harder, as it requires a wholely different process
of understanding a problem *and* how someone else's data may help.
I'm not sure how the scale might look if fleshed out, but it could be
something to aid in understanding what level of need an ODE approach
requires (if it doesn't already ;-)
> Rather than being 'accepted', I think some degree of discourse around
> open data has become part of the orthodoxy, but that doesn't necessarily
> translate into effective data sharing practices with communities.
"Effective" is a useful word too. It feels like engagement for a dataset
should start with a notion of the problem it's addressing first - rather
than assuming simply that 'being closed' is a problem in itself.
In other words, can we identify what the application of correct data to
a goal is - what the advantages of it are, what makes the data useful,
etc. And on the flipside, can we identify what the *disadvantages* are -
ie. what makes people want to improve data? Both are forms of
engagement, but one is about application and the other about collaboration.
> I've not looked recently to see what's happening at the local authority
> level in the UK, but I've certainly not heard many stories of
> substantial open data activity at a local level recently...
From where I sit, it feels the initial "burst" has been tackled. Some
services are continuing, others are reconsidering options. It's still
relatively hard to prove the business case, in many cases.
When I'm rather more out of databases, there are some opportunities here
in Brighton to reactivate the local open data scene a bit, I believe.
It'll be interesting to see if we can start to apply some of the ODE
thoughts on a local network level.
Best,
Graham
>
> All the best
>
> Tim
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:22 AM, Graham Lally <
exm...@gmail.com
> <mailto:
exm...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Ditto - there's talk of reviving the Open Data Brighton & Hove group,
> which ODE could feed into well. But too busy deep in databases for the
> moment :-)
>
> Would be interested to hear people's opinions on where we're at with
> Open Data now though. Is it working? Is it commonplace? Is it "accepted"
> yet? What's changing, and what's missing?
>
> - Graham
>
> On 04/03/2014 09:08, Tim Davies wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > It has been very quiet. I'm still around here - and open to ideas for
> > how the Open Data Engagement concept and project might be developed -
> > but alas having had very little time to focus on it recently.
> >
> > Any thoughts on what should be going on?
> >
> > Tim
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Mar 3, 2014 at 7:37 PM, J. Albert Bowden
> > <
jalber...@gmail.com <mailto:
jalber...@gmail.com>
> <mailto:
jalber...@gmail.com <mailto:
jalber...@gmail.com>>>
> > <mailto:
open-data-engagement%2Bunsu...@googlegroups.com
> <mailto:
open-data-engagement%252Buns...@googlegroups.com>>.
> <tel:07834%20856%20303> | twitter: timdavies
> >
> > Co-director of Practical Participation:
> >
http://www.practicalparticipation.co.uk
> > --------------------------
> > Practical Participation Ltd is a registered company in England and
> Wales
> > - #5381958.
> >
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> > Groups "Open Data Engagement" group.
> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send