Centre for Internet and Society

Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_11_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T07:16:14Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_10_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T07:15:32Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_09_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T07:14:40Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_08_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T07:14:00Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_07_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T06:46:18Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_06_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T06:45:32Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_04_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T06:44:24Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_05_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T06:44:59Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_03_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T06:43:43Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_02_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T06:43:02Z

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Sreedeep_Mock-Calling_01_Resized

sumandro — 2015-07-13T06:18:58Z

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International Open Data Charter, Consultation Meeting, Delhi, July 09, 5:30 pm

sumandro — 2015-07-07T12:12:50Z

This is to invite you to a consultation meeting on the first public draft of the International Open Data Charter, at the CIS office in Delhi, on Thursday, July 09, 2015, at 5:30 pm.

The Charter is being developed by the Open Data Working Group of the Open Government Partnership in consultation with a number of international organisations. Meant for approval and implementation by national governments, the Charter has five key principles:

Open by Default;
Quality and Quantity;
Useable by All;
Engagement and Empowerment of Citizens; and
Collaboration for Development and Innovation.

The first public draft of the International Open Data Charter was published in end of May 2015 at the International Open Data Conference in Ottawa, and can be accessed here: http://opendatacharter.net/charter/.

Organisations and individuals are invited to submit comments directly on the Charter page, before July 31.

CIS, acting as a general steward of the Charter and a consultation lead, is organising this meeting to discuss the context, the drafting process, and the objectives of this document, and to encourage the participants to comment on the existing text of the Charter.

We keenly look forward to your participation in the consultation meeting on Thursday.

The CIS office address is G 15, Top floor, behind Hauz Khas G Block Market, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016.

If you are coming down Aurobindo Marg from AIIMS and towards IIT, then take the left turn into Chaudhary Dalip Singh Marg and come towards the Hauz Khas Police Station, stop when you see a Southy outlet on your right, and enter through the gate on your left (opposite Southy). The CIS office is on the top floor of the first house on your left. Location on Google Map.

Please share this invitation with all relevant individuals, organisations, and networks.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/international-open-data-charter-consultation-delhi-09072015

Details for Contributing Posts to RAW Blog

sumandro — 2016-07-29T09:19:27Z

The RAW Blog hosts writings contributed by researchers, professionals, artists, workers, and others.

Themes

The posts may speak to the various interests of the the RAW programme and the Centre for Internet and Society: data systems, digital knowledge, internet histories, network economies, web cultures, indic computing, openness and accessibility, privacy and freedom of expression, methodologies of studying internet, etc.

Formats

The posts can be in the usual format of (hyper)text, or a combination of media and (hyper)text, or other web-based explorative formats. If you are planning to develop something of the latter kind, please let us know in advance, so that we can ensure that our blog will be able to host it. As for text-based posts, we prefer entries of 1500-3000 words length.

Style Guide

These instructions apply if you are submitting a post in (hyper)text, or in a combination of media and (hyper)text:

Submit the post in .txt, .odt, or .docx format.
Images, if any, should not be pasted within the document itself but be provided separately, with clear indication within the text about which image should be inserted where.
If the post includes audio/video files, please mention the hyperlink to the audio/video file in the text where it is to be inserted.
When inserting hyperlinks into the text, please do not use inline hyperlinks or footnotes, but use endnotes. That is, do not use "the Centre for Internet and Society" or "the Centre for Internet and Society¹," but use "the Centre for Internet and Society [1]" with the hyperlink concerned given in endnote [1].
For references, please use the Author-Date system.

Submission and Selection

Please send us the submission at raw@cis-india.org, with the email header "Contribution for RAW Blog." Submitted posts are published after approval by the members of the RAW programme. We may send editorial comments to the author and ask for minor revisions, if needed.

Copyright and License

The posts are published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, and the author retains the copyright.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/raw/details-for-contributing-posts-to-raw-blog

Open Data

sumandro — 2015-10-01T09:19:35Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/data

Open Data Intermediaries in Developing Countries - A Synthesis Report

sumandro — 2015-06-16T09:40:58Z

The roles of intermediaries in open data is insufficiently explored; open data intermediaries are often presented as single and simple linkages between open data supply and use. This synthesis research paper offers a more socially nuanced approach to open data intermediaries using the theoretical framework of Bourdieu’s social model, in particular, his concept of species of capital as informing social interaction... Because no single intermediary necessarily has all the capital available to link effectively to all sources of power in a field, multiple intermediaries with complementary configurations of capital are more likely to connect between power nexuses. This study concludes that consideration needs to be given to the presence of multiple intermediaries in an open data ecosystem, each of whom may possess different forms of capital to enable the use and unlock the potential impact of open data.

This synthesis report is prepared by François van Schalkwyk, Michael Caňares, Sumandro Chattapadhyay, and Alexander Andrason, based on the analysis of a sample of cases from the Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries (ODDC) research network managed by the World Wide Web Foundation and supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada. Data on intermediaries were extracted from the ODDC reports according to a working definition of an open data intermediary presented in this paper, and with a focus on how intermediaries link actors in an open data supply chain.

Below is an excerpt from the report. The full report can be accessed from Figshare or from Github.

Implications for Policy

The practical implications of the findings presented here are not insignificant. Given that most of the open data intermediaries in this study were found to rely on donor in order to execute their open data-related social benefit activities, it is perhaps funders who should take heed of the findings presented here when making grants. For example, where a single agency is awarded a funding grant to improve the lives of citizens using open data, questions need to be asked whether the grantee possesses all the types of capital required not only to re-use open data but to connect open data to specific user groups in order to ensure the use and impact of open data. Questions to be asked of grantees could include: “Who are the specific user groups or communities that you expect to use the data, information or product you are making available?”; “Does your organisation have existing links to these user groups or communities?”; and “What types of channels are in place for you to communicate with these user groups or communities?”. Alternatively donor funders may rethink awarding funding to single agencies in favour of funding partnerships or collaborations in which there is a greater spread of types of capital across multiple actors thereby increasing the likelihood of effectively linking the supply and use of open data. Such an approach would be more in line with an ecosystems approach to multiple actors being participants in the data supply and (re)use of open data, and the importance of keystone species and positive feedback loops to ensure a healthy system.

In addition to highlighting the importance of social capital in developing-country innovations systems, Intarakummerd and Chaoroenporn (2013) point to the importance of government initiating and coordinating the activities of both public and private intermediaries. Our findings indicate that should governments adopt such a co-ordinating role in the case of open data intermediaries, they would do well to engage with a broad spectrum of intermediaries, and not simply focus on intermediaries who possess only the technical capital required to interpret and repackage open government data. To be sure, this will be a challenging role for government to assume as conflicting vested interests are likely to surface. Although speculative, it is possible that such a coordinating role is likely to work best when there is a strong pact between all actors involved. And this, in turn, will require a common vision of the value and benefits of open data – something that cannot be taken for granted.

Should there be agreement on the value and benefits of open data, our findings show that most of the intermediaries in our study are NGOs that rely on donor funding. This should raise serious questions about the sustainability of open data initiatives that are civic-minded in conjunction with questions about what incentives other than that of donor funding could ensure the supply and use of open data beyond project funding. Funders and supporters of open data initiatives may have to think not only about the value and benefits or funding projects, but of the sustainability and the impacts of the products produced by the projects they fund.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-data-intermediaries-in-developing-countries