An Open Data Agenda for Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals

October 15, 2014Writingsajantriks

This is the text of a submission note prepared by me in response to the call from the Independent Expert Advisory Group on ‘data revolution and sustainable development’ of United Nations. It includes contributions from Tim Davies, Zacharia Chiliswa, and Gisele S. Craveiro.

It was submitted earlier today. The submitted document can be accessed here (PDF).

1. An Open Data Agenda for Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals

Data revolution’ has been one of the most remarkable categories of imagination and exploration to emerge from the report of the United Nation’s High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda [1]. The identification of availability of data on the global status of human development as a key problem area is not surprising given the experiences of measuring, monitoring and implement the Millennium Development Goals. Nonetheless, the recommendation by the High Level Panel for massive restructuring of infrastructures for generating global, reliable, comparable, and timely data is significant.

A brief note prepared by the High Level Panel explains that the ‘data revolution’ has two key objectives: ‘1) the integration of statistics into public and private sector decision making; and 2) building trust between society and state through transparency and accountability’ [2]. The note also lists nine strategic interventions required to achieve these objectives. Only one of which, however, addresses the second main objective.

This submission suggests that an accountable and transparent revolution of global collection and utilisation of data for sustainable development must embrace openness as a fundamental pre-condition of the data concerned. In other words, a data revolution for sustainable development must be based upon global collection, usage, and publication of open data (relevant for purposes of sustainable development).

The Independent Expert Advisory Group on ‘data revolution for sustainable development’ (henceforth, IEAG) has already addressed the question of open data through defining one of its consultation areas around the concept of ‘Accessible Data,’ which comprises of topics related to open data, accountability, and data literacy. This submission, however, proposes that open data must be considered as a cross-cutting principle and instrument of ensuring transparency, trust and security spanning all the constituent areas of the ‘data revolution’ — measuring of sustainable development goals, innovation through big data and new technologies, and addressing system challenges throughout the data landscape.

To reiterate, this submission finds the decision of the IEAG to dedicate an entire consultation area to ‘Accessible Data’ most encouraging and praiseworthy. However, it is necessary to simultaneously ensure that the concern for and transformative potential of open data is not contained within one consultation area within, but is discussed and deployed across the various aspects of the ‘data revolution.’
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‘Data Revolution’ – Background Readings

October 13, 2014Writingsajantriks

With the policy period of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) coming to an end in 2015, United Nations instituted a High Level Panel to advise on the framing of the discussion on post-2015 global development framework and the design of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Panel submitted its report in May 2013.

The report highlights five transformative shifts as core foci of the post-2015 development agenda, and identifies ‘data revolution’ as a necessary and fundamental component of operationalising such an agenda. This identification is directly compelled by the experiences of measuring, monitoring and implement the MDGs. To quote from a brief note on ‘data revolution’ published by the Panel:

Sadly, the availability quality and accessibility of the data we have today just aren’t good enough. Too often, development efforts are hampered by a lack of the most basic data about the social and economic circumstances in which people live. This requires a commitment to changing the way we collect and share data, both from the bottom up and the top down… The availability of information has improved during the implementation of the MDGs, but much better data are necessary. We have yet to establish an accurate picture of how many people are living in extreme poverty today; without that, it is very hard to work out the best ways to move that number to zero by 2030.

While the challenge of absent and unreliable of global development data is a very critical one, the question here is if ‘data revolution’ is being conceptualised robustly enough to address it. The same note explains:

At its heart, the data revolution comprises two main objectives: 1) the integration of statistics into public and private sector decision making; 2) building trust between society and state through transparency and accountability.

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Tweets from the Round Table on ‘Inclusion in the Network Society’

October 8, 2014Writingsajantriks

IT for Change and IDRC, Canada, organised a round table last week to map the emerging and critical research questions around the issue of ‘inclusion in the network society.’ The discussions were expansive, intense, contested, and very enriching.

Mark Graham - Inclusion in the Network Society
Source: Mark Graham.

I did some vigorous and inspired tweeting throughtout the round table. As Tim Davies has already comprehensively collected all the tweets from the round table, I am sharing below only few of my tweets (and conversations) that I feel capture the essential questions coming out of the three days.

But first I quick word cloud of most repeated words from all the tweets coming out of the round table (during September 29 to October 01) with the hashtag #networkinclusion:

Round Table on Network Inclusion - Tweets - All

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Weekend Readings, September 14, 2014

September 14, 2014Weekend Readingsajantriks

For the last several weeks, I have been posting a set of readings each week at the after-media mailing list run by Sarai. They are posted each Friday and contain five links related to the world of digital media, computation and informatics. The set can be thematic or otherwise. From now on, I will post the links here as well.

Almost all the links in this edition focus on matters of art.

Chris Priestman – Videogames begin to respond to Ferguson

It’s all in the works right now, of course, but Case explained that a typical scenario in the game would involve you moving around a scene where cops and citizens are actively at odds with each other; say, a protest on the streets. Your job as a citizen journalist is to frame the story, and how you do that will affect how the people at that location, as well as the game’s representation of our online world, will react to you.

“Take cop-friendly photos, and the cops could be more friendly towards you, and let you have access to areas you wouldn’t have otherwise,” Case said. “Or take extremist photos, and you will personally turn a peaceful protest into an all-out violent conflict.”

The main mechanic, according to Case, is taking “interesting photos.” If you do, your character will gain Twitter followers, which is the game’s scoring mechanic. “It’s silly and playful, but I think that helps underscore/contrast how fucked up things are,” Case tells me. He’s also looking to add a sense of “dread and decision” through these photographic choices you make by making you aware of how different parties will react to the stories you create…

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