OGP Webinar: Strengthening the Demand For and Use Of Open Data Initiatives
Date & Time: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 10:00 – 11:00 AM EST | 14:00 – 15:00 GMT
Presented by: Jennifer Shkabatur (World Bank) Jay Bhalla (Project Manager, Code 4 Kenya)
Register to join the webinar here
Sponsored by: OGP Networking Mechanism (Global Integrity) & World Bank Institute
To JOIN the session on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 10:00 AM EST, please use this link http://worldbankva.adobeconnect.com/ogpweb/ to login 5 minutes before the Webinar is scheduled to start.
Strengthening the Demand For and Use Of Open DataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... Initiatives
The release of open government data often becomes the core of open government policies and initiatives. Yet it is just a first step on the road to tangible outcomes. A range of capacity buildingEnhancing the skills, abilities, and processes of public servants, civil society, and citizens is essential to achieving long-lasting results in opening government. Technical specifications: Set of ac... activities are required to put open government data in action and fulfill its social, economic, and political promise. This webinar will explore how to maximize the usage and relevancy of open government data after its release.
Relying on a range of global good practices and concrete country examples, speakers will present strategies and tools that can be utilized to engage various stakeholders—policymakers, civil society organizations, journalists, web developers, and citizens—in making active use of open government data. Important issues to be discussed are:
How to conduct hackathons and ensure the sustainability of their results?
How to make the most out of apps competitions?
How to train journalists and parliamentarians to rely on open government data as part of their work?
How to enhance the capacity of CSOs and citizens to use, reuse, and adapt the data for their needs?
Speaker Bios:
Dr. Jennifer Shkabatur is a consultant at the World Bank and a fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Her work examines the effects of information and communication technologies on transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More, accountability, and citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More. She authored several studies on these topics and conducted field research on ICT for social accountabilityTransparency of public service delivery is not enough on its own; giving citizens opportunities to monitor progress on the ground and hold their governments accountable improves the quality of these s... initiatives. In the past years, she served as a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, and as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Law, teaching Internet Law. She holds Doctorate (S.J.D.) and Masters (LL.M.) degrees from Harvard Law School.
Jay Bhalla is an innovation strategist, who has helped pioneer Kenya’s digital revolution. He helped design the Kenyan government’s 2006 ICT policy that kick-started the nation’s digital start-up culture and more recently played a leading role in shaping the Kenya Open Data Initiative (KODI). He continues to advise both the Kenyan government and the World Bank on technologies strategies for civic engagement and appropriate technology. He has also helped build proof-of-concept grass-roots community tools for monitoring government delivery and tracking State expenditure. Outside of his Open Data work, Jay spearheaded East Africa’s largest mobile web gathering, Pivot25, and also co-founded the world’s first Swahili text-to-speech Start-up. Jay is currently the co-founder and Executive Director of the Open Institute think tank.
The Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More Webinars is an initiative of the OGP Networking Mechanism to encourage peer learning and knowledge sharing on critical open government issues among civil society, government, and private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... participants.