A combination of automatic, real-time data feeds from government agencies and new Web 2.0 "data visualization" tools can both increase cooperation and operating efficiency within government, and improve the quality of policy debate and encourage people to become actively involved in offering ideas to improve government. NOTE: best viewed in full-screen mode to read notes.
speech delivered during height of US fiscal crisis (10/02/08) to the SustainCommWorld conference on data feeds and visualization as a means to improving management and achieving the "triple bottom line"
I delivered this shorter version of my Gov. Transformation Through Public Data presentation at the Personal Democracy Forum 2008 in June.
(watch in full screen mode to read the narration). While this version concentrates on government, IMHO the same tools are valid for corporations, with similar benefits, as part of an Enterprise 2.0 strategy.
Deling av data: ”Tenke det, ønske det, ville det med, men gjøre det...?”Stian Danenbarger
Presentation on sharing of open data held for the Norwegian government's "Forum for Large Public Web Sites", early in June 2009, soon after Data.gov went live. The talk was in Norwegian, but the PPT actually contains more English than Norwegian text...
My presentation to "Transparency Camp 09", about how to go beyond transparency to an integrated strategy based on "democratizing data" (structuring and syndicating it and providing social media analysis tools to share it). This integrated strategy will provide transparency, give workers the real-time information they need, reform government regulation, cut corporate paperwork, and crowdsource innovation. It may, or may not, cure the common cold under certain conditions.
speech delivered during height of US fiscal crisis (10/02/08) to the SustainCommWorld conference on data feeds and visualization as a means to improving management and achieving the "triple bottom line"
I delivered this shorter version of my Gov. Transformation Through Public Data presentation at the Personal Democracy Forum 2008 in June.
(watch in full screen mode to read the narration). While this version concentrates on government, IMHO the same tools are valid for corporations, with similar benefits, as part of an Enterprise 2.0 strategy.
Deling av data: ”Tenke det, ønske det, ville det med, men gjøre det...?”Stian Danenbarger
Presentation on sharing of open data held for the Norwegian government's "Forum for Large Public Web Sites", early in June 2009, soon after Data.gov went live. The talk was in Norwegian, but the PPT actually contains more English than Norwegian text...
My presentation to "Transparency Camp 09", about how to go beyond transparency to an integrated strategy based on "democratizing data" (structuring and syndicating it and providing social media analysis tools to share it). This integrated strategy will provide transparency, give workers the real-time information they need, reform government regulation, cut corporate paperwork, and crowdsource innovation. It may, or may not, cure the common cold under certain conditions.
In the analogue era information was scarce and came from questionnaires and sampling. Since the dawn of the digital age in 2012 far more data than ever before is stored and it is mainly collected passively, i.e. while people go about doing what they normally do, such as run their businesses, use their cell phones and conduct internet searches.
Analysts, policy makers and business people value business tendency surveys (BTS) and consumer opinion surveys (COS) specifically because the survey results are available before the corresponding (official) quantitative data. However, Big Data has begun to make inroads on areas traditionally covered by BTS and COS. It has a competitive edge over BTS and COS, as it is available in real-time, is based on all observations and does not rely on the active participation of respondents. Furthermore, Big Data has little direct production costs, because it is merely a by-product of business processes. In contrast, putting together and maintaining a sample of active respondents and collecting information through questionnaires as in the case of BTS and COS, require the upkeep of a costly infrastructure and the employment of people with scarce, specialised skills.
However, BTS and COS also have a competitive edge over Big Data in certain aspects. These aspects could broadly be put into two groups, namely 1) BTS and COS offer information that Big Data cannot supply and 2) BTS and COS do not suffer from some of the shortcomings of Big Data. The biggest competitive advantage of BTS and COS is that they measure phenomenon that Big Data does not cover. Big Data records only actual outcomes, while BTS and COS also cover unquantifiable expectations and assessments. Although Big Data often claims that it covers the whole population universe (and not only a selection) this does not necessarily prevent bias. For example, twitter feeds could be biased, because certain demographic or less activist groups are under-represented. In contrast, the research design and random sampling of BTS and COS limit their selection bias.
To remain relevant and survive, producers of BTS and COS will have to adapt and publicise their unique competitive advantage vis-à-vis Big Data in the future. The biggest shift will probably require that producers of BTS and COS make users more aware of the value of the unique forward looking information of BTS and COS (i.e. their recording of expectations about the future).
What Data Can Do: A Typology of Mechanisms
Angèle Christin .
International Journal of Communication > Vol 14 (2020) , de Angèle Christin del Departamento de Comunicación de Stanford University, USA titulado "What Data Can Do: A Typology of Mechanisms". Entre otras cosas es autora del libro "Metrics at Work.
Big data, democratized analytics and deep context, CIDPNSI
Paper analyzes how big data, democratized analytics, deep context are changing how we think and do development. Outlines key new technologies, analysis techniques and tools that will have a major impact on development research. Classifies into data, analytics and feedback layer.
I’m glad you picked up a copy of our third edition of Open Innovation. It’s packed full of examples of how the open
data movement is growing quickly and becoming one of the most dynamic areas of technology today.
In our “Community Report” section, you’ll get to meet people who are bringing open data to more places, like the
executives in Montgomery County who supported the creation of financial transparency apps that educate citizens
on county budget data. You’ll also hear about Code for America’s successful startup incubator program and the
Center for Medicaid and Medicare’s (CMS) innovative use of healthcare data. Finally, we highlight authors in the
community with our new book review section and showcase a few members of the “Open Data Doers Club.” Any of
the doers remind you of yourself?
“There’s an app for that.” We’ve all heard it and it’s becoming more and more true thanks to new public datasets
made available by governments. In our “What’s App’ening?” section, you’ll find out how New York City
encourages citizens to create apps that address the city’s toughest issues and you’ll get an overview of Socrata Open
Expenditures™ and Socrata Open Budget™, financial transparency apps we designed with help from government
finance leaders.
The Design of an Online Social Network Site for Emergency Management: A One-S...guest636475b
Web 2.0 is creating new opportunities for communication and collaboration. Part of this explosion is the increase in popularity and use of Social Network Sites (SNSs) for general and domain-specific use. In the emergency domain there are a number of websites, wikis, SNSs, etc. but they stand as silos in the field, unable to allow for cross-site collaboration. In this paper we describe ongoing design science research to develop and refine guiding principles for developing an SNS that will bring together emergency domain professionals in a “one-stop-shop.” We surveyed emergency professionals who study crisis information systems, to ascertain potential functionalities of such an SNS. Preliminary results suggest that there is a need for the envisioned SNS. Future research will continue to explore possible solutions to issues addressed in this paper.
Real Life. Live -- When Government Acts More Like the People It ServesNIC Inc | EGOV
A white paper that examines the evolving nature of eGovernment and how it continues to add value to states and citizens in different ways. The three focus areas of this white paper are using portals as platforms for delivering hyper-localized services, leveraging mobile services and social networking tools to make government available 24/7/365 across multiple channels, and the impact of technology on green government.
my talk to 2/12/09 O'Reilly IgniteBoston, emphasizing that passage of economic stimulus package, combined with current economy, is perfect time to introduce data-centric "democratizing data" approach, giving workers, regulators, public, watchdogs real-time access to critical information! Video version: http://tinyurl.com/c9vkjy
In the analogue era information was scarce and came from questionnaires and sampling. Since the dawn of the digital age in 2012 far more data than ever before is stored and it is mainly collected passively, i.e. while people go about doing what they normally do, such as run their businesses, use their cell phones and conduct internet searches.
Analysts, policy makers and business people value business tendency surveys (BTS) and consumer opinion surveys (COS) specifically because the survey results are available before the corresponding (official) quantitative data. However, Big Data has begun to make inroads on areas traditionally covered by BTS and COS. It has a competitive edge over BTS and COS, as it is available in real-time, is based on all observations and does not rely on the active participation of respondents. Furthermore, Big Data has little direct production costs, because it is merely a by-product of business processes. In contrast, putting together and maintaining a sample of active respondents and collecting information through questionnaires as in the case of BTS and COS, require the upkeep of a costly infrastructure and the employment of people with scarce, specialised skills.
However, BTS and COS also have a competitive edge over Big Data in certain aspects. These aspects could broadly be put into two groups, namely 1) BTS and COS offer information that Big Data cannot supply and 2) BTS and COS do not suffer from some of the shortcomings of Big Data. The biggest competitive advantage of BTS and COS is that they measure phenomenon that Big Data does not cover. Big Data records only actual outcomes, while BTS and COS also cover unquantifiable expectations and assessments. Although Big Data often claims that it covers the whole population universe (and not only a selection) this does not necessarily prevent bias. For example, twitter feeds could be biased, because certain demographic or less activist groups are under-represented. In contrast, the research design and random sampling of BTS and COS limit their selection bias.
To remain relevant and survive, producers of BTS and COS will have to adapt and publicise their unique competitive advantage vis-à-vis Big Data in the future. The biggest shift will probably require that producers of BTS and COS make users more aware of the value of the unique forward looking information of BTS and COS (i.e. their recording of expectations about the future).
What Data Can Do: A Typology of Mechanisms
Angèle Christin .
International Journal of Communication > Vol 14 (2020) , de Angèle Christin del Departamento de Comunicación de Stanford University, USA titulado "What Data Can Do: A Typology of Mechanisms". Entre otras cosas es autora del libro "Metrics at Work.
Big data, democratized analytics and deep context, CIDPNSI
Paper analyzes how big data, democratized analytics, deep context are changing how we think and do development. Outlines key new technologies, analysis techniques and tools that will have a major impact on development research. Classifies into data, analytics and feedback layer.
I’m glad you picked up a copy of our third edition of Open Innovation. It’s packed full of examples of how the open
data movement is growing quickly and becoming one of the most dynamic areas of technology today.
In our “Community Report” section, you’ll get to meet people who are bringing open data to more places, like the
executives in Montgomery County who supported the creation of financial transparency apps that educate citizens
on county budget data. You’ll also hear about Code for America’s successful startup incubator program and the
Center for Medicaid and Medicare’s (CMS) innovative use of healthcare data. Finally, we highlight authors in the
community with our new book review section and showcase a few members of the “Open Data Doers Club.” Any of
the doers remind you of yourself?
“There’s an app for that.” We’ve all heard it and it’s becoming more and more true thanks to new public datasets
made available by governments. In our “What’s App’ening?” section, you’ll find out how New York City
encourages citizens to create apps that address the city’s toughest issues and you’ll get an overview of Socrata Open
Expenditures™ and Socrata Open Budget™, financial transparency apps we designed with help from government
finance leaders.
The Design of an Online Social Network Site for Emergency Management: A One-S...guest636475b
Web 2.0 is creating new opportunities for communication and collaboration. Part of this explosion is the increase in popularity and use of Social Network Sites (SNSs) for general and domain-specific use. In the emergency domain there are a number of websites, wikis, SNSs, etc. but they stand as silos in the field, unable to allow for cross-site collaboration. In this paper we describe ongoing design science research to develop and refine guiding principles for developing an SNS that will bring together emergency domain professionals in a “one-stop-shop.” We surveyed emergency professionals who study crisis information systems, to ascertain potential functionalities of such an SNS. Preliminary results suggest that there is a need for the envisioned SNS. Future research will continue to explore possible solutions to issues addressed in this paper.
Real Life. Live -- When Government Acts More Like the People It ServesNIC Inc | EGOV
A white paper that examines the evolving nature of eGovernment and how it continues to add value to states and citizens in different ways. The three focus areas of this white paper are using portals as platforms for delivering hyper-localized services, leveraging mobile services and social networking tools to make government available 24/7/365 across multiple channels, and the impact of technology on green government.
my talk to 2/12/09 O'Reilly IgniteBoston, emphasizing that passage of economic stimulus package, combined with current economy, is perfect time to introduce data-centric "democratizing data" approach, giving workers, regulators, public, watchdogs real-time access to critical information! Video version: http://tinyurl.com/c9vkjy
Democratizing Data to transform gov., business & daily lifeW. David Stephenson
A speech to the Tableau Customer Conference 2009 based on the author's forthcoming "Democratizing Data" book, arguing that a combination of real-time structured data feeds and tools such as the Tableau visualization software can empower entire workforces, cut operating costs, encourage coooperation, and foster crowdsourcing.
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Statistics: Visualizing Data
Introductory Essay from the Locks
The Reality Today
All of us now are being blasted by information design. It's being poured into our eyes
through the Web, and we're all visualizers now; we're all demanding a visual aspect to
our information… And if you're navigating a dense information jungle, coming across
a beautiful graphic or a lovely data visualization, it's a relief, it's like coming across a
clearing in the jungle. –David McCandless
In today’s complex ‘information jungle,’ David McCandless observes that “Data is the new soil.”
McCandless, a data journalist and information designer, celebrates data as a ubiquitous resource
providing a fertile and creative medium from which new ideas and understanding can grow.
McCandless’s inspiration, statistician Hans Rosling, builds on this idea in his own TEDTalk with his
compelling image of flowers growing out of data/soil. These ‘flowers’ represent the many insights that
can be gleaned from effective visualization of data.
We’re just learning how to till this soil and make sense of the mountains of data constantly being
generated. As Gary King, Director of Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science says in his New
York Times article “The Age of Big Data”:
“It’s a revolution. We’re really just getting under way. But the march of quantification,
made possible by enormous new sources of data, will sweep through academia,
business and government. There is no area that is going to be untouched.”
How do we deal with all this data without getting information overload? How do we use data
to gain real insight into the world? Finding ways to pull interesting information out of data can
be very rewarding, both personally and professionally. The managing editor of Financial Times
observed on CNN’s Your Money: “The people who are able to in a sophisticated and practical
way analyze that data are going to have terrific jobs." Those who learn how to present data in
effective ways will be valuable in every field.
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Many people, when they think of data, think of tables filled with numbers. But this long-held notion is
eroding. Today, we’re generating streams of data that are often too complex to be presented in a
simple “table.” In his TEDTalk, Blaise Aguera y Arcas explores images as data, while Deb Roy uses
audio, video, and the text messages in social media as data.
Some may also think that only a few specialized professionals can draw insights from data. When we
look at data in the right way, however, the results can be fun, insightful, even whimsical--and accessible
to everyone! Who knew, for example, that there are more relationship break-ups on Monday than on
any other day of the week, or that ...
In this paper, I talk about three distinct areas: Big Data, Crowdsourcing, and Public Sector. Each of the these areas is vast on its own but through this paper I want to argue that it is the intersection of the three which offers unique and immense possibilities that can truly make the world a better place.
This primer - or "Big Data 101" specifically for the international development and humanitarian communities - explains the concepts behind using Big Data for social good in easy-to-understand language. Published by the United Nations' Global Pulse initiative, which is exploring how new, digital data sources and real-time analytics technologies can help policymakers understand human well-being and emerging vulnerabilities in real-time. www.unglobalpulse.org
Small data vs. Big data : back to the basicsAhmed Banafa
Small data is data in a volume and format that makes it accessible, informative and actionable.
The Small Data Group offers the following explanation:
Small data connects people with timely, meaningful insights (derived from big data and/or “local” sources), organized and packaged – often visually – to be accessible, understandable, and actionable for everyday tasks.
Information Literacy, Privacy, & Risk: What Are the Implications of Mass Surv...g8briel
In light of new revelations about government warrantless wiretapping and electronic surveillance what role do librarians have in educating our patrons about digital privacy and security issues? Given that digital privacy is further complicated by for-profit Internet companies services, such as those provided by Facebook and Google, are our users savvy enough to understand threats to their information in this increasingly complex digital landscape? This presentation will explore issues related to current events and information security with an eye towards the implications for information literacy standards; brief examination of tools used to enhance information privacy; and discuss how librarians might play a role in helping users become more information aware.
Data Journalism: chapter from Online Journalism Handbook first editionPaul Bradshaw
This chapter is from the first edition of the Online Journalism Handbook. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The IoT Can Spark Total Management Revolution: the Circular CompanyW. David Stephenson
My address to PTC's LiveWorx '17 conference on how the IoT can spark a total management revolution, away from linear and hierarchical organization, to the "circular company," in which departments (and even trusted outsiders) collaborate in real-time around a shared IoT data base
Speech to first year graduate students at Babson College on the attitudinal shifts that will allow the IoT to transform business away from hierarchy to innovative circular organizations
My speech to the Hong Kong IoT Association about how instantly shared real-time IoT data can transform companies and allow highly efficient and creative circular organizations
My presentation to the 2015 IoT Global Summit about keeping seniors healthier and happier, in their homes, through a combination of Internet of Things devices
My presentation @ the Wearables + Things conference about "Smart Aging," my paradigm shift about improving the quality of seniors' lives and reducing the cost by combining Quantified Self health devices and smart home devices.
"Smart Aging" combines two aspects of the Internet of Things, Quantified Self devices to record your health and fitness data and smart home technologies, specifically to allow seniors to "age in place" and improve their health, while simultaneously reducing their living costs.
A presentation I gave to the Boston/New England Internet of Things Meetup on June 17, 2013 about the overlooked human communications aspects of the IoT that must be dealt with if its full potential is to be realized! In particular, I argued we will need new management styles and thinking for an era in which every worker can have shared, real-time access to data that would help them do their jobs more effectively and make better decisions. Finally, I suggested we need a new kind of organizational chart -- Buckyball Management -- modeled on the buckyball molecule, in which there's no vertical hierarchy, but every person is a value-creating "node," capable of collaborating with every other person.
Presentation to National Academy of Science workshop on Public Response to Alerts and Warnings Using Social Media. I argued that the citizen science model, in which volunteers contribute to substantive scientific research, is a great model for how to involve the general public in making accurate, actionable social media posts (Twitter, Twitvid, Facebook) that first responders can use to direct their efforts in a disaster.
My presentation to the XBRL 23 conference, in which I outlined my vision of the "One Report," in which companies would manage internal reporting on a real-time basis using XBRL Global Ledger, then seamlessly compile government & other external reports.
This summarizes my concept of a transformation in which data is only entered once (by government, businesses or the public), automatically tagged with metadata, and then flows, preferably on a real-time basis, to anyone who needs it (limited only by their roles), plus tools to use and interpret the data. The results will be new goods & services, transparency, and economical operations!
Making public true partners in H1N1 preparation & response through creative use of social media tools such as Twitter and wikis. My presentation for a 10/29/09 webinar also involving presos by Google, Microsoft & CDC.
My keynote @ the GOVIS conference in New Zealand, in which I outlined a comprehensive "democratizing data" strategy, its benefits given the current global economic/political crisis, & challenged New Zealand to take the world lead in making the concept a reality
My presentation at Netroots Nation 2008. I challenge attendees to show that they're ready to capitalize on the power of Web 2.0 tools that will enable them to play a substantive role in government, specifically in the Obama campaign's public outreach project to draft the Democratic Platform. BEST VIEWED IN FULL SCREEN MODE TO READ THE SCRIPT
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to ma...Lviv Startup Club
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to make small projects with small budgets profitable for the company (UA)
Kyiv PMDay 2024 Summer
Website – www.pmday.org
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/startuplviv
FB – https://www.facebook.com/pmdayconference
Company Valuation webinar series - Tuesday, 4 June 2024FelixPerez547899
This session provided an update as to the latest valuation data in the UK and then delved into a discussion on the upcoming election and the impacts on valuation. We finished, as always with a Q&A
[Note: This is a partial preview. To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
Sustainability has become an increasingly critical topic as the world recognizes the need to protect our planet and its resources for future generations. Sustainability means meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It involves long-term planning and consideration of the consequences of our actions. The goal is to create strategies that ensure the long-term viability of People, Planet, and Profit.
Leading companies such as Nike, Toyota, and Siemens are prioritizing sustainable innovation in their business models, setting an example for others to follow. In this Sustainability training presentation, you will learn key concepts, principles, and practices of sustainability applicable across industries. This training aims to create awareness and educate employees, senior executives, consultants, and other key stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and supply chain partners, on the importance and implementation of sustainability.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts that form the foundation of sustainability within corporate environments.
2. Explore the sustainability implementation model, focusing on effective measures and reporting strategies to track and communicate sustainability efforts.
3. Identify and define best practices and critical success factors essential for achieving sustainability goals within organizations.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Key Concepts of Sustainability
2. Principles and Practices of Sustainability
3. Measures and Reporting in Sustainability
4. Sustainability Implementation & Best Practices
To download the complete presentation, visit: https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations
In the Adani-Hindenburg case, what is SEBI investigating.pptxAdani case
Adani SEBI investigation revealed that the latter had sought information from five foreign jurisdictions concerning the holdings of the firm’s foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in relation to the alleged violations of the MPS Regulations. Nevertheless, the economic interest of the twelve FPIs based in tax haven jurisdictions still needs to be determined. The Adani Group firms classed these FPIs as public shareholders. According to Hindenburg, FPIs were used to get around regulatory standards.
Recruiting in the Digital Age: A Social Media MasterclassLuanWise
In this masterclass, presented at the Global HR Summit on 5th June 2024, Luan Wise explored the essential features of social media platforms that support talent acquisition, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok.
3.0 Project 2_ Developing My Brand Identity Kit.pptxtanyjahb
A personal brand exploration presentation summarizes an individual's unique qualities and goals, covering strengths, values, passions, and target audience. It helps individuals understand what makes them stand out, their desired image, and how they aim to achieve it.
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey throu...dylandmeas
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey through Full Sail University. Below, you’ll find a collection of my work showcasing my skills and expertise in digital marketing, event planning, and media production.
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is buzzing with discussions after Google confirmed that around 2,500 leaked internal documents related to its Search feature are indeed authentic. The revelation has sparked significant concerns within the SEO community. The leaked documents were initially reported by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, igniting widespread analysis and discourse. For More Info:- https://news.arihantwebtech.com/search-disrupted-googles-leaked-documents-rock-the-seo-world/
An introduction to the cryptocurrency investment platform Binance Savings.Any kyc Account
Learn how to use Binance Savings to expand your bitcoin holdings. Discover how to maximize your earnings on one of the most reliable cryptocurrency exchange platforms, as well as how to earn interest on your cryptocurrency holdings and the various savings choices available.
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and TemplatesAurelien Domont, MBA
This Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit was created by ex-McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG Management Consultants, after more than 5,000 hours of work. It is considered the world's best & most comprehensive Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit. It includes all the Frameworks, Best Practices & Templates required to successfully undertake the Digital Transformation of your organization and define a robust IT Strategy.
Editable Toolkit to help you reuse our content: 700 Powerpoint slides | 35 Excel sheets | 84 minutes of Video training
This PowerPoint presentation is only a small preview of our Toolkits. For more details, visit www.domontconsulting.com
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and Templates
Gov Transformation Through Public Data
1. Let my data go!
from locked file cabinets to
government transformation
W. David Stephenson
Stephenson Strategies
Let my data go!
From locked file cabinets …
3. Where’s my data??
Remember the final scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” when the Ark of the Covenant was moved to a government warehouse? When that happened, you
knew it would never be seen again.
That’s what seems to happen with a lot of government data. We pay taxes to collect them. Our activities and lives are their raw material. They determine
whether many of us get more government benefits and which states and communities get grants.
But once they’re collected, most citizens -- and a lot of government employees for that matter -- don’t have a clue where government data are stored or how
they’re used. Even worse, that robs us of important tools that could improve government’s performance and cut its operating costs.
It often seems as if these data are condemned to remain meaningless numbers locked in obscure databases within unknown agencies. Where the heck are
they?
4. Fast forward to 2008. Lo and behold, in the latest Indiana Jones sequel, Indy retrieves the Ark!
In my book, that’s an omen that you can’t keep things hidden forever!
Similarly, closely-controlled and long-lost government data are being liberated by the growing demand by watchdog groups, the media, and the electorate
for transparency.
Releasing data and enabling more people to discuss it is a big deal. As Ellen Miller of the Sunlight Foundation said:
“Data and the accessibility of data are key to understanding how Washington really works. It's information that's crucial for citizens to have in
order to participate in their democracy. We need to know, in real time, things like who's lobbying whom, how lawmakers spend our money, who our
elected officials meet with and about what, who contributes to their campaigns, what interventions they make with regulatory agencies, and
information about lawmakers' personal investments...”
5. But more than shedding light on how government operations, taking reams of data and portraying them visually -- what’s called data visualization or
sometimes data graphics --- can have far more wide-reaching impact.
As Edward Tufte, generally acknowledged as the leading thinker on data graphics, puts it, even the most skilled statisticians often find representing data
visually is the most insightful way of making sense of them:
quot;Modern data graphics can do much more than simply substitute for small statistical tables. At their best, graphics are instruments
for reasoning about quantitative information. Often the most effective way to describe, explore and summarize a set of numbers -- even a
very large set -- is to look at pictures of those numbers. Furthermore, of all methods for analyzing and communicating statistical
information, well-designed data graphics are usually the simplest and at the same time the most powerful.”
When that concept is applied to government, whether to improve agencies’ internal functioning or, more innovatively, using these data-driven graphics to
spark public involvement, the benefits can be dramatic.
For example, this is a Google mashup Jon Udell whipped up in a few hours to highlight pothole complaints to the DC Department of Public Works, and track
-- on a real-time basis -- the repairs’ status.
Yes, you could find that information in a chart, but who would take the time to sift through pages of records in hopes of possibly finding the one or two that
applied to their neighborhood? By contrast, if you saw this map, and lived near one of the pointers, wouldn’t curiosity compel you to click on it? Wouldn’t the fact
that it includes not only information about where the pothole is and when the complaint was made, but also the repair status TODAY, both fascinate you -- and
provoke you to call the DPW if it’s now 3 months later and the map shows the repair still hasn’t been made?
A simple map can be the impetus for citizen awareness – and greater agency accountability.
6. A look at several other data graphics will give you an appreciation of their potential.
Some visualizations combine various data bases to illustrate convergence, contrasts or possible causality
This example is Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles, a collaboration between UCLA and community activists. Its motto is “neighborhood improvement and
recovery is not just for the experts.”
They’re working to adapt the Neighborhood Early Warning System, which seeks to identify early signs that a neighborhood may be declining, into a
mechanism to monitor areas in danger. This is an important example of the value of data visualization, because the system combines data on 7 “problem
indicators” (including code violations, property tax delinquencies, and fire records, etc.) that might have otherwise remained isolated. When you see a single block
where many of the danger signs are repeated, that’s a signal to city officials to intervene with coordinated services to halt the decline.
7. Other mashups of data and maps put data in geographic context.
For example, this one shows where illegal billboards have been erected in Toronto and summarizes their legal histories. illegalsigns.ca by the way, also
illustrates another interesting variation on citizen use of data graphics. While some of are done by major organizations, many result from the passions of single
individuals, in this case, billboard opponent Rami Tabello.
8. Still other data graphics give context to global issues, which can seem so massive and complex that many of us shy away from trying to understand, let alone
to influence them.
None are as eye-catching, and informative as the visualizations on issues facing developing nations created by the Gapminder Foundation using its
innovative, animated Trendalyzer software. Goggle now offers Trendalyzer for general use under the Motion Chart name. This static screengrab can't do justice to
the powerful additional understanding gained when you view one of Gapminder’s animated trend diagrams.
9. “
… put together big enough and diverse
enough groups of people & ask them to
make decisions affecting [the] general
interest, [and] that group's decisions will,
over time, be intellectually superior to the
isolated individual, no matter how smart or
well-informed he is.
”
-- The Wisdom of Crowds
Equally important, web-based data visualization tools may also include a variety of community-building Web 2.0 tools, including search, topic hubs, tags,
and discussion areas. They make it easy to focus many individuals’ and groups’ attention on a policy issue, increasing the chance that new insights will emerge
precisely because of the interplay of so many perspectives.
As James Surowiecki wrote in “The Wisdom of Crowds,” “… put together big enough and diverse enough groups of people & ask them to make decisions
affecting matters of general interest, [and] that group's decisions will, over time, be intellectually superior to the isolated individual, no matter how smart or well-
informed he is.quot;
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1 st: release the data
Motivated, technologically- sophisticated individuals can create informative data visualizations the hard way, by “scrapping” data from governmental web
sites.
However, now that it is so simple to create data feeds that are generated automatically as new data are added, there’s little rationale not to do so.
In fact, Princeton researchers recently released a paper making a startling assertion: “Rather than struggling, as it currently does, to design sites that meet
each end-user need, we argue that the executive branch should focus on creating a simple, reliable and publicly accessible infrastructure that exposes the
underlying data”
11. A number of federal and state agencies now publish a variety of RSS and other feeds.
By far, the most exciting model is the District of Columbia’s Citywide Data Warehouse, created as part of the city’s operational reform efforts.
It provides real-time RSS, XML,ATOM, TXT and ESRI feeds -- among others. The feeds are drawn from more than 150 data sets, ranging from the all-
important crime reports to pothole complaints to the DPW.
The city has realized benefits including:
• Improved coordination among city agencies
• More value from the mashups because the data is available on a real-time basis rather than scraped from historical records
• A wider variety of uses because of more types of feed formats and a greater range of data.
D.C. has set a high standard: who will top it?
12. 2nd: visualize data
2
nd : Visualize data!
The second major component of a public data project is to help people find simple-to-use ways to portray the data visually. A growing range of new
visualization tools are readily available on the web. Several of the commercial sites now offer secure versions making it simple for agencies to add visualization
services behind the firewall.
13. As with many e-gov initiatives, data graphics can capitalize on existing private-sector sites that help build understanding of the concept, create user-friendly
tools to facilitate it, and provide community-building features such as topic hubs, search, tagging and discussion forums.
The creators of IBM’s Many Eyes say it’s:
“… a bet on the power of human visual intelligence to find patterns. Our goal is to ‘democratize’ visualization and to enable a new social kind of data
analysis …. All of us ... are passionate about the potential of data visualization to spark insight. It is that magical moment we live for: an unwieldy, unyielding
data set is transformed into an image on the screen, and suddenly the user can perceive an unexpected pattern.
As visualization designers we have witnessed and experienced many of those wondrous sparks. But in recent years, we have become acutely aware that
the visualizations and the sparks they generate, take on new value in a social setting. Visualization is a catalyst for discussion and collective insight about
data .... When we share it and discuss it, we understand it in new ways.”
This particular visualization was the first one that I personally created, to help understand patterns in the Department of Homeland Security's disbursement
of funds under its Urban Area Security Initiative program. The simple-to-understand directions allowed me to upload the data and create the visualization in a
matter of minutes.
14. With similar passion for the social benefits of free exchange of data, Swivel’s founders say their
“... mission is to liberate the world's data and make it useful so new insights can be discovered and shared …. the world's most important data have been
completely neglected. … When people, business leaders and politicians cannot access the facts in an engaging way they'll just ignore them. And when the
facts are ignored citizens, communities and investors lose. Without accountability to the facts our world gets worse. We believe data is most valuable when
it's out in the open where everyone can see it, debate it, have fun, and share new insights. Swivel is applying the power of the Web to data so that life gets
better.”
You’ll notice on this particular screengrab, several key Swivel and Many Eyes features applicable to governmental use:
• other users are free to comment -- and challenge the interpretations
• users can create tags (as well as “community tags”) to categorize the graphs
• and it’s also easy to find related graphs and/or to share them with others.
Swivel makes it particularly easy to add your graph to a blog.
15. Yeah, but ...
• Certainly, there are concerns that must be addressed before an agency launches a data feed and visualization initiative. Fortunately, there are sound
solutions to most of them.
One concern is that amateurs will just confuse issues, to which Jon Udell responds: “Those who don’t cite data will be laughed at. Those who do cite data but
interpret it incorrectly will be corrected. Those who do great work will develop reputations that are discoverable and measurable.”
Others worry that release of data will intrude on privacy. Sadly there is already a lot of personal information available on the web, not to mention data theft
and inadvertent disclosure by government agencies. The data privacy issue must be addressed on a comprehensive basis, and shouldn’t be given as the justification
for denying transparent government and data feeds.
Still others worry that releasing and combining bad data will only compound problems. Give me a break! Bad data must be cleaned up under any
circumstances.
•
16. Transparency begins at home
The concept of releasing data to the general public is understandably downright scary to many in government!
So here’s a great way to ease into data feeds and data visualization: follow the District of Columbia's lead, and apply the same strategy behind the firewall
first.
After all, your own employees may be struggling with incompatible data bases, may need to reach across agency “silos” to see if there might be synergies
between programs, and employees from another agency may be able to provide new insights simply because of their differing life experiences and insights.
Also, as more young workers, who have never known life without the Web, join governmental workforces, they’ll naturally ask why tools they’ve used can’t be
used in government. A data graphics project can empower them and tap their expertise.
Launching a behind-the-firewall data visualization site requires the same components as with a public site, allowing agencies to test and improve the parts
before any kind of public exposure – not to mention reaping data feeds’ and data graphics’ benefits:
• clean up data, and establish common formats for feeds: XML, RSS, AJAX and geospatial feeds such as KML. Whenever possible, release the feeds on a
real-time basis, so they can serve more effectively as management tools, rather than to simply analyze historical data.
• create a single web site for the project, including the feeds, demonstrations on show how the process works, then aggregate all of the mashups and
visualizations that result.
• encourage users to create and use tags, so that individual graphics can be clustered, compared, and searched.
• have agency management commit to monitor the site for new ideas, and or signs of problems with agency’s performance uncovered by visualizations.
When possible, act on them, and publicly thank those who make the effort.
Experimenting with transparent government on the inside lets government agencies
• learn more about the approach
• encourage inter-agency cooperation
• clean up data streams
• create their own data visualizations and information mash-ups
17. Let 1,000 mashups bloom!
Once an agency has done this behind-the-scenes work and realized value from an internal data visualization program, the prospect of a parallel set of public
data feeds and a data visualization site is less worrisome.
Of course there are obstacles and risks with transparent government. However, realistically, there’s little choice about whether to implement it: as the public
becomes more at ease with already-available Web 2.0 participation tools and sees the benefits of ad hoc projects such as illegalsigns.ca, they will do more and
more data visualizations whether or not agencies facilitate them. If that’s the case, why not also reap the benefits of growing public understanding and insight?
18. The payoff: transformation!
Outweighing the obstacles are the benefits, particularly in an era in which public faith and participation in government must be rebuilt. When more
employees within agencies and the public at large become comfortable with data and its interpretation, the potential benefits include:
• more informed policy debate, grounded in fact, rather than rhetoric
• consensus building: as people from a variety of perspectives and political ideologies engage in discussion around these facts and their interpretation,
there is at least the possibility of dialogue
• better legislation: with more public debate before legislation is enacted, potential pitfalls that might otherwise only emerge once a program was
operating (with more serious and costly ramifications) would be debated and addressed during the legislative process
• greater transparency and less corruption: when data on government operations, campaign finance, etc. are public, it is harder to conceal
corruption. It becomes easier, for example, to see possible correlation between contributions to an elected official and votes that might favor that contributor.
• greater accountability: robust discussion of program statistics can make government operations more accountable, improving performance (this is
often referred to as sousveillance, in which the public monitors delivery of services).
• optimizing program efficiency and reducing costs: when data are easily available, especially for a wide range of government programs dealing
with the same issue, target populations or geographic areas, it becomes easier to identify potential synergies and/or overlaps and redundancies. This can result
both in more effective services and reduce costs.
• new perspectives, especially when “the wisdom of crowds” emerges.
Who would have believed that dry data -- with a healthy doses of Web 2.0 magic -- could become the engine to involve the public
in governmental transformation!
19. For more information on transparent
government and how to create it:
Stephenson Strategies
335 Main Street, Medfield, MA 02052
(617) 314-7858
To learn more about transparent government and how to create the processes and policies to make it a reality, contact:
Stephenson Strategies 335 Main Street, Medfield, MA 02052 (617) 314-7858 D.Stephenson@stephensonstrategies.com