Presented on 30 August 2018: Deployment of Open Data Driven Solutions for Socio-economic Value thorough Good Governance and Efficient Public Service Delivery -
Casper Sitemba (Government of Kenya) for the Open Government in Agriculture and Nutrition lightning talk session at the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Mexico City, 28 October 2015.
Experience of the Ghana Agricultural Information Network Systems (GAINS)iaaldafrika
PowerPoint presentation on GAINS activities presented at the IAALD Africa Chapter session at the Joint Conference of IAALD, AFITA and WCCA, 24 - 27 August 2008, Atsugi, Japan
A look back at the Kenyan open data movement - from the launch of the KODI platform (http://opendata.go.ke), the challenges faced, to the future of open data in Kenya.
Intro to Open data - presentation made as part of Food and Agriculture Organization meeting with Statistician Generals from around Nigeria + other government reps. **References are in the ppt notes
Casper Sitemba (Government of Kenya) for the Open Government in Agriculture and Nutrition lightning talk session at the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Mexico City, 28 October 2015.
Experience of the Ghana Agricultural Information Network Systems (GAINS)iaaldafrika
PowerPoint presentation on GAINS activities presented at the IAALD Africa Chapter session at the Joint Conference of IAALD, AFITA and WCCA, 24 - 27 August 2008, Atsugi, Japan
A look back at the Kenyan open data movement - from the launch of the KODI platform (http://opendata.go.ke), the challenges faced, to the future of open data in Kenya.
Intro to Open data - presentation made as part of Food and Agriculture Organization meeting with Statistician Generals from around Nigeria + other government reps. **References are in the ppt notes
Pulse Lab Kampala developed the prototype of a tool that can analyze public radio content to reveal a detailed picture of the priorities of Ugandans. The Radio Content Analysis tool works by converting public discussions that take place on radio into text using ‘speech-to-text’ technology. Once converted, the text can be searched by topics of interest related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as health, education or employment. The topics can be further broken down by location and timeline. The new capability afforded by this tool could help policymakers better understand, in real-time, Ugandans’ priorities, as voiced publicly on the radio.
One of the finalists, eNGO - GRAAM, in the category 'Advocacy', is an initiative of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, that works towards advocating policy change.
Research brokers and intermediaries in different sectors and contexts: agriculture
Presentation by James Nguo, Executive Director, Arid Lands Information network (Kenya) at the Locating the Power of the In-between conference July 08
Opening the Gates: Will Open Data Initiatives Make Local Governments in the P...Open Data Research Network
A research poster presented as part of the Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries project at the Research Sharing Event in Berlin, 15th July 2014. For more see http://www.opendataresearch.org/emergingimpacts/
Track 2 progress report 2015-2016 Pulse Lab KampalaUN Global Pulse
Pulse Lab Kampala is a data innovation lab run by UN Global Pulse, and was established as an inter-agency initiative under the management of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uganda. The Lab contributes to the United Nations ‘Delivering as One’ approach while also serving as Global Pulse’s regional innovation hub for Africa.
Sheffield why open data matters to local government officers - tim adams lgaLG Inform Plus
Presentation given by Tim Adams Local Government Association LGA LG Inform Plus programme manager on the importance of open data to public sector officers and to local government policy. Given at Sheffield City Open Data Event - 10-July-2015
Provides an overview of the use of data (Big, Open, Linked Data) in the development context. The slides presents a model for D4D and highlights initiatives in two major streams of D4D initiatives.
Pulse Lab Kampala developed the prototype of a tool that can analyze public radio content to reveal a detailed picture of the priorities of Ugandans. The Radio Content Analysis tool works by converting public discussions that take place on radio into text using ‘speech-to-text’ technology. Once converted, the text can be searched by topics of interest related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as health, education or employment. The topics can be further broken down by location and timeline. The new capability afforded by this tool could help policymakers better understand, in real-time, Ugandans’ priorities, as voiced publicly on the radio.
One of the finalists, eNGO - GRAAM, in the category 'Advocacy', is an initiative of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, that works towards advocating policy change.
Research brokers and intermediaries in different sectors and contexts: agriculture
Presentation by James Nguo, Executive Director, Arid Lands Information network (Kenya) at the Locating the Power of the In-between conference July 08
Opening the Gates: Will Open Data Initiatives Make Local Governments in the P...Open Data Research Network
A research poster presented as part of the Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries project at the Research Sharing Event in Berlin, 15th July 2014. For more see http://www.opendataresearch.org/emergingimpacts/
Track 2 progress report 2015-2016 Pulse Lab KampalaUN Global Pulse
Pulse Lab Kampala is a data innovation lab run by UN Global Pulse, and was established as an inter-agency initiative under the management of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uganda. The Lab contributes to the United Nations ‘Delivering as One’ approach while also serving as Global Pulse’s regional innovation hub for Africa.
Sheffield why open data matters to local government officers - tim adams lgaLG Inform Plus
Presentation given by Tim Adams Local Government Association LGA LG Inform Plus programme manager on the importance of open data to public sector officers and to local government policy. Given at Sheffield City Open Data Event - 10-July-2015
Provides an overview of the use of data (Big, Open, Linked Data) in the development context. The slides presents a model for D4D and highlights initiatives in two major streams of D4D initiatives.
Latin America Researc Visit to FedUni Centre for eResearch and Digital Innova...Helen Thompson
Under the Australia Awards Fellowship (AAF), the Victorian State Government’s Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources Division of International Education has organised and sponsored a delegation of Latin-American Universities’ senior research administrators and researchers to visit Victorian universities in September.
FedUni hosted the delegation on Wednesday 23 September at Mt Helen
Creating Impact with Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition (Kenya)godanSec
Casper Sitemba (Government of Kenya) gave a keynote presentation at the 2nd International Workshop: Creating Impact with Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition in The Hague, 10 September 2015.
Presentation during the 14th Association of African Universities (AAU) Conference and African Open Science Platform (AOSP)/Research Data Alliance (RDA) Workshop in Accra, Ghana, 7-8 June 2017.
OGPL is a joint product from India and United States to promote transparency and greater citizen engagement by making more government data, documents, tools and processes publicly available.
Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation - Research OverviewHelen Thompson
The Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) is a Federation University Australia (FedUni) Centre focused on:
• The application of information communications technology (ICT) and the development of innovative, world class knowledge management systems;
• Significantly advancing the digital literacy and knowledge management capabilities and capacity of partner organisations;
• Fostering, development and implementation of eResearch within academia and industry; and
• Measuring the impact of eResearch and digital innovation through longitudinal research.
CeRDI is also gaining national and international recognition in innovative spatial information systems.
This presentation showcases some of the diverse range of projects are that being supported through the team at CeRDI.
Projects are at various stages of their evolution with many sharing common goals to inform ‘big picture’ understanding and enhance decision making, create greater efficiencies in communication, increase the quality of information and support policy formulation and evaluation.
Technology is part and parcel of any development agenda across all sectors including but not limited to Health, Education, Agribusiness, Tourism, Infrastructure and Construction, Gas and Oil, Transport, Financial Services, Manufacturing.
Take stock of emerging uses of ICT across sectors and of good practices in Africa and in other countries, including how ICTs are changing business models in strategic sector of Agriculture.
Presentation at the Nordic Data Journalism Conference 2016 in Helsinki, Finland about the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and the need of a Data Revolution that includes using Open Data and Responsible Data practices. Notes can be found on http://bit.ly/noda16-pernillan
High-level Meeting & Workshop on Environmental and Scientific Open Data for Sustainable Development Goals in Developing Countries. Madagascar, 4-6 December 2017
The 2018 Annual Report details exploratory research conducted by the Pulse Labs and presents solutions that were mainstreamed with partners.
It summarized the adoption of the first UN Principles for Personal Data Protection and Privacy, and showcases Global Pulse's contributions to develop standards and national strategies for the ethical and privacy protective use of big data and artificial intelligence.
Finally, the report highlights Global Pulse's engagement with the data innovation ecosystem through capacity building, collaborative research, and responsible data partnerships.
Similar to Open Data for Socio-Economic Value/Ina Smith (20)
Presentation on behalf of the SA Weather Service presented during SA National Science Week - The harsh realities of climate change, 29 July to 2 August 2019.
Presented at a NeDICC (Network of Data and Information Curation Communities) meeting, 14 March 2019, CSIR, and at the University of Pretoria and the Carnegie Corporation of New York Capstone Conference, 24-29 March 2019, Kieviets Kroon.
Explore our comprehensive data analysis project presentation on predicting product ad campaign performance. Learn how data-driven insights can optimize your marketing strategies and enhance campaign effectiveness. Perfect for professionals and students looking to understand the power of data analysis in advertising. for more details visit: https://bostoninstituteofanalytics.org/data-science-and-artificial-intelligence/
Levelwise PageRank with Loop-Based Dead End Handling Strategy : SHORT REPORT ...Subhajit Sahu
Abstract — Levelwise PageRank is an alternative method of PageRank computation which decomposes the input graph into a directed acyclic block-graph of strongly connected components, and processes them in topological order, one level at a time. This enables calculation for ranks in a distributed fashion without per-iteration communication, unlike the standard method where all vertices are processed in each iteration. It however comes with a precondition of the absence of dead ends in the input graph. Here, the native non-distributed performance of Levelwise PageRank was compared against Monolithic PageRank on a CPU as well as a GPU. To ensure a fair comparison, Monolithic PageRank was also performed on a graph where vertices were split by components. Results indicate that Levelwise PageRank is about as fast as Monolithic PageRank on the CPU, but quite a bit slower on the GPU. Slowdown on the GPU is likely caused by a large submission of small workloads, and expected to be non-issue when the computation is performed on massive graphs.
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Empowering the Data Analytics Ecosystem: A Laser Focus on Value
The data analytics ecosystem thrives when every component functions at its peak, unlocking the true potential of data. Here's a laser focus on key areas for an empowered ecosystem:
1. Democratize Access, Not Data:
Granular Access Controls: Provide users with self-service tools tailored to their specific needs, preventing data overload and misuse.
Data Catalogs: Implement robust data catalogs for easy discovery and understanding of available data sources.
2. Foster Collaboration with Clear Roles:
Data Mesh Architecture: Break down data silos by creating a distributed data ownership model with clear ownership and responsibilities.
Collaborative Workspaces: Utilize interactive platforms where data scientists, analysts, and domain experts can work seamlessly together.
3. Leverage Advanced Analytics Strategically:
AI-powered Automation: Automate repetitive tasks like data cleaning and feature engineering, freeing up data talent for higher-level analysis.
Right-Tool Selection: Strategically choose the most effective advanced analytics techniques (e.g., AI, ML) based on specific business problems.
4. Prioritize Data Quality with Automation:
Automated Data Validation: Implement automated data quality checks to identify and rectify errors at the source, minimizing downstream issues.
Data Lineage Tracking: Track the flow of data throughout the ecosystem, ensuring transparency and facilitating root cause analysis for errors.
5. Cultivate a Data-Driven Mindset:
Metrics-Driven Performance Management: Align KPIs and performance metrics with data-driven insights to ensure actionable decision making.
Data Storytelling Workshops: Equip stakeholders with the skills to translate complex data findings into compelling narratives that drive action.
Benefits of a Precise Ecosystem:
Sharpened Focus: Precise access and clear roles ensure everyone works with the most relevant data, maximizing efficiency.
Actionable Insights: Strategic analytics and automated quality checks lead to more reliable and actionable data insights.
Continuous Improvement: Data-driven performance management fosters a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
Sustainable Growth: Empowered by data, organizations can make informed decisions to drive sustainable growth and innovation.
By focusing on these precise actions, organizations can create an empowered data analytics ecosystem that delivers real value by driving data-driven decisions and maximizing the return on their data investment.
1. Open Data for Socio-Economic Value
Presented by Ina Smith
Project Manager African Open Science Platform
Academy of Science of South Africa
2. African Open Science Platform
• http://africanopenscience.org.za/
• 4 Focus Areas:
• Policies
• Infrastructure
• Capacity Building
• Incentives
• Research data informs government decisions
and policies, and government data informs
research
10. Open Data to ….
• Streamline dissemination of information within
government
• Provide better information for policy-makers
• Enable targeting of resources (prevent silos)
• Provide equal access to information
11. • Informed 2030 UN SDGs on global development
priorities - major global issues of justice, human
rights, social inclusion, prosperity, environment
• Past, present future trends predicted
• Target aid money & improve development
programmes
• Track development progress, prevent corruption
• Contribute to innovation, job creation, economic
growth
12. For data to be of use …
Curate Data
FAIR Data
As open possible, as closed necessary
Collaboration
14. Data to address Global Challenges
• Global challenges require coordinated international
actions
• Open Science and Open Data can promote
collaborative efforts and faster knowledge transfer
for a better understanding of challenges such as
climate change, and could help identify solutions
19. Governments are beginning to realise the value
of releasing datasets which support business
activities, such as land registries, addresses of
public and private institutions, company
registers and geospatial data. The geospatial
sector alone is estimated to generate US$150–
270bn of revenue globally, by providing digital
mapping and location data services.
https://www.issuelab.org/resources/22720/22720.pdf
20. In the Ivory Coast and Senegal, for example,
Orange Telecom hosted a ‘Data for development
challenge,’ which encouraged researchers and
developers to use anonymised, aggregated data
from their mobile company to develop solutions
related to transportation, health and
agriculture.
https://www.issuelab.org/resources/22720/22720.pdf
21. Burkina Faso has implemented the Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), where
companies disclose what they have paid in
and other payments, and governments report
on what they receive.
https://www.issuelab.org/resources/22720/22720.pdf
22. Protecting Livelihoods (Uganda)
Data on bacterial wilt provided government with
real-time information on the spread of the
disease, affected areas, direct treatments to
prevent further advances.
Treatment options disseminated to protect
crops.
https://www.issuelab.org/resources/22720/22720.pdf
23. Maps Informing Education (Kenya)
Visualised data on education revealed state of
schools, future opportunities for improvement.
Where schools are located, % of children not in
education, areas under-served to be targeted.
https://www.issuelab.org/resources/22720/22720.pdf
24. Engaging Citizens in Policy Making (Nigeria)
Address budget transparency, teacher absenteeism, urban
upgrading through a citizen engagement platform.
Reused by tech community, media, civil society.
Citizens have access to about 90 government datasets,
including census, fiscal and geospatial data.
https://www.issuelab.org/resources/22720/22720.pdf
25. Open Data Case Studies
• Helping parents to assess school performance in Tanzania
• Exposing $62m in potential health savings in Southern Africa
• Mapping the Ebola outbreak to save lives in West Africa
• Monitoring child malnutrition around the world
• Making aid more effective in Nepal
• Holding the Global Fund to account for its health spending
• Shedding light on 84 million companies around the world
• Tracking crop quality to boost food security and nutrition
• Building smarter, more responsive cities in Latin America
https://www.issuelab.org/resources/22720/22720.pdf
26. INTERNATIONAL DATA WEEK
IDW 2018
Gaborone, Botswana: 5-8 November 2018
Information: http://internationaldataweek.org/
Deadline for abstracts, 31 May:
https://www.scidatacon.org/IDW2018/
Socio-economic development is measured with indicators, such as GDP, life expectancy, literacy and levels of employment. – data to monitor change/development, but also to predict trends. Distinguish between government data and research data.
how open data-driven solutions can create economic and social value, improve service delivery in public services, support more transparent and accountable governments and foster innovation to transform citizens’ well-being, cities, and governments for good.
The IID learning interventions align with one of DST’s strategic objectives, namely, to use “knowledge, evidence and learning to inform and influence how science and technology may be used to achieve inclusive development”. The purpose is to demonstrate how innovative technology solutions may be used to improve the capacity of the state to deliver and improve access to basic services, and thereby advance local economic development.
how open data works, the value of open data and unlock the potential benefits and contribution of open data to society and data ‘owners’. The seminar will explore topics that include: the state of open data ecosystem, open data research and the potential benefit of open data in South Africa; the challenges of institutionalising government open data; open data in public service delivery, accountability and transparency; open data governance, policy and legislation; address risks, privacy, ethics and quality issues; open data for social and public benefit; measuring the impact of open data; innovation, economic and social benefits of open data in the private sector and the future of open data.
The seminar will explore topics that include:
1. The state of open data ecosystem, open data research and the potential benefit of open data in South Africa;
2. The challenges of institutionalising government open data;
3. Open data in public service delivery, accountability and transparency;
4. Open data governance, policy and legislation;
5. Address risks, privacy, ethics and quality issues;
6. Open data for social and public good;
7. Measuring the impact of open data;
8. Innovation, economic and social benefits of open data in the private sector;
9. The future of open data
We are living in an increasingly data driven world – facebook, twitter, air bnb, uber. We are living in an increasingly data-driven society, where everything is mapped, measured and recorded in digital bits. Entire lives, from birth to death, are catalogued in digital form. Business transactions, teaching, learning, research and many more are conducted in the cloud, offering many benefits, but also challenges.
Resulting in new challenges concerning ethics, trust, accessibility and more. Need data to solve injustices of the past. Lack of data threatening food security
Malaria outbreak 2014-2015
World Economic Forum 2018
How to get rid of fake data
Government-led response to ebola outbreak included many international organisations, condcutcting research, collecting data
When the outbreak ended and organisations left the region, the data was scattered globally, not properly curated for future use. We cannot afford this to happen. Too expensive.
Copyright, gaps in data, patient consent granted – creates mistrust, and slows down the discovery process. It also impacts on funding, because if properly curated, previously collected data could have been re-used to inform future outbreaks, trends could have been established, solutions could have been found faster, new research building on existing research.
Last April, five months into the largest Ebola outbreak in history, an international group of researchers sequenced three viral genomes, sampled from patients in Guinea1. The data were made public that same month. Two months later, our group at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, sequenced 99 more Ebola genomes, from patients at the Kenema Government Hospital in Sierra Leone.
Uncertainties over whether the information belongs to local governments or data collectors present further barriers to sharing. So, too, does the absence of patient consent, common for data collected in emergencies — especially given the vulnerability of patients and their families to stigmatization and exploitation during outbreaks. Ebola survivors, for instance, risk being shunned because of fears that they will infect others.
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Tensions linger over discovery of coronavirus
Dreams of flu data
Nature special: Ebola outbreak
More related stories
We immediately uploaded the data to the public database GenBank (see go.nature.com/aotpbk). Our priority was to help curb the outbreak. Colleagues who had worked with us for a decade were at the front lines and in immediate danger; some later died. We were amazed by the surge of collaboration that followed. Numerous experts from diverse disciplines, including drug and vaccine developers, contacted us. We also formed unexpected alliances — for instance, with a leading evolutionary virologist, who helped us to investigate when the strain of virus causing the current outbreak arose.
The genomic data confirmed that the virus had spread from Guinea to Sierra Leone, and indicated that the outbreak was being sustained by human-to-human transmission, not contact with bats or some other carrier. They also suggested new probable routes of infection and, importantly, revealed where and how fast mutations were occurring2. This information is crucial to designing effective diagnostics, vaccines and antibody-based therapies.
What followed was three months of stasis, during which no new virus sequence information was made public (see 'Gaps in the data'). Some genomes are known to have been generated during this time from patients treated in the United States3. The number is likely to have been much larger: thousands of samples were transferred to researchers' freezers across the world.
Sources: Sequences, NCBI/virological.org; Ebola cases, WHO
Expand
In an increasingly connected world, rapid sequencing, combined with new ways to collect clinical and epidemiological data, could transform our response to outbreaks. But the power of these potentially massive data sets to combat epidemics will be realized only if the data are shared as widely and as quickly as possible. Currently, no good guidelines exist to ensure that this happens.
Speed is everything
Researchers working on outbreaks — from Ebola to West Nile virus — must agree on standards and practices that promote and reward cooperation. If these protocols are endorsed internationally, the global research community will be able to share crucial information immediately wherever and whenever an outbreak occurs.
The rapid dissemination of results during outbreaks is sporadic at best. In the case of influenza, an international consortium of researchers called GISAID established a framework for good practice in 2006. Largely thanks to this, during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak, the US National Center for Biotechnology Information created a public repository that became a go-to place for the community to deposit and locate H1N1 sequence information4. By contrast, the publishing of sequence information in the early stages of the 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in Saudi Arabia highlighted uncertainties about intellectual-property rights, and the resulting disputes hampered subsequent access to samples.
Hasan Jamali/AP
Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia try to protect themselves from Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus.
Sharing data is especially important and especially difficult during an outbreak. Researchers are racing against the clock. Every outbreak can mobilize a different mixture of people — depending on the microbe and location involved — bringing together communities with different norms, in wildly different places. Uncertainties over whether the information belongs to local governments or data collectors present further barriers to sharing. So, too, does the absence of patient consent, common for data collected in emergencies — especially given the vulnerability of patients and their families to stigmatization and exploitation during outbreaks. Ebola survivors, for instance, risk being shunned because of fears that they will infect others.
Nature special: Ebola outbreak
Fortunately, useful models for responsible data sharing have been developed by the broader genomics community. In 1996, at a summit held in Bermuda, the heads of the major labs involved in the Human Genome Project agreed to submit DNA sequence assemblies of 1,000 bases or more to GenBank within 24 hours of producing them5, 6. In exchange, the sequencing centres retained the right to be the first to publish findings based on their own complete data sets, by laying out their plans for analyses in 'marker' papers.
This rapid release of genomic data served the field well. New information on 30 disease genes, for instance, was published before the release of the complete human genome sequence. Since 1996, the Bermuda principles have been extended to other types of sequence data and to other fields that generate large data sets, such as metabolite research.
Guidelines for sharing
More-recent policies on data release similarly seek to align the interests of different parties, including funding agencies, data producers, data users and analysts, and scientific publishers. Since January, for example, the US National Institutes of Health has required grantees to make large-scale genomics data public by the time of publication at the latest, with earlier deadlines for some kinds of data7.
We urge those at the forefront of outbreak research to forge similar agreements, taking into account the unique circumstances of an outbreak.
First, incentives and safeguards should be created to encourage people to release their data quickly into the public domain. One possibility is to request that data users (and publishers) honour the publication intentions of data producers — the questions and analyses that they want to pursue themselves — for, say, six months. These intentions could be broadcast through several channels, including citable marker papers, disclaimer notices on data repositories such as GenBank, and online forums, such as virological.org and the EpiFlu database. Alternatively, data producers could publish an announcement about their data and their intentions on online forums as a resource that can be used by others as long as they cite the original source.
“We urge researchers working on outbreaks to embrace a culture of openness.”
Second, ethical, rigorous and standardized protocols for the collection of samples and data from patients should be established to facilitate the generation and sharing of that information. A global consortium involving the leading health and research agencies and the ministries of health of engaged nations should work together towards establishing these. Ethicists should be involved to safeguard subjects' privacy and dignity. Biosecurity experts will also be needed to address potential dual-use research and other safety concerns. A helpful analogue is the approach used by the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Initiative, which aims to apply genomics to improving the health of African populations. Since August 2013, H3Africa has used standard consent-form guidelines8 for collecting DNA samples from subjects for genomic studies, regardless of their country of origin.
Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty
Quarantine officers rush to test passengers at Tokyo's Narita airport amid the 2009 swine-flu outbreak.
Lastly, any preparation for future outbreaks should include provisions for rapidly building new bridges and establishing community norms. Successful collaborations in genomics and historical data-sharing agreements have tended to involve a fairly stable group of individuals and organizations, making norms of behaviour relatively easy to establish and sustain. By contrast, outbreaks can involve a new cast of characters each time, and cases in which the pathogen is new to science call for whole new fields of research.
The Kenema way
As a first step, we call on health agencies such as the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Médecins Sans Frontières, as well as genome-sequencing centres and other research institutions, to convene a meeting this year — similar to that held in Bermuda in 1996. Attendees must include scientists, funders, ethicists, biosecurity experts, social scientists and journal editors.
We urge researchers working on outbreaks to embrace a culture of openness. For our part, we have released all our sequence data as soon as it has been generated, including that from several hundred more Ebola samples we recently received from Kenema. We have listed the research questions that we are pursuing at virological.org and through GenBank, and we plan to present our results at virological.org as we generate them, for others to weigh in on. We invite people either to join our publication, or to prepare their own while openly laying out their intentions online. We have also made clinical data for 100 patients publicly available and have incorporated these into a user-friendly data-visualization tool, Mirador, to allow others to explore the data and uncover new insights.
Kenema means 'translucent, clear like a river stream' or 'open to the public gaze'9. To honour the memory of our colleagues who died at the forefront of the Ebola outbreak, and to ensure that no future epidemic is as devastating, let's work openly in outbreaks.
Nature 518, 477–479 (26 February 2015) doi:10.1038/518477a
streamlining the dissemination of information within government; second, providing better information for policy-makers; and third, enabling the targeting of resources. (prevent silos)
banana bacterial wilt in Uganda provided the government with real-time information on the spread of the disease. They were able to quickly identify the most affected areas and direct the limited treatments for the disease to prevent further advances. At the same time, they could disseminate information directly to the public via SMS on treatment options and how to protect their crops. Within five days of the first messages being sent out, 190,000 Ugandans had learned about the disease and knew how to save bananas on their farms.21
Visualising education data in Kenya revealed a dynamic picture of the state of schools, as well as future opportunities for improvement. In a country where 50% of the population is under 18, it is important for policy-makers to have access to accurate information about access to education, literacy rates and performance across regions. A joint operation between GroundTruth Initiative, Map Kibera, Development Gateway, Feedback Labs, and the Gates Foundation, among others, has connected existing data to bring the informal school sector in Kenya to light for parents, school leaders and education officials.22 With open data visualisations, it is now possible to see where schools are located in Kenya, and the percentage of children not in education, revealing areas of the population which may be under-served and can therefore be targeted with better services.