Open Data Day 2017: Throwback on the event organized in Cotonou (Benin)

This blog is part of the event report series on International Open Data Day 2017. On Saturday 4 March, groups from around the world organised over 300 events to celebrate, promote and spread the use of open data. 44 events received additional support through the Open Knowledge International mini-grants scheme, funded by SPARC, the Open […]

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Daystar University student journos learn about tracking public money through Open Data

This blog is part of the event report series on International Open Data Day 2017. On Saturday 4 March, groups from around the world organised over 300 events to celebrate, promote and spread the use of open data. 44 events received additional support through the Open Knowledge International mini-grants scheme, funded by SPARC, the Open Contracting […]

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OK Belgium welcomes Dries van Ransbeeck as new project coordinator… and other updates from quarter 4

This blog post is part of our on-going Network series featuring updates from chapters across the Open Knowledge Network and was written by the Open Knowledge Belgium team. A lot of things has happened over the past few months at Open Knowledge Belgium. First, we welcomed Dries Van Ransbeeck as the new project coordinator. His […]

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Three ways ROUTETOPA promotes Transparency

Data sharing has come a long way over the years. With open source tools, improvements and new features are always quickly on the rise. Serah Rono looks at how ROUTETOPA, a Horizon2020 project advocate for transparency. From as far back as the age of enlightenment, the human race has worked hard to keep authorities accountable. […]

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Open Data Day 2017 in Kisumu, Kenya – Can we tell stories about our local environment with no open data?

This blog is part of the event report series on International Open Data Day 2017. On Saturday 4 March, groups from around the world organised over 300 events to celebrate, promote and spread the use of open data. 44 events received additional support through the Open Knowledge International mini-grants scheme, funded by SPARC, the Open Contracting […]

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OK Sweden’s first ever EU Project (CLARITY), Open Knowledge Awards – and other quarter 4 updates

This blog post is part of our on-going Network series featuring updates from chapters across the Open Knowledge Network and was written by the Open Knowledge Sweden team.   2016 was a productive year for Open Knowledge Sweden! We are a team that is passionate about open knowledge, transparency, democracy and value creation. This post […]

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Open Food Data and Open Transport Data: Two milestones in Switzerland’s Open Data History

This blog post is part of our on-going Network series featuring updates from chapters across the Open Knowledge Network and was written by the Open Knowledge Switzerland team. Open Knowledge Switzerland pursues the objective to make data freely available for everyone to use and republish in order to increase transparency, innovation and efficiency.  We are […]

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New site SubsidyStories.eu shows where nearly 300bn of EU subsidies go across Europe

Open Knowledge Germany and Open Knowledge International launched SubsidyStories.eu: a database containing all recipients of EU Structural Funds, accounting for 292,9 Billion Euros of EU Subsidies. The European Union allocates 44 % of its total 7-year budget through the European Structural Funds. Who received these funds – accounting for 347 Billion Euro from 2007 – […]

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FutureTDM: The Future of Text and Data Mining

Blog written by Freyja van den Boom (FutureTDM researcher) and Lieke Ploeger. Since September 2015 Open Knowledge International has been working on finding new ways to improve the uptake of text and data mining in the EU, as part of the FutureTDM project. Text and data mining (TDM) is the process of extracting relevant information […]

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Museum collections and the stories we tell about data

This week Frictionless Data will be at Always Already Computational: Library Collections as Data. Sierra Williams looks at the containers for museum and library collections data and why storytelling is important for understanding these collections in the digital age. One of the great things about working at Open Knowledge International is being surrounded by fascinating […]

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Sneak peek of Open Data Day: where will you be?

This Saturday 4 March marks the 7th International Open Data Day. Groups from around the world are organising events to celebrate, promote and spread the use of open data. It is a great opportunity to show the benefits of open data and encourage the adoption of open data policies in government, business and civil society. […]

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Announcing the Frictionless Data Tool Fund: Apply for a mini-grant to progress and improve our specifications

Today, Open Knowledge International is launching the Frictionless Data Tool Fund, a minigrant scheme offering grants of $5,000 to help extend the implementation of software libraries — code that is used to develop software programs and applications—  for the Frictionless Data specifications by developing them in a range of programming languages. The focus of the […]

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Presenting the value of open data to NGOs: A gentle introduction to open data for Oxfam in Kenya

Open Knowledge International is a member of OD4D, a global network of leaders in the open data community, working together to develop open data solutions around the world. Here, Simeon Oriko talks about his work carrying out an embedded data fellowship with Oxfam in Kenya as part of the Open Data for Development (OD4D) programme.  For years, […]

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Why you should take 10 minutes to look at the Open Data Roadmap this Open Data Day

March 4th is Open Data Day! Open Data Day is an annual celebration of open data all over the world. For the seventh time in history, groups from around the world will create local events on the day where they will use open data in their communities.   For me, Open Data Day is a […]

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Open Knowledge Greece release algorithm prototype for analysing budgetary data – and other 2016 updates!

This blog post is part of our on-going Network series featuring updates from chapters across the Open Knowledge Network and was written by the  Open Knowledge Greece team. Open Knowledge Greece is a dynamic team of community members who are not only interested in open data, linked data technologies and coding, but are committed to […]

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7 ways the ROUTE-TO-PA project has improved data sharing through CKAN

Data sharing has come a long way over the years. With open source tools, improvements and new features are always quickly on the horizon. Serah Rono looks at the improvements that have been made to open source data management system CKAN through the course of the ROUTE-TO-PA project.  In the present day, 5MB worth of […]

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Announcing the 2017 International Open Data Day Mini-Grant Winners!

This blog was co-written by Franka Vaughan and Mor Rubinstein, OKI Network team. This is the third year of the Open Knowledge International Open Data Day mini-grants scheme, our best one yet! Building on last year’s lessons from the scheme, and in the spirit of Open Data Day, we are trying to make the scheme […]

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Measuring the openness of government data in southern Africa: the experience of a GODI contributor

The Global Open Data Index (GODI) is one of our core projects at Open Knowledge International. The index measures and benchmarks the openness of government data around the world. As we complete the review phase of the audit of government data, we are soliciting feedback on the submission process. Tricia Govindasamy shares her experience submitting to […]

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Using data.world to collaborate on Open Data Day and to showcase work after the event

March 4th is Open Data Day! Open Data Day is an annual celebration of open data all over the world. For the fifth time in history, groups from around the world will create local events on the day where they will use open data in their communities. Here is a look at how groups can use the […]

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Europe in the age of Tr… Transparency

For the past few years, the USA has been an example of how governments can manage open government initiatives and open data particularly. They have done this by introducing positions like federal chief information officer and chief data officers. With datasets being opened on a massive scale in a standardised format, it laid the ground […]

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Open Knowledge International receives $1.5 million from Omidyar Network

We’ve recently received funding from Omidyar Network, which will allow us to further our commitment to civil society organisations! Open Knowledge International has received a two-year grant amounting to $1.5 million from Omidyar Network to support the development and implementation of our new civil society-focused strategy. Running until the end of December 2018, this grant […]

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Excel is threatening the quality of research data — Data Packages are here to help

This week the Frictionless Data team at Open Knowledge International will be speaking at the International Digital Curation Conference #idcc17 on making research data quality visible. Dan Fowler looks at why the popular file format Excel is problematic for research and what steps can be taken to ensure data quality is maintained throughout the research […]

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How could a global public database help to tackle corporate tax avoidance?

A new research report published today looks at the current state and future prospects of a global public database of corporate accounts. Shipyard of the Dutch East India Company in Amsterdam, 1750. Wikipedia. The multinational corporation has become one of the most powerful and influential forms of economic organisation in the modern world. Emerging at […]

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Mapping open data governance models: Who makes decisions about government data and how?

Different countries have different models to govern and administer their open data activities. Ana Brandusescu, Danny Lämmerhirt and Stefaan Verhulst call for a systematic and comparative investigation of the different governance models for open data policy and publication. The Challenge An important value proposition behind open data involves increased transparency and accountability of governance. Yet […]

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Civic Tech or Civic Business? Digital technology will not help democracy without adopting its foundations

This blog originally appeared on RegardsCitoyens.org and has been translated by Pierre Chrzanowski and Samuel Goëta (Open Knowledge France). Civil society did not wait for the buzzword “Civic Tech” to implement digital technology to serve democratic innovation. But since the boom of this trendy term, there have been many initiatives claiming to belong to what it […]

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Data and the City: New report on how public data is fostering civic engagement in urban regions

How can city data infrastructures support public participation in local governance and policy-making? Research by Jonathan Gray and Danny Lämmerhirt examines the new relationships and public spaces emerging between public institutions, civil society groups, and citizens. The development of urban regions will significantly affect the lives of millions of people around the world. Urbanization poses challenges including […]

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“Strinkwishism”: How to build organizational capacities around Open Data through embedded fellowships

Recognizing that capacity building is central to economic growth, reductions in poverty and equal opportunities, Open Knowledge International with the support of the Open Data for Development (OD4D) Network is expanding its work with civil society organisations (CSOs) through the Embedded Fellowship Programme. In the last three months, I worked as an embedded fellow, consulting […]

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Open Data by default: Lorca City Council is using OpenSpending to increase transparency and promote urban mobility.

Castillo de Lorca. Torre Alfonsina (Public Domain) Lorca, a city located in the South of Spain with currently 92,000 inhabitants, launched its open data initiative on January 9th 2014. Initially it offered 23 datasets containing transport, mobility, statistical and economic information. From the very beginning, OpenSpending was the tool selected by Lorca City Council because of its […]

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A look back at the work of Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland in 2016

This blog post is part of our on-going Network series featuring updates from chapters across the Open Knowledge Network and was written by the Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland team. We are the Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland (OKF DE), the German chapter of OKI. We advocate for open knowledge, open data, transparency, and civic participation and consider […]

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Open State Foundation Netherlands wins OGP 2016 award for work to advance fiscal transparency through OpenSpending

Open State Foundation is a non-profit based in the Netherlands, working on digital transparency by opening up public information as open data and making it accessible for re-use. Last December, the organization received one of the seven Open Government Partnership 2016 Awards for its work on OpenSpending at the OGP Global Summit in Paris, France. The awards […]

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OK Brazil's public spending website

Brazil’s Public Spending project is looking for leaders in various regions of Brazil to increase participation in the budgeting process.

On the 11th of January, OK Brazil launched its new Public Spending website. The website is part of a wider campaign to search, recruit and support new leaders that wish to work with transparency, mainly public spending, in Brazilian municipalities and is using OKI’s OpenSpending technical architecture. The support will be provided to mentors specializing in […]

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Announcing the 2017 International Open Data Day Mini Grants Scheme

opendataday.org The year is 2017! Some of you (like my fellow Ghanaian citizens) may have just voted in an election that you hope will bring with it the promise of socio-economic growth. You believe that having a better understanding of how government works will foster better engagement and efficiency. Others are exploring new ideas in […]

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Project PiMaa is building low-cost, open-source data stations to support environmental monitoring in Kampala

PiMaa is an Internet of Things project in Kampala, Uganda that seeks to build low-cost environment monitoring stations and open-up any data collected. PiMaa is an initiative under Outbox, supported by Open Knowledge International through the Africa Open Data Collaboration Fund. Kampala is in a lot of growing pains. The current administration is doing their utmost […]

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Danish Energinet.dk will use CKAN to launch Energy DataStore – a free and open portal for sharing energy data

For immediate release Open data service provider Viderum is working with Energinet.dk, the gas and electricity transmission system operator in Denmark, to provide near real-time access to Danish energy data. Using CKAN, an open-source platform for sharing data originally developed by Open Knowledge International, Energinet.dk’s Energy DataStore will provide easy and open access to large […]

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Network update from OK Japan: Corporate transparency and taxpayers’ money ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

This blog post is part of our on-going Network series featuring updates from chapters across the Open Knowledge Network and was written by the Open Knowledge Japan team. The OK Japan chapter has been active in the open data space in activities such as the promotion of open data use and policy discussions. Since we formed the team […]

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10 Critical Insights for Democratising the Data Revolution

This week marks the launch of the first-ever UN World Data Forum, aimed at bringing together data experts and sustainable development leaders. Danny Lämmerhirt shares findings from a new research series on citizen-generated data, how it can be used to monitor and drive change for sustainable development, and why this matters for civil society. Image […]

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Structuring a Global Online Survey – A Question Engine for Open Data Surveys!

The Global Open Data Index (GODI) is one of our core projects at Open Knowledge International. The index measures and benchmarks the openness of government data around the world. Brook Elgie shares a behind-the-scenes look at the technical design of how we gather the data for the Index through our extensive Open Data Survey and […]

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CSV,Conf is back in 2017! Submit talk proposals on the art of data collaboration.

CSV,Conf,v3 is happening! This time the community-run conference will be in Portland, Oregon, USA on 2nd and 3rd of May 2017. It will feature stories about data sharing and data analysis from science, journalism, government, and open source. We want to bring together data makers/doers/hackers from backgrounds like science, journalism, open government and the wider software […]

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Season Greetings from OK Ireland and 2016 in review

This blog post is part of our on-going Community series featuring updates from chapters across the Open Knowledge Network and was written by the team of Open Knowledge Ireland and edited by Flora Fleischer and Siobhan Denham. Our warm season greetings to all friends of Open Knowledge As we approach the final days of this year, we would […]

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Updates from our Network: Austria chapter takes strategy forward and explores new collaborations.

This blog post is part of our on-going Community series featuring updates from chapters across the Open Knowledge Network and was written by the team of Open Knowledge Austria. September was largely a transition period between the old and new board to facilitate the takeover of responsibilities. We also involved our team and the community in […]

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New Report: Making Citizen-Generated Data Work

Read the full report here. We are pleased to announce a new research series investigating how citizens and civil society create data to drive sustainable development. The series follows on from earlier papers on Democratising The Data Revolution and how citizen-generated data can change what public institutions measure. The first report “Making Citizen-Generated Data Work” asks […]

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PersonalData.IO helps you get access to your personal data

PersonalData.IO is a free and open platform for citizens to track their personal data and understand how it is used by companies. It is part of the MyData movement, promoting a human-centric approach to personal data management. A lot of readers of this blog will be familiar with Freedom of Information laws, a legal mechanism […]

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Divide, rant and conquer: Addressing the difficulty of 2016 and the future of open government at #OGP16

Mor Rubinstein reports on one of the Civil Society Morning workshop sessions during the Open Government Partnership Summit. The structure of the session involved ‘ranting’ in turns with fellow attendees. As 2016 draws to a close and a new year begins, the session serves as a useful reminder of the cathartic and productive processes of […]

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of #OGP16 Summit

This blog originally appeared on Medium and is reposted with permission. This post is a reflection of a long and intense week in Paris for the Open Government Partnership summit. I feel after this week like I have seen so much, but missed out on a lot of things (including a couple of meals!). All […]

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Nobody wants to become an activist!

Hacking the Entry Point to Digital Participation During the recent Ultrahack 2016 tournament in Helsinki (one of the biggest hackathons in Europe for the development ideas and software), we formed a team called Two Minutes for My City that participated on the #hackthenation track. Our initial idea to improve the visualization of municipal decision processes evolved into a prototype of a mobile […]

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How is our economy ordered by information? Reflections from the Open Knowledge International monthly reading group

Danny Lämmerhirt and Mor Rubinstein share team reflections from the inaugural meeting of the Open Knowledge International Reading Group. This month’s topic examined the role that knowledge and data play for political and economic coordination. The team looked at Friedrich Hayek and Hernando de Soto and drew parallels from their work to how government information is managed […]

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How to ‘unlock’ the value of fiscal data for civil society: experiences from the OpenSpending community

OpenSpending is one of Open Knowledge International’s current projects. It is a free and open platform for citizens looking to track and analyse public fiscal information globally. Over the years, we have learned about numerous examples of fiscal data uses from the OpenSpending community. Also, we learned that obtaining fiscal data can be the most […]

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Making sense of government spending: Open Knowledge Finland use OpenSpending to collaborate with Finnish Government

Tampere, Finland (public domain) This piece is written by Jaakko Korhonen and Joonas Pesonen of Open Knowledge Finland At the end of October a team using OpenSpending tools held a pitch for high-ranking Finnish Government officials in “Hack the Budget 2016,” a competition organised by Open Knowledge Finland (OKFFI) and the Finnish Ministry of Finance. […]

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OpenTrialsFDA presents prototype as finalist for the Open Science Prize

For immediate release Open Knowledge International is thrilled to announce that the OpenTrialsFDA team is presenting its prototype today at the BD2K Open Data Science Symposium in Washington, DC as finalist for the Open Science Prize. The Open Science Prize is a global science competition to make both the outputs from science and the research […]

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Git for Data Analysis – why version control is essential for collaboration and for gaining public trust.

Openness and collaboration go hand in hand. Scientists at PNNL are working with the Frictionless Data team at Open Knowledge International to ensure collaboration on data analysis is seamless and their data integrity is maintained. I’m a computational biologist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), where I work on environmental and biomedical research. In […]

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