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Open Data

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a discussion at the intersection of technology and development

More Tech Salons About Open Data

  • digital principles

    How the Principles for Digital Development Can Be Improved

    Washington DC | By on July 23, 2023 | Comments Off on How the Principles for Digital Development Can Be Improved

    Pop Quiz! Name all 9 Principles for Digital Development. Try to name them all right now and from your memory. No fair looking at the official list until you’ve exhausted your attempts. This is how we started the recent Technology Salon that asked, “Can the Principles for Digital Development be Improved?” The Principles for Digital…

  • private sector data

    4 Steps to Access Private Sector Data for Public Goods

    Washington DC | By on July 13, 2018 | Comments Off on 4 Steps to Access Private Sector Data for Public Goods

    We in the international development sector often have this perception that the private sector is way more advanced than we in the collection, analysis, and use of user data. That somehow Facebook, Google, and every Mobile Network Operator has a God-like dashboard that instantly displays every data point and trend imaginable, at the touch of…

  • The Role of Big Data in Development Evaluations

    New York | By on November 23, 2015 | Comments Off on The Role of Big Data in Development Evaluations

    Traditional development evaluation has been characterized as ‘backward looking’ rather than forward looking and too focused on proving over improving. Some believe applying an ‘agile’ approach in development would be more useful — the assumption being that if you design a program properly and iterate rapidly and constantly based on user feedback and data analytics, you are more likely…

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  • Maps-R-Us? Geodata and Moving Beyond Data Visualization

    Washington DC | By on February 11, 2014 | Comments Off on Maps-R-Us? Geodata and Moving Beyond Data Visualization

    Geodata is popping up everywhere. Companies, agencies and organizations now dazzle audiences with beautiful graphics that are supposed to represent what’s happening in a given industry, geographic area etc. Uber, the car service has maps that show the location of every Uber driver across the world, in what they call “God View.” At the February…

  • 8 Tips to Publish Open Data in Preparation for IATI

    Washington DC | By on December 3, 2013 | Comments Off on 8 Tips to Publish Open Data in Preparation for IATI

    Siobhan Green, the founder of Sonjara attended the Technology Salon exploring “How Can USAID Development Partners Implement IATI?” and was inspired to define 8 steps to publish Open Data to prepare for the day when we all will need to be compliant with the International Aid Transparency Initiative standards. Here is her list:

  • How New Technologies Can Make Every Voice Count in Government

    London | By on July 15, 2013 | Comments Off on How New Technologies Can Make Every Voice Count in Government

    Ten years ago, leveraging information and communication technology for development was all about getting people an email address. Today, there is an explosion in access to ICT thanks to mobile technologies – the CEO of Ericsson recently predicted, 92% of the world’s inhabitants will live in an area with mobile reception coverage by 2018 (see…

  • A Computer Can Do Your International Development Job Thanks to Open Data

    Washington DC | By on February 21, 2013 | Comments Off on A Computer Can Do Your International Development Job Thanks to Open Data

    At a recent Technology Salon on “How Can We Make Data Useful for Development,” one of the participants put forth an interesting question to the group: Could computers make better international development decisions than humans?

  • The Ethics of Participatory Digital Mapping with Communities

    New York | By on February 19, 2013 | Comments Off on The Ethics of Participatory Digital Mapping with Communities

    The February 5 Technology Salon in New York City asked “What are the ethics in participatory digital mapping?” Judging by the packed Salon and long waiting list, many of us are struggling with these questions in our work.

  • How Can We Make Cloud Solutions Relevant in the Offline World?

    Washington DC | By on October 17, 2012 | Comments Off on How Can We Make Cloud Solutions Relevant in the Offline World?

    I am Amos Cruz and below are my thoughts around a recent Technology Salon on “How Can We Make ‘Cloud’ Solutions Relevant in the Offline World” with a cohort of though leaders and decision makers in information technology and international development.

  • The Best Mobile Data Collection System Exists: Choice is the Challenge

    Washington DC | By on September 24, 2012 | Comments Off on The Best Mobile Data Collection System Exists: Choice is the Challenge

    You might think that the topic of collecting data via mobile devices would be a rather dry discussion of data management and statistical methodology. You would be very, very wrong. The Technology Salon all but came to blows as we wrestled with privacy issues, total costs of ownership, and other elephants in the room. When…

  • How Will IATI Impact US-Based Development Agencies?

    Washington DC | By on June 15, 2012 | Comments Off on How Will IATI Impact US-Based Development Agencies?

    The Technology Salon* hosted at IREX on Thursday, June 6, focused on what the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) would mean for international development, especially for US-based NGOs and government contractors.

  • How to Improve Transparency, Accountability and Governance with New Technologies

    New York | By on December 8, 2011 | Comments Off on How to Improve Transparency, Accountability and Governance with New Technologies

    Civil society has been working for years on participation, transparency, accountability and governance issues. Plenty of newer initiatives (small and large) look at new technologies as a core tool in this work. But are these groups talking and learning from each other?

  • How Can New Technologies Enhance Transparency, Accountability, and Good Governance?

    New York | By on November 22, 2011 | Comments Off on How Can New Technologies Enhance Transparency, Accountability, and Good Governance?

    In theory, making information open and available leads to more transparent decisions of governments, aid agencies, corporations and other such institutions because stakeholders at different levels push for accountability and better governance. That is why civil society actors have been working on transparency, accountability and good governance for years. Now new actors on the scene…

  • What is the Future of Public Access to Information in the Mobile Phone Era?

    Washington DC | By on November 7, 2011 | Comments Off on What is the Future of Public Access to Information in the Mobile Phone Era?

    Access to information has been part of the development discussion since the Internet arrived. Previously, many saw community telecenters as the way to bring technology to the developing world. Yet telecenters are not sustainable without donor funding and the concept of public access hasn’t kept pace with advancing technology.

  • One of the sad truths that emerged at the Technology Salon on ICTs and M&E was that failure in development is rarely about the project performance, but about winning the next contract. This means that monitoring and evaluation is less about tracking and improving progress towards social change and more about weaving an advertising pitch….