Open Data: The OGP blog has a report from the Open Data Working Group on new research studies:
- Open North Inc. (Canada): “Recommended standards and best practices for open data” (and “Gaps and opportunities for standardization in OGP members’ open data catalogs“)
- Mitrovic Development & Research Institute (South Africa): “Building open data capacity through e-skills acquisition“
- Step Up Consulting (The Philippines): “Enhancing citizen engagement with open government data“
- – Mark Frank (United Kingdom): “User centred methods for measuring the value of open data“
- Sunlight Foundation (United States): “The social impact of open data in the global south
United States: Hillary Clinton’s emails and the administration of the FOIA are the topics of a Senate hearing May 6. A State Department official called Clinton’s action “not acceptable.” See video and testimony here. Also reports by Federal Computer Week, Politico, Associated Press, The Hill, The Blaze (blog), and The Washington Times.
Russia: RosOtvet, a non-profit, launches an online service to facilitate requests for information to authorities.
Open Data: The US Sunlight Foundation reports on its research concerning the social impact of digital transparency and open data initiatives. The outputs include:
- A searchable repository of more than 100 examples on the outputs, outcomes and impacts of open data and digital technology projects;
- Three distinctive theories of change for open data and digital transparency initiatives from the Global South;
- A methodological frameworkto help develop more robust indicators of social and political change for the ecosystem of open data initiatives, by applying and revising the Outcome Mapping approach of IDRC to the field.
Caribbean: The Bahamian Freedom of Information bill scores 88 points, which puts it in a tie for 48th place, according to an evaluation by the International RTI Rating: www.RTI-Rating.org. Antigua has the top-rated law in the region, 11th in the world. The newly ranked Cayman Islands law is tied for 13th position globally. The Dominican Republic is lowest ranked in the region, placing 93rd among the 102 laws rated.
United States/Measuring FOIA: The Massachusetts Freedom of Information Alliance, which is working to reform the Massachusetts public records law, is conducting a 10-question survey to “gather data and stories that highlight problems with the Massachusetts public records law. The 10-question survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.
United States: “The federal government released detailed data today on nearly 1.4 billion prescriptions dispensed to seniors and disabled people in the Medicare program in 2013, bringing more openness to the medication choices of doctors nationwide,” reports ProPublica, which earlier had used FOIA to obtain the data.
United States: Caroline Little, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, writes “We need to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act.”
United States: “,” by Nate Jones of the National Security Archive. “The hacking of President Obama’s unclassified emails by Russian hackers raises many complicated questions about the emails and their content, as well as larger questions about the state of the US government’s relatively poor cyber security.”
United States/FOIA and Cybersecurity: The relationship of cybersecurity efforts and FOIA is examined in a report by Avram Reisman of the FOIA Resource Center.
United States: The Justice Department issues its Summary of Fiscal Year 2014 Annual FOIA Reports with government-wide data on FOIA administration. Among other things, the number of requests that weren’t fulfilled by federal agencies spiked by 70 percent in fiscal 2014 compared to the previous year, according to an article by Fierce Government.
United States: An article by Lisette Garcia says a new Justice Department rule on FOIA fees says charges for security scans and scanning paper records into an electronic format may “start appearing on FOIA bills everywhere soon.” The new rules are also described by FOIA Advisor.
United States: The fight for access to public information has never been harder, Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief Sally Buzbee said recently.
United States: A commentary, “The right to know vs the need for secrecy: the US experience,” by Michael Schudson, a professor of journalism at Columbia University.
United States: A review of the the week’s FOIA new by Lauren Harper in Unredacted, a National Security Archive blog.
Scotland: Kevin Dunion, an honorary professor at the University of Dundee’s School of Law and the first Scottish Information Commissioner, asks in a column in The Scotsman:
Many voluntary organisations were in the vanguard in pressing for freedom of information laws at a European and national level, and could be expected to be prominent requesters. We need to openly discuss why some are reluctant to be so, and consider who, without fear or favour, is willing to explore the potential of these hard-won rights.
India: The state of Manipur has a new chief information commissioner, Thounaojam Ibobi, after a gap of two years, according to a news report.
India: To ensure implementation of the Right to Information Act, the RTI activists should make sure that the Public according to Professor Madabhushi Sridhar, Central Information Commissioner.
India: The Times of India reports: “When the Right to Information Act came into force on October 12, 2005, Tamil Nadu was one of the states that put in place a system aimed at implementing it in earnest. Ten years later, the system lies in a shambles, transparency has become a casualty.”
Open Government: The Open Knowledge Foundation announces the selection of four “open government fellows.”
IFTI Watch: The World Bank Procurement App for Ipads offers the most recent procurement data covering major contracts awarded under Bank-funded projects.
IFTI Watch: An analysis of World Bank data by Oil Change International says the Bank increased funding for fossil fuels in its last fiscal year.
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