Building on Transparency
BACKGROUND
In January 2010, the national organization Journalism That Matters held a Pacific Northwest conference at the University of Washington in Seattle. One piece of the post-conference JTMPNW agenda is an initiative titled Building On Transparency (BoT). Led by journalist and former Seattle Times op-ed writer Matt Rosenberg, BoT seeks to heighten community engagement around more abundant, better-distributed and better-presented government information.
Helping community stakeholders learn to better find and use online public documents, databases and data sets is one aim of a core BoT project called Public Data Ferret which began in March 2010. Public Data Ferret is a database searchable by jurisdiction and topic, which highlights neutral, blogged synopses of public documents and data. The entries archived are written for the site and drawn from information made available by city and regional governments in King County, plus the state and federal governments. Links to original sources are always included.
Public Data Ferret is currently an independent informational initiative of Countywide Community Forums (CCF) - which is a privately underwritten public engagement program bringing together citizen advisers and King County government. CCF Director and Public Data Ferret founder Rosenberg has already begun leading educational conversations about open government with high school and college classes in the greater Seattle, and served on a panel at the Open Government West conference in March 2010 in Seattle.
The Ferret project has also been highlighted in a special report on community-based new media by the New America Foundation; in a report to the Knight Commission; and in the Seattle PI.com and on a segment of KUOW-FM's "Weekday" titled "Technology And Civic Engagement." In April 2010, Rosenberg began a regular weekly radio segment about the work at Public Data Ferret, on KOMO-AM 1000, Seattle’s leading news radio station.
An archive with links to audio plus a written transcript of each radio appearance and a link to the original Ferret write-up connected to each radio segment, is here. A companion site is the blog Social Capital Review, which provides news and analysis of best practices in public engagement, community-building and open government.
PLANS
Going forward, Building On Transparency is envisioned as a financially self-sustaining initiative not later than January 2011.
OBJECTIVES AND DELIVERABLES
OBJECTIVE A: Model, and energetically promote the further development of practical and accessible applications of open government and transparency principles for use by the general public and community-based online journalists, in order to weave a stronger fabric between officialdom, community media and citizens.
DELIVERABLES:
- Several new articles published weekly at the Public Data Ferret site, highlighting important public documents or databases.
- Weekly radio appearance highlighting "Ferret Find Of The Week" on KOMO 1000 News Radio, with audio file and transcript posted to running archive of Ferret Radio segments.
- Weekly additions to online government transparency resource guides.
- Several new articles published weekly at a companion news and analysis blog highlighting public engagement, community building and open government/"Government 2.0."
- Ongoing promotion of content from Public Data Ferret and Social Capital Review through legacy media, new media and social network channels.
- No less than four articles yearly published in "outside" venues (established online journals, traditional newspapers or magazines, or professional or academic journals) promoting the transparency/civic collaboration agenda.
OBJECTIVE B: Ally with and encourage governments to expand and refine their approach to open government and transparency, emphasizing the "win-win" nature of the mission for communities and governments that choose to collaborate. Focus efforts on the Pacific Northwest, starting first with Western Washington but eventually extending to the rest of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia. At the same time, seek to share information and connect with government transparency projects around North America.
DELIVERABLES:
- Write and disseminate to governments, community media and citizens in Western Washington a major report on recommended best practices in open government, transparency, and community-government collaboration around that agenda. Schedule and attend a series of no less than 12 one-on-one or small group meetings in a 9-month period with elected officials and other government transparency stakeholders (exclusive of media) and conduct additional research in preparation for writing the report, to be delivered not later than Dec. 31, 2011.
OBJECTIVE C: Grow the capacity of communities to produce and use meaningful published information specifically flowing from government documents, datasets and databases. Constantly model the benefits of public disclosure and government transparency by publishing, sharing and promoting important public information.
DELIVERABLES:
- A series of one-on-one meetings with community newspaper editors and community news bloggers, to gain insights on challenges and opportunities for expanded use of public data in open, accessible formats. Findings to be incorporated into best practices report, discussed above.
- One or more syndication arrangements for Public Data Ferret material.
- Provide mentoring and technical assistance, as desired to no less than three community news bloggers.
- Undertake a series of speaking engagements and collaborative public conversations involving community-based stakeholders in the government transparency dialog. Target stakeholders would include business, civic and neighborhood organizations, and particularly high school and college classes of social studies, communications, digital media, political science, public administration, and information technology.
OBJECTIVE D: Seek alliances and partnerships which will help model the importance of data visualization tools as part of the transparency agenda. Explore and codify existing knowledge around emerging technology to automatically harvest high-priority online public documents and data-sets. Include RSS feeds, but go further, including potential of "smart bot" tools as advanced "Semantic Web" protocols are adopted. Explore related entrepreneurial opportunities. Selectively integrate related narrative content in "mash-ups" with documents and data that are highlighted in Public Data Ferret articles. Uncover and highlight government databases which can be improved in presentation and utility for the general public, through Web and mobile applications.
DELIVERABLES:
- At least two of the Public Data Ferret items per month will include data visualization using methods or tools that can also be employed by "non experts."
- Catalog and provide links - at a special online page - to the best data visualization tools for use by community bloggers and news sites.
- Use selected Public Data Ferret articles to model "mash-ups" of data-rich content with related narrative content including online news articles, blog posts, videos and audio.
- Form a working partnership with one or more data visualization practitioners to provide services for the Ferret site and be available to mentor and instruct interested community-based transparency stakeholders. Specifically, explore possibilities available through faculty and students at University of Washington's communications and digital media programs.
- Research and write a report not longer than 10 pages on automated data harvesting possibilities connected with the transparency agenda. It will guide next steps in this area.
- Develop a special online hub/information clearinghouse highlighting application development possibilities around public databases in Washington state. Promote to developer community and public agencies.
OBJECTIVE E - Develop the online and editorial infrastructure of Building On Transparency. Oversee development of a BoT Web site, which will emphasize the initiative's mission and serve as a central hub for online information and advocacy related to that mission. In addition to a blog, social media, and special informational hubs described above, also implement a special project of BoT to model the use of public disclosure law with local, regional and state governments as a tool for public education and civic information harvesting. Seek additional contributors to Public Data Ferret from local communities and areas of public policy.
DELIVERABLES:
- BoT Web site, into which are integrated existing and new online assets.
- Create the "Disclosure Law Project" (working title) of BoT to highlight the practical utility of Washington State's Public Records Act, but at the same time to underscore the need for improvements in the quantity and quality of government information that can and should be made available on a voluntary basis - rather than by special request only.
- Additional contributors are recruited and collectively contribute at least two articles per month at the Ferret site.
OBJECTIVE F - Begin to implement aggressive plan to secure financial sustainability for the BoT Initiative. Make arrangements for 501(c)3 funding eligibility. Form steering committee, which will morph into non-profit board. Write draft budget and fundraising plan.
DELIVERABLES:
- First BoT Steering Committee meeting in summer, 2010.
- Verification of 501(c)3 funding eligibility.
- Draft budget.
- Fundraising plan.