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Zombie Data: Has open data failed to live up to its hype?

Tim Large, editor-in-chief of Thomson Reuters Foundation, will moderate an expert roundtable discussion in which he will ask whether the open data movement has lived up to its promise to hold governments and corporations to account.This select group of public policy, corporate and civil society experts will seek to explore some of the challenges of open data, what has worked and what hasn’t. It will also attempt to draw out lessons learned to ensure that society does not end up with what Daniel Kaufmann of Revenue Watch calls “zombie data,” enormous collections of data that lackpurpose and insight.

3rd & 7 37yd

David Hall-Matthews of Publish What You Fund says that he spoke to the World Bank recently and asked them when they would publish data automatically. The World Bank said that would take a complete rebuild of their data collecting and publishing systems. Hall-Matthews says that if that's what it takes, they should do it!

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 5:51:20 PM
Joseph Williams - @PWYPtweets - "It really is the journalists who see the big stories." #zombiedata

by revenuewatch via twitter 10/28/2013 5:51:40 PM
Williams - "In the 3 or 4 years we campaigned on this our values were making the data public, making the data available."

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 5:51:54 PM
Michael Jarvis from the World Bank - "We have been working on opening up contract data. There is resistance because the capacity isn't in place and questions over who polices that?"

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 5:52:54 PM
Jarvis - "You can develop ways of putting out information that resonate with your target audience."

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 5:53:36 PM
+1 RT @willperrin : if data-publishers put 1 hour into community mtgs for each hour in bureaucratic argument wld have less #zombiedata

by DirDigEng via twitter 10/28/2013 5:54:08 PM
RT @willperrin : if data-publishers put an hour into community mtgs for every hr in bureacratic argument abt data wld have less #zombiedata

by TAInitiative via twitter 10/28/2013 5:54:23 PM
Jarvis - "You have to put out the raw data. The unpredictable uses then come to the fore, all the things you didn't foresee. I think you can pursue all these fronts at once. If you can master that then people will not worry about zombie data but see that it has a consequence for them."

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 5:54:48 PM
Stefann Verhulst - The Governance Lab - "We have a tremendous infrastructure of data census that can be use to provide open data. Waiting for governments or corporates to share open data won't get you there. We need to think of creative ways to engage in the zombies, the data."

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 5:56:16 PM
Stefaan Verhulst of The GovernanceLab@NYU - "There are millions of people who would provide open data...waiting for governments to share data, won't get you there but if you can start thinking of creative ways to engage the zombies you can bring more transparency"

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 5:56:17 PM
Robert Palmer - Global Witness - We spend a lot of our time investigative and our investigations take years and years. We dig for government contracts and find that the data that should be out there isn't out there."

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 5:57:02 PM
Dave Banisar - Article 19 "We deal with trying to help journalists and FOIA activists develop a proper legal system within their own countries"

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 5:59:14 PM
Jarvis: "You have to put out the raw data. The unpredictable uses then come to the fore, all the things you didn't foresee." #zombiedata

by revenuewatch via twitter 10/28/2013 5:59:35 PM
"The Kenyan Open Data policy is a little underwhelming" - Banisar

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 5:59:42 PM
David Banisar - "Heard a lot about how people with $4 mobile phones are going to change the world but need the rule of law in order to hold governements to account"

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 6:00:51 PM
Banisar - "I was in New York for the UN GA. A lot of people were talking about data revolution but not so much revolution."

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:01:27 PM
"Need to have Freedom of Information laws and journalists need to be free from intimidation before data change the world" - Banisar

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 6:01:51 PM
Andrew Stott - "Company data which is held at state level is not very open in the United States"

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:02:33 PM
How about using generic livelihood-centric contextualization patterns #zombiedata as in Actor Atlas?
#WXUGQA

by collaboratewiki via twitter 10/28/2013 6:05:31 PM
Daniel Kaufman - Transparency with impunity does not lead to results. #zombiedata

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:05:47 PM
We must be careful not to think that transparency is enough, Kaufmann says, could lead to #zombietransparency

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 6:06:17 PM
Daniel Kaufman - "We are in Canary Wharf! what about the risk investment agencies?"

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:06:49 PM
The gamechanger for the World Governance Index that Kaufmann helped to oversee at the World Bank was when investors and credit rating agencies started to use them.

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 6:07:27 PM
Investors need to get onboard with transparency
, Kaufmann says

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 6:08:18 PM
Clare Short thinks that progress is being made. But we need to figure out how data communicates with people.

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:08:20 PM
Ellen Miller, Sunlight Foundation - There is zombie transparency in the US, we call is transparency theater

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:09:03 PM
Sunlight relies on journalists to tell these stories. Journalists wanted online, accessible, machine readable data. We have had no advocacy help from journalists.

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:10:15 PM
Ellen Miller says that she's worried that the Open Government Partnership commitments will end when the particular government administration ends.

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 6:10:24 PM
going to have to duck out of #zombiedata now,but an interesting conversation. Particularly xchange with @owenbarder and @willperrin

by sburall via twitter 10/28/2013 6:10:57 PM
Karina Litvak says that investors are under much more pressure to be transparent.

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:11:05 PM
Litvak says open data changes the decision making process upstream in companies. It changes how people interact commercially.

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:12:12 PM
Litvak on transparency - "Once you have made one step forward it is impossible to take a step back"

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:12:37 PM
Corporate transparency is one-way, Litvack says. Once you've taken a step forward towards more transparency, you can't go back.

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 6:12:55 PM
Litvak - Information is going to be available to everyone so businesses will have to compete in a different way

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:13:07 PM
Advice to supply & demand people who want to reanimate #zombiedata . Don't design for launch, download or graphics. Design for use. #OGP13

by jedmiller via twitter 10/28/2013 6:13:16 PM
Discussion on what @kaufpost (Revenue Watch) calls #zombiedata . Data Collections which lack purpose. …lnkd.in/b6NmEvz

by Jude Hanan via twitter 10/28/2013 6:13:19 PM
Yes! RT @jedmiller Design for use. #ZombieData #OGP13

by FelipeEstefan via twitter 10/28/2013 6:15:05 PM
Investors won't use this data for investment decisions, Litvack says

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 6:18:04 PM
Jamie Drummond, ONE thinks there is a backlash on open data in the states from investors

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:18:05 PM
Can't help think #zombiedata should be the good, useful, data that lives again & again. Maybe it's #floppydata ? - lots of it & useless.

by LaurenRPfeifer via twitter 10/28/2013 6:18:56 PM
The data of one small project by an enormous company is not material to an investor, Litvack says

by Luke Balleny @TR_Foundation 10/28/2013 6:19:46 PM
Understanding how #zombiedata becomes impactful data, requires thinking about context, value, channel of delivery and relevance. #OGP13

by FelipeEstefan via twitter 10/28/2013 6:20:07 PM
RT @FelipeEstefan : Understanding how #zombiedata becomes impactful data requires thinking abt context, value, delivery & relevance. #OGP13

by TAInitiative via twitter 10/28/2013 6:20:41 PM
Sticking data intended for community groups exclusively behind an API is good way to create #zombiedata

by willperrin via twitter 10/28/2013 6:21:30 PM
Litvack - A lot of people believe that stability in the commodities markets is vital to generating higher returns.

by karrie.kehoe 10/28/2013 6:22:04 PM