Open contracting is one of the most exciting strategies towns and cities can adopt to give residents access to information... View Article
Continue readingIs there a good way to evaluate the impact of civic tech?
As open government and civic tech movements seek to understand how our work affects social inequalities, organizations and their leaders... View Article
Continue readingAn open data maturity scale for cities to find right-sized solutions
Local governments are often ambitious when it comes to innovating around open data and civic technology -- they envision highly developed tools and open data products that will change the way communities solve problems. But sometimes open data projects fall flat because of any number of challenges: data isn’t usable, data is hard for users to find, data is presented at the wrong skill level, data is shared through the wrong forum or platform.
Continue readingOpen contracting in practice: opening decisions in the social services ecosystem
Open contracting is one of the most exciting strategies towns and cities can adopt to give residents access to information... View Article
Continue readingThe future of open government: reflections from OGP & Code for America 2019
Two of the largest gatherings for open government advocates and civic technologists took place in May of this year. Thousands of civic technologists, open government advocates, government officials, and representatives of NGOs traveled to Ottawa for the annual Open Government Partnership Summit and Oakland, California for the Code for America Summit. While the two convenings differ in terms of scale and audience, both convenings asked attendees to pause and reflect on the values and goals at the heart of their movements.
Continue readingExchanging open data strategies with civil society groups in Nepal
Kathmandu, Nepal’s open data ecosystem is a growing space, where I.T. professionals and advocates come together to support Nepal’s governments at all levels and work toward social impact. The Sunlight Foundation was invited by Development Initiatives and The Asia Foundation to provide a week-long series of workshops and consultations about user-centered design for Data for Development in Nepal partners.
Continue readingWhat makes a good open data use case?
Planning with use cases can ensure that open data will be used to productive and potentially impactful ends.
Continue readingA Modular Approach to Tactical Data Engagement
Since our initial release of a Guide to Tactical Data Engagement in 2017, Sunlight Open Cities has conducted pilot studies of the framework in several cities around the U.S. Our work with Glendale, Madison, Austin, and Norfolk allowed us to refine the TDE approach, while keeping the key strategies of TDE at the forefront.
Continue readingDigital rights in the era of data collection and smart city technology
Cities don't control private entities and how their tech developments shape cities, but they do control public spaces, public infrastructure, and democratic decision-making, and they must leverage that power to ensure residents have an active say in how technology shapes public life.
Continue readingBeyond open data policy
Earlier this year, Sunlight’s Open Cities team updated its mission to reflect a shifting tide within our team and in... View Article
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