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Heading to NYC to speak at Personal Democracy Forum 2008!

By WDavidStephenson | June 22, 2008

Hi. Experimenting by riding Bolt Bus ($15 and free wi-fi plus no one to bother me. What’s not to like?) to NYC, where I’ll be speaking at Personal Democracy Forum 2008 (pdf2008) on data feeds and data visualization as part of a panel on governmental transparency. Looking forward to some great speakers (you can still attend!) and networking.

If you can’t make it, here’s my presentation and here’s the news release about my presentation:

For release Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Transforming government, rebuild citizen involvement by simply releasing data streams
RSS and other real-time, accessible data can improve internal operations and involve public

New York (June 24, 2008) — Releasing government data in easily-used formats such as RSS and KML can unleash creative new approaches within agencies and involve the general public. The results, according to Web 2.0 consultant and theorist W. David Stephenson, can include streamlining operations, cutting costs, bringing multiple agencies’ resources to bear on problems facing a single community, and rebuilding public confidence in government.

Stephenson, principal of Stephenson Strategies (Medfield, MA) made the predictions (3:45 PM, Rose Hall, Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th) at Personal Democracy Forum 2008.

He said “Our taxes pay to collect and analyze data, data affects whether we get more Social Security and whether our communities get government aid, but we — and most government employees, for that matter — haven’t had access to data or been able to play a role in how they are used. That era is over.”

Stephenson said the situation changed forever with Web 2.0, which gives everyone inside and outside government the tools needed to access the data and interpret it:

  • The ability to generate and distribute data automatically in XML, RSS, geospatial and other standardized, easy-to-use formats — even on a real-time basis as it is collected
  • Sites such as Many Eyes and Swivel with simple tools to turn complex data into easily-understood graphic visualizations, and Web 2.0 tools such as tags, topic hubs and threaded discussions making it easy for agency employees or the public to offer ideas and for “wisdom of crowd” insights to emerge.

He said the ability to interpret data visually is critical, quoting data graphics expert Edward Tufte, who says “Often the most effective way to describe, explore and summarize a set of numbers — even a very large set — is to look at pictures of those numbers.” Stephenson gave several examples illustrating the power of accessible data plus visualization:

  • a Google map pinpointing pothole complaints to the District of Columbia’s DPW and tracking — on a real-time basis — the repairs’ status today. He said this is an example of sousveillance: the public holds agencies accountable by documenting their performance — or lack thereof.
  • Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles, a collaboration between UCLA and community activists, combines and plots an a single map data on 7 “problem indicators” such as code violations or delinquent property that previously remained isolated. Seeing a single block where many danger signs are repeated should be a red flag to city officials to intervene quickly with coordinated services to halt the decline.

Stephenson concluded that an easy way for government agencies to ease into public data feeds and data visualization is to follow the District of Columbia’s lead, applying the strategy internally first, since agency employees may struggle with incompatible data bases, may need to reach across agency “silos” to see possible synergies between programs, and employees from another agency might provide new insights because of differing life experiences and expertise.

Hope to see you in NYC!

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