Science Library Pad

okfest14 - Open Digital Science - notes

Open Knowledge Festival 2014 - July 16, 2014

Session "Open, Digital Science - moving beyond open access" by Celina Ramjoué and Silvia Luber.

Sched entry.

Etherpad https://pad.okfn.org/p/Open,_Digital_Science

Dr. Ramjoué and Dr. Luber presented the progress on open science in the EU to date

• full open access mandate in Horizon 2020 research program
• also pilot on open research data in Horizon 2020 - see Guidelines on Data Management in Horizon 2020 (PDF)
• now working on next step: Open Digital Science
• public consultation: http://www.consultation-science20.eu/ closes 30 September 2014

They presented a framework of the larger set of issues involved when you look at the impact of digital technologies on all of science:

The session was mainly group discussions; these are summarized in the Etherpad.

The question of what policy actions are needed to support this new scientific ecosystem is an interesting one; it's a complex system and we are still figuring out necessary pieces.

okfest14 - Eric Hysen, Google Civic Innovation - notes

Open Knowledge Festival 2014 - July 16, 2014

Keynote - Eric Hysen @EricHysen - Google Civic Innovation

"Let's build the road network of civic technology."

Video of presentation http://youtu.be/0UNRZEsLxKc?t=57m20s

Interview video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeyZxsQzes8

Excited by the great reaction to my talk at #OKFest14. I've posted the full talk https://t.co/fIBAWF3Zzm and slides https://t.co/p054R3uCqf

— Eric Hysen (@EricHysen) July 17, 2014

Google Docs URL for slides.

Text of talk.

• (we need) tools (that can) scale
• Google is building APIs
• what's important is not just code and content, it's connectivity (between parts of the ecosystem)
• right now we have a lot of incredible stagecoaches, but not enough roads
• 1) open isn't enough 2) interoperable 3) ecosystems not apps
• (right now open) data is released without incentives
• everyone is repeating the same work (e.g. transit apps)
• (open data released as) spreadsheets far exceeds the releases of data as structured (e.g. XML) data
• plus you must release the data under a proper license, that allows reuse and modification, in order to give developers certainty
• "open data is hardly ever appropriately licensed"
• open data is rarely updated, or when there is new data, it's released as a new dataset (rather than linked to the previous data)
• summary: open data needs to be structured, updated, licensed
• 1) open isn't enough 2) interoperable 3) ecosystems not apps
• (it is) too hard to connect different types of data
• we need unique IDs
• example: The Popolo Project (open government data specifications relating to the legislative branch of government)
• example: The Open Civic Data Project
• 1) open isn't enough 2) interoperable 3) ecosystems not apps
• hackathons -> apps -> then nothing
• hackathons produce apps, not ecosystems
• example: Code for Germany (based on Code for America concept) with multple OK Lab locations across Germany
• example: Voting Information Project
• example: Google Civic Information API

Q: Andrew Clarke, Omidyar @andrew_c_clarke - What is the most needed (thing in this space)?

A: government (unique) identifiers

okfest14 - Neelie Kroes - notes

Open Knowledge Festival 2014 - July 16, 2014

Keynote - Neelie Kroes @NeelieKroesEU - European Commissioner for Digital Agenda

Video of presentation at http://youtu.be/0UNRZEsLxKc?t=29m45s

Interview video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGTLIfk-1BQ

• "I am in a hurry"
• we are in a dialogue, between politicians and the open knowledge community
• Why should we be open?
• 1. transparency. Better information should lead to better decisions.
• 2. fairness. Give taxpayers back what they pay for.
• 3. innovation.  The more you share, the more people have to build on.
• information can long sit gathering dust - let's release and turn dust into gold
• information should only ever be charged at the marginal cost, which in the digital environment is basically zero
• EU member states only have 1 year left to put this approach into national law
• Call for Tender now open: Pan-European open data infrastructure
• this work involves laws + portals + mindset change
• EU has delivered for open science.  Open access can be good for citizens, good for scientists, and good for society. 
• Horizon 2020 will offer 80 billion euros for research, and every resulting publication will be openly and [freely] available. Plus opening a lot more research data.
• EU also calling on member states to open up their publications from their national research funding
• citizens need to be informed + involved + engaged (with science)
• Consultation on science in transition - Open Digital Science http://www.consultation-science20.eu/ - closes 30 September 2014
• Open Internet
• We have "absolutely out-of-date" ideas from telecoms
• there must be an open Internet for all
• there must be an end of blocking and throttling of Internet, across the EU
• Open Education
• it is a crime when teachers are prevented from sharing open education resources
• copyright rules need to change
• rules were designed for a different age, more about limitation and control than creativity
• data mining copyright needs urgent reform
• whole EU Commission needs to have a digital mindset
• there is a better way - an open way

okfest14 - Global Witness - notes

Open Knowledge Festival 2014 - July 16, 2014

Keynote – Patrick Alley of Global Witness @Global_Witness

Video of presentation is not available.  Interview with Patrick Alley at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znu9sSZ6ynM

• organisation looks at issues such as the resource curse, conflict diamonds
• the organisation has a banking transparency wish: open financial transparency
• TED Prize awarded to Charmian Gooch of Global Witness, "Global Campaign to Abolish Anonymous Companies"
• open data can be used for change
• pushing for public registries of companies
• communications challenge: how to stand out above the noise
• use of graphics to communicate: Deadly Environment shows trend of environmental activists being killed
• some progress is being made
• extractive companies disclosure language in US Dodd-Frank law
• information about beneficial ownership of companies
• with all this info, there's a need for tools (to help people understand the information)
• a shadow system supports the extraction of money from countries, particularly wealth from natural resources
• obtaining the information is not enough
• powerful, rich interests oppose openness
• advocacy organisations need to be tough