The revolution will NOT be in Open Data | Open Knowledge Foundation Blog

"I’ve had a lingering feeling of unease that things were not quite right in the world of open development and ICT4D (Information and communication technology for development), so at September’s Open Knowledge Conference in Geneva I took advantage of the presence of some of the world’s top practitioners in these two areas to explore the question: How does 'openness' really effect change within development? Inspiration for the session came from a number of conversations I’ve had over the last few years. My co-conspirator/co-organiser of the OKCon side event 'Reality check: Ethics and Risk in Open Development,' Linda Raftree, had also been feeling uncomfortable with the framing of many open development projects, assumptions being made about how 'openness + ICTs = development outcomes,' and a concern that risks and privacy were not being adequately considered. We had been wondering whether the claims made by Open Development enthusiasts were substantiated by any demonstrable impact. For some reason, as soon as you introduce the words 'open data' and 'ICT,' good practice in development gets thrown out the window in the excitement to reach 'the solution'. A common narrative in many 'open' development projects goes along the lines of 'provide access to data/information –> some magic occurs –> we see positive change.' In essence, because of the newness of this field, we only know what we THINK happens, we don’t know what REALLY happens because there is a paucity of documentation and evidence. It’s problematic that we often use the terms data, information, and knowledge interchangeably, because: Data is NOT knowledge. Data is NOT information. Information is NOT knowledge. Knowledge IS what you know. It’s the result of information you’ve consumed, your education, your culture, beliefs, religion, experience – it’s intertwined with the society within which you live ..."