Citizen Participation and Open Data: A view on active and engaged citizenry in pushing for open data
Author: Diar Ramadani
This September, with the invitation of RIT Diversity Center in New York, I spoke in a webinar titled “What’s your diversity?” where I had the opportunity to share my take on why diversity is a vital part of an individual’s growth, and how individuals who grow in a diverse environment are prone to shaping more just and fair societies, by being active and engaged citizens. The webinar hosted other speakers coming from almost all kinds of backgrounds who agree to the idea that citizens are inherently responsible for creating transparent societies — since governing institutions are made of “people, by the people and for the people” — as the late Abraham Lincoln would put it.
The importance of a government’s efforts in opening their data and making them accessible by the public as proof of transparency and accountability is indisputable. But if governments are made of people: should we blame governments or the people for opacity? Therefore, searching for a more citizen-centered approach to open data, and how active citizenry can contribute to the current state of the art in a country, specifically in Kosovo, is key to open and functioning societies.
For context, one of the most significant ways governments can showcase practices of transparency, honesty, and accountability is through open data. Open data, as defined by the European Open Data Portal is: “data that anyone can access, use and share; [g]overnments, businesses, and individuals can use open data to bring about social, economic and environmental benefits”. Open data refers to any kind of data that has no restriction and can be accessed, used, and shared among the public; however, provided that the data is licensed and following privacy laws of the country.
We can explain open data in simpler terms. Consider the following hypothetical. You are planning to go on a dinner for your birthday and the process of choosing a place to celebrate your birthday is the one when you use open data such as pictures of restaurants, reviews from past customers, menu, celebration packages, etc. that you then turn into information about the place for your knowledge on where to best go for your birthday. So open data is the abstract that we use to gain knowledge through information filtering.
Open data are published online (usually on a designated webpage) by government entities in the form of datasets, with the intent of enforcing transparent practices. Examples of open data include but are not limited to public expenditure, maps, public transportation information, meteorological forecast, etc. Multiple researchers have argued that many countries provide open data for their citizens, but the main point of open data is providing data that one can use for a purpose and not irrelevant bits of information that no one can tie a knot with.
The World Bank noted that open data serves multiple purposes, some of which are closely related to using data for decision-making processes, helping businesses to prosper, farmers to improve yields, upgrading public service delivery, and developing the way we function as societies — “move, work and govern”.
Open data started in 1942, with the publication of certain findings from a group of scientists in the US, and has since undergone changes, specifically outgrowing its modest importance, and now is perceived by countries worldwide as something crucial to have to be considered a developed country. This enhanced importance was solidified by the Open Government Partnership signed by 78 member states worldwide, pledging to a series of transparent practices that are formalized under a declaration of Open Data.
Kosovo is not part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), however, the status quo in Kosovo is promising although many improvements are needed to reach the optimal level subject to what the Open Data Declaration foresees. Currently, Kosovo has a government-owned website for open data, that is managed by the Agency for Information Society where around two hundred datasets are available. The Ministry of Public Administration has pledged to work towards joining the OGP, although this could be impossible for another year with the recent commitments of the Kosovo Prime Minister at the White House during the signing of an economic agreement with Serbia, to have a one-year moratorium in joining international organizations. Regardless, Kosovo’s institutions had met with CSOs in 2014, to develop a National Action Plan, and had submitted it to the OGP, however because of political reasons this two-year plan remained only as a National directory and a pledge to work further in this regard. Besides, Kosovo institutions have compiled a readiness assessment report in regard to open data. These pledges are so far not put into best practice since more improvements are crucial to happen for Kosovo to be on the right track towards transparency. Some of the recommendations that I have directed to Kosovo’s institutions in my latest article, derived from specific findings are: better interoperability of the current information systems, cross-governmental coordination to ensure the existing promises are fulfilled, and outside-expertise, as well as training of unskilled workers dealing with open data, are vital.
But, as Robin Bachin, Assistant Provost for Civic and Community Engagement at the University of Miami mentions; “Civic engagement is the foundation of a democratic society”. A state’s best watch-dogs, in my opinion, are active and engaged citizens. If the public remains indifferent towards valuable causes and does not contribute in ways that it must towards good governance practices, then maybe we shouldn’t always blame governments but we should share fault in not raising our voices as citizens towards the collective betterment of society.
On this momentum, citizens of Kosovo are supported by the Law on Access to Public Documents, which entails that every person has the right to access those documents that are public and not limited by any privacy, trade secrecy, and other classified national security information. So, by law, citizens are encouraged to access public documents, however, in a survey that I have conducted online with a relatively ample response rate — in practice, we can see that citizens could use a boost of increased interest on open data. When asked whether they are aware of open data in Kosovo, 56% of the respondents said that they are not aware that open data in Kosovo exists. But even from the 44% of the respondents who claimed they were aware of open data, 75% of them did not know where to find them. On another note, though, all respondents approved that open data is important for a country, and they have chosen good governance and citizens’ lives improvement as the two most paramount reasons why open data is crucial for Kosovo.
So, how can citizens push for more open data?
There are multiple trends worldwide that citizens follow when they want to advocate and push for an important cause to catch relevant institutions’ attention. While protesting, online campaigns, and marching are the most traditional ways, some other more pragmatic ways to reach a specific goal alike are initiating, participating, and constructively criticizing through appropriate channels.
Take Initiative!
Start your own initiatives. One of the simplest initiatives is a ballot initiative. “Ballot initiatives allow citizens to enact meaningful policy changes that otherwise have little to no attention by politicians”, say ‘Citizens in Charge’ when highlighting the benefits of initiatives from citizens. Further, Citizens in Charge assert that the initiative process helps hold a certain government accountable to the people — and of course, one of the simplest way governments can show accountability is through opening data. It is important to also understand that many balloting initiatives have drawbacks because of the high volume of mobilizing capacity that is needed so that they can catch attention and eventually take a place in the governance agenda. This does not necessarily infer that they are unsuccessful, it just means that the road can have bumps and to achieve the purported success, citizens must practice what’s known as “oscillation”. Karel Verhaeghe, from Citizen Lab, states that for guaranteed success of initiatives, citizens must strive to make the issue at hand relatable and hook it to the broader audience so it sparks debates and becomes ‘tangible’ even for the uninterested.
An initiative does not have to only be a ballot, referendum proposal and such; initiatives, in another context, can also be — a think tank, non-governmental organization, or an action-group that works on the issue to enhance its importance. ‘Initiatives’ such as GAP Institute, Kallxo.com, etc., are proof that if there is a matter that concerns the public — such as corruption in the case of Kallxo.com, coming together with relevant expertise, clear goals, and credible channels, change is guaranteed.
Clirim Sheremeti, CEO of 4-H Kosova, founded his organization with a group of active citizens like himself with the intent of tackling and improving issues in the society that are important to them. In an interview with him, Mr. Sheremeti mentions that citizens, especially youth in Kosovo have astounding potential that they can use to be changemakers in their communities, and if open data is what concerns them then they must take an initiative themselves and push for this agenda. He adds: “Having access to open data would allow changemakers to better understand the problems facing their communities and design more effective and sustainable solutions.”
Nevertheless, when you initiate something of your own, usually as part of civil society, a great practice to follow is to have findings that build a strong background, which then allows you to criticize — always reasonably and constructively, and push for that sought-after change.
Participating and offering constructive criticism
“Participation is an instrumental driver of democratic and socio-economic change, and a fundamental way to empower citizens” — highlights the National Democratic Institute DC, when addressing the importance of citizen participation in shaping developed societies. They further elaborate that: “citizen-centered activism — driven by real community needs and desires — is a powerful transformative force”. Citizens who participate have the distinguished power to transform the status quo and create a new — and certainly better one.
In one of the questions on the survey, respondents were asked whether they have participated in a public hearing in their municipality, and 78% of them asserted that they have never partaken/shared their concerns publicly with their major/municipality representative. But, when asked whether they would be willing to share their personal opinions in evaluating a public service, 91% of them agreed. What this led me to believe is that a portion of citizens are willing to criticize (share opinions) on an existing public service, but hesitate to join in a public hearing that would perhaps be held to hear how that public service would be best designed to suit the citizens’ needs. That is why citizens should refrain from destructive criticism; a citizen who is engaged, shows up for public hearings, initiates an action to improve or grasp attention towards a cause, is well-educated on a topic before speaking up is not the same as a citizen who does not fit that description.
The people should be actively but constructively criticizing the institutions. Rather than blame — try to show the right way to do something. If you are sure that a change is needed, try to find a channel, and use it to open institutions’ eyes. Offer your insight. If there is available open data, we should criticize the sources, the amount of data published, data’s comprehensibility and usability. Use existing resources, send a letter out, be present on election campaigns and read and pay close attention to who you cast your vote to, because every action produces a consequence — and it’s much more preferable to have results coming from participatory society than an idle one.
One key determinant of developed societies globally is their participatory society. In Kosovo, we often hear about the old ladies of Switzerland who are the police patrols of the city, with phones on their hands ready to report when they see someone disobeying the law. But these old ladies’ actions show how unique and futuristic the ideology behind those actions is: heavily involved citizens who want the best for their country. That call is an initiative. That call is participation.
54% of the respondents claimed they have taken an initiative in their communities, even if that was a simple gathering to clean their neighborhood park. But only 21% of the respondents claim to share their thoughts openly and use their platforms to criticize even though they might have a lot to say. This to me shows that, inherently, people are prone to engage themselves but are sometimes hesitant and that is why they need to push and have access to data issued by their governments. This builds trust and enables a sense of belonging and creates a relationship between the citizen and government that allows the citizens to give their contribution to this relationship.
In the words of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
