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Open Data and Citizen Science Reporting

Current Practices and Potential for Air Quality Monitoring

Efficiency Unit

Bastien Douglas

December 9, 2014

PRESENTATION AND PANEL

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About me

  • Masters: Public Administration (University of Ottawa, 09)
    • Thesis: Improving collaboration in social learning networks
  • 4.5 years in federal government of Canada�(Research, policy, programs, Information Management)
  • Co-founder of Open Data Hong Kong (2013)

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Schedule

  • Overview
  • Case study: UK
  • Citizen apps (Code4HK)
  • Panel discussion

Theory

Practice

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What we know

Government doesn’t exist in a bubble.

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What we know

Government isn’t a black box

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What we know

Government can be a platform for development

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Talking about: Government and public data

Government

Analysis, program measurement, �policy development

Public (Citizens / Academics)

Transparency / Reporting

Data used by:

Data from:

Government

Public

Civic engagement

Crowdsourcing

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Towards data openness

Data openness enables:

  • collaboration
  • analysis

By:

  • publishing
  • leveraging technology
  • sharing

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Matching innovation with technology

Innovation

Search, publishing, sharing, dynamic websites (not static)

Open Data definition

Open

Findable. If it can be found, it can be accessed.

Government openness and transparency

Open Data

Share! It’s everybody’s, and nobody’s. Yours, mine. No limitations on use.

Technology: tools, databases, and standards (APIs)

Data

Machine readable. Data is for computers.

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Keys for enablement of citizen reporting

DISCOVERABLE

STRUCTURED

UNCONDITIONAL

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Case study: UK

London Air: www.londonair.org.uk

UK Government & Environmental Research Group at King's College London, supported by the University of Leeds

Includes:

  • Visualization
  • API for other apps
  • Tool for analysis: Open Air project: www.openair-project.org
  • Other apps:
    • Mobile, Chrome browser

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Visualization on the website

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OpenAir tool for analysis

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Chrome plug in

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More

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Even more: CleanAir app on iOS & Android

iPhone

iPad

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Crowdsourced: Air Quality Egg

“Community-led sensing network”

Link: www.airqualityegg.com

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More Open Data Air Pollution

Open Knowledge

dataset ranking:

Emission of

pollutants:

Link

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Fukushima disaster: crowdsourced

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Safecast: Citizen mapping of Fukushima

Radiation sensing

network

Link: www.safecast.org/

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Andrew Leyden “HK Air Pollution” app

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Thank you

Bastien Douglas

bastien@opendatahk.com

Andrew Leyden

andrew@leyden.com