Democratising the Data Revolution: A Discussion Paper

Abstract

What will the “data revolution” do? What will it be about? What will it count? What kinds of risks and harms might it bring? Whom and what will it serve? And who will get to decide? This brief discussion paper is intended to advance thinking and action around civil society engagement with the data revolution. It looks beyond the disclosure of existing information, towards more ambitious and substantive forms of democratic engagement with data infrastructures. It concludes with a series of questions for discussion about what practical steps institutions and civil society organisations might take to change what is measured and how, and how these measurements are put to work.

Keywords: Open Data, Data Infrastructures, Data Activism, Data Journalism, Data Revolution, SDGs, Civil Society, Democracy, Public Engagement, Public Participation