When Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) approached Open North a few months ago to conduct an assessment of their open data strategy, we were thrilled to say the least. Indeed, the timing could not have been better for such a research project. With the Trudeau government’s promise to welcome thousands of Syrian refugees in […]
Read More… from Understanding the data needs of settlement organizations in Canada
As always, the Open North crew has been out and about in the world getting the word out about Citizen Budget, our powerful online budget simulator. For the fourth time now, we took part in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Conference Trade Show, where Citizen Budget is always highly popular. For its inaugural presentation program, […]
Read More… from Spreading the word about Citizen Budget, our innovative online budget simulator
Cities across Canada are committing more than ever to implementing open data infrastructure and policies, which in turn means they now have a greater need for strategic planning and tactical support in order to draw the full benefits of open data. Following the launch of the Open Cities Index by Public Sector Digest (PSD), Open North decided […]
Open North’s Spring 2016 Newsletter We’ve had a busy start to 2016! Here’s a quick update about some of the things that we’ve been working on and what’s coming up this spring: Community Feature update: Every two years, Canada – along with the 68 other member countries of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) – drafts an Action […]
In the last year or so, we’ve witnessed an increased concerted effort among legislatures and parliamentary monitoring organizations (PMOs) pushing together for more transparency and accountability from their own democratic institutions, and seeking ways to entrench these values in a concrete way beyond the endorsement and promotion of the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness. The Open Government […]
Read More… from 10 fundamentals to keep in mind when opening parliament
Open North is a member of GeoThink and this post originally appeared on the GeoThink blog. In case you missed either report, over the last year Open North has quietly put out an inventory of open data globally and, in a separate report, recommended baseline international standards for open data catalogs. The first report is entitled Gaps and opportunities for […]
We’ve had a busy Fall! Here’s a quick update about some of the things that we’ve been working on and what’s coming up this winter: What We’ve Been Working On Federal Elections Advocacy Campaign. The advocacy letter addressed to all federal party leaders that Open North helped coordinate with Open Data BC and the Open Data Institute (Toronto) was supported […]
The citizens of Saint-Basile-le-Grand are voting this week – not to elect representatives but to choose which of their 11 projects their council will build – a radical exercise in direct democracy. The town is one of the first in Quebec to allow its citizens to put forward project proposals and vote directly on which […]
Read More… from Open North’s Citizen Budget Simulator Boosts Pioneering Citizen Engagement Project
After transforming Open North from an idea to an organization over the last four years, I stepped down as executive director earlier this month. The seed of this decision was likely sown a year and a half ago, when I started thinking about Open North’s path and mine. In the beginning, Open North’s reputation, direction, […]
Read More… from Announcing a leadership transition at Open North
History In 2013, we had the chance to get financial support from the Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Citizen Participation, Bernard Drainville, to develop a portal for requests to access to documents, thereafter named Je Veux Savoir. The platform was launched as a pilot for 6 months in the fall of 2013. During this period, […]