This Week in Open Government | September 16, 2012

As the open data movement spreads across the globe, methods of measuring and critiquing its impact are increasing. This week, we start our round-up with two reports about the state of open data and open government.

  • A report by US-based Open the Government concludes that, while secrecy in other parts of the federal government is decreasing, national security secrecy continues to expand.

  • The Global Center for ICT in Parliament released their World e-Parliament 2012 Report, which documents efforts of governments to use information and communications technologies (ICT) to support constitutional functions, noting important progress over the past two years.

  • CIPPIC launched the beta of its Licensing Information Project. The website aggregates open source and open data licenses, with a focus on Canadian licenses. For each license, it clearly explains your rights and obligations as a licensee. You can also edit or add new licenses to their database.

  • Citizinvestor launched a pilot program in Philadelphia for crowdsourced funding of city projects. Philadelphians can visit Citizinvestor.com to find and invest in the local projects they care about most, starting with Tree Philly, a campaign led by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation in partnership with Wells Fargo and Fairmount Park Conservancy.

  • Quebec Ouvert’s Hackons la corruption has been rescheduled for November 10 and 11th. The website lists the datasets specially prepared for the event, which looks to create tools that will help prevent collusion and corruption in Quebec; more will be added closer to the event. Registration is open, and tickets start at $10. A “minihack” in preparation for the event takes place October 20th.

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