RE: mapping "open government" and "freedom of information" initiatives timeline

Hi Daniel,

 

I would encourage you to create three separate timelines: one each for the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.  In any case, I
would encourage you to clarify that what you mean below by an "open
government" timeline is in fact an executive branch open government
timeline.

 

You might also want to clarify what constitutes an innovation worthy of
including on this timeline.  Currently, the timeline covers a mix of
government and advocacy organizations.  My impression is that you've defined
innovation in political rather than intellectual or public policy terms.
This, of course, is exactly how political actors, their funders, and the
press usually define innovation.  

 

Take Ralph Nader's Congressional Accountability Project from the mid-1990s
(it was most active from about 1995-2000).  Many if not most of the Sunlight
Foundation's "innovations" can be traced back to the Congressional
Accountability Project.  The Congressonal Accountability Project is no
longer politically relevant and therefore has been all but forgotten.  If
you were doing an academic study of open government political innovation,
you'd probably have to give the Congressional Accountability Project at
least a footnote.  But if, on the advocacy side, you are only interested in
current politically relevant innovators, then you wouldn't want to include
the Congressional Accountability Project.  The key point--in the spirit of
transparencyJ--is to let your readers know what type of political innovation
you are trying to capture on your timeline.

 

Thanks for putting together this useful timeline.

 

--Jim

 

J.H. Snider, Ph.D.

President

iSolon.org

Web:  <http://www.isolon.org/> www.isolon.org 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: public-egov-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:public-egov-ig-request@w3.org]
On Behalf Of Daniel Dietrich
Sent: Friday, May 07, 2010 11:31 AM
To: IG eGovIG
Subject: mapping "open government" and "freedom of information" initiatives
timeline

 

Dear all,

 

I am actually working on a research to map "open government" and "freedom of
information" initiatives around the world. 

 

One part will be a timeline to illustrate the most important / outstanding
issues and events on both government policy / legislation as well as civil
society initiatives 

 

I would like to invite you to have a look on the timeline we have drafted

http://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=19V5UTfrbw1fvBw1FjUJtmgJj9i6eG8nZTh6
KoTDVlY0#

 

and possibly add things we might have missed. Especially initiatives,
projects, government policy and or law in your countries would be a
substantial benefit to help us complete the picture. It should not take you
longer than 10 minutes. If you don't feel comfortable editing the google doc
you could also send me a mail. Tanks in advance for you kind cooperation.

 

 

 

Best regards

Daniel