INTRODUCTION
These are not the top ten social applications of history, or the region, or the year. They are a selection that covers a wide spectra of needs and situations to show the potential of civic tools to generate change in our societies. This selection comes from the Latin American region, but also from other parts of the world that may have different realities, but can always find similar applications. As always, we are looking to inspire the development of more of these applications by showcasing what is out there, therefore contributing our bit to improving our realities with the help of information and communication technologies.
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MY SOCIETY, UK
1. ALAVETELLI
A small town in Finland is the inspiration for the name of this project. That is where Anders Chydenius lived, who laid the foundation of the first Access to Public Information law in history, adopted in Sweden in 1766. As you can imagine at this point, it is a project that makes it possible to make Access to Information Public requests through the web. As a matter of fact, this is the software on which the first site of this type (WhatDoTheyKnow?, 2008) was published, now released as open software and made available to other organizations. In addition to the merit of being the first, Alaveteli is an ambitious project launched by My Society that seeks to facilitate the creation of Access to Public Information websites worldwide. Thanks to the provision of complete documentation, extensive outreach and full support of a dedicated team committed to provide this kind of tools to more countries, the platform is now available in more than 14 countries or territories, including Brazil and Uruguay in Latin America.
In fact, the scale of the project has led to a comprehensive global study on websites that allow for Access to to Public Information requests by the Research Team at MySociety, proving once again that the vision of this—now global—project is much broader than the original site, with the potential of becoming the standard for Access to Public Information online.
KEY POINTS Open Software
✓
Citizen Participation
✓
Participation/collaboration with government
✓
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
✓
Uses Open Data or Services
－
Generates and Publishes New Data
✓
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST Firstly because it is a project much broader and more ambitious than the original site, which already allowed thousands of people around the world easy access to making Access to Public Information request, without the need to do so in person. The platform has also served as a tool for improving access to information policies in virtually all countries in which it has been installed, it was part of the campaign that culminated in the adoption of a law of access to information in Spain, and it was key for the recognition of email as valid means for making official requests in Uruguay, among other things.
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GOVERNMENT OF MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL
2. DATAVIVA
In collaboration with a MIT Media Lab team led by Professor César A. Hidalgo, the Government of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais created DataViva with the intention of closing the gap between the availability of open data and the ability of people without technical knowledge or resources to visualize, analyze, interpret and derive value from these data.
KEY POINTS Open Software
－
Citizen Participation
－
Participation/collaboration with government
✓
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
－
Uses Open Data or Services
✓
Generates and Publishes New Data
✓
Beyond being and exercise in visualization and a tool for transparency, it is a site aimed at at industrialists, businessmen, exporters and regional governments. Probably the best way to define it is as a government-developed strategic planning tool for open data, which has been made available to the public so that others can generate value too.
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST This is the most ambitious known effort to make highly complex data available for the entire population through visualizations that are easily generated and simple to interpret. While the idea of visualizing published data is not unique—in fact, it’s incorporated in the latest versions of portals like CKAN, Socrata or Junar—, few projects have a comparable level of development, depth (10 years of data from various issues) and granularity (you can analyze by state or by every Brazilian municipality) in the offered visualizations. More importantly, few data visualization projects display such a clear benefit to a large segment of society, particularly for strategic planning.
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LA FACTURA, PERU
3. DATEA
A "datero" in Peru is a public transport worker whose role is to record the time and destination of the "combis" (buses) that carry passengers to notify companies and drivers that hire them. The site Datea has the tagline "we are all dateros", which perfectly describes the role of the tool— not because its subject is public transportation, but because it provides users the possibility to collect data individually, or along others in the community, to visualize and analyze problems and claim or seek solutions to them.
KEY POINTS Open Software
✓
Citizen Participation
✓
Participation/collaboration with government
－
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
✓
Uses Open Data or Services
－
Generates and Publishes New Data
✓
It is a platform where anyone can create an "initiative" by adding texts, photos, links or attachments to geographical points on a map. It is used on a wide variety of topics, from cycling to security, sustainability and gender equality. The maps are user-friendly and encite participation, they allow comments on the items and are easily shareable with other users, to enhance (as explained on the site) “the intelligence, strength and voice of your community".
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST This is not the first tool for collective mapping, nor is it the first with a social element (that honor probably belongs to Ushahidi), but its focus on ease of use, its social potential and its orientation in opening data have made it a platform useful for people without resources or advanced technical knowledge. On the other hand, it is the most transversal case on this list, adding value to the a variety of topics. That makes it an appealing tool to a huge audience, not only in the topical sense, but also geographically, as users can be from anywhere in the world.
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INFOAMAZﾃ年IA, BRAZIL
4. INFOAMAZﾃ年IA
This project, focused on the protection of the Amazon, combines open data collection, publication, visualization and download in journalistic-style articles that tell stories supported by maps that display data. This dynamic gives data a “full cycle”, going from the collection, to the processing, to the storytelling. The maps, articles and data published in Infoamazonia about displacement, exploitation of natural resources, access to water, labor abuses and much more can be downloaded, shared and embedded into websites. The tool is successful because of its usefulness to the public in general, and in particular for journalists and activists working in defense of this fundamental "lung" of the planet.
KEY POINTS Open Software
✓
Citizen Participation
✓
Participation/collaboration with government
－
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
✓
Uses Open Data or Services
✓
Generates and Publishes New Data
✓
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST This is an interesting case because it focuses on digital activism without falling into a plain “awareness raising” campaign without much depth, like so many other efforts. This is probably due to its close connection with journalism—in particular data journalism—, as the project is supported by a network of journalists, citizens and NGOs that spans across nine countries. The case becomes even more interesting considering the fact that not all databases are governmental. The site invites users to participate by uploading and sharing data and stories.
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IMCO, MEXICO
5. MEJORA TU ESCUELA
This is probably the largest and most recognized open data project focused on citizen participation and transparency in education. Based on public statistical data, this tool allows Mexican parents and students to know the performance of any school in the country, compare them with other educational establishments (in the area or anywhere else) and see their positions in a state ranking.
KEY POINTS Open Software
✓
Citizen Participation
✓
Participation/collaboration with government
－
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
✓
Uses Open Data or Services
✓
Generates and Publishes New Data
－
Mejora tu Escuela also allows users to provide feedback through an onine form to grade teachers’ attendance and preparation, school infrastructure, parental participation, and transparency. And to complete the flow of curiosity, interest and action, the site lists tools and programs that support school improvement.
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST Education is a sensitive and difficult issue to cover in a balanced way and without stigmatizing in any country. This tool accomplishes this coverage and is not limited to the display of data, as it shows the user which paths to take for action, based on the steps recommended on the website. While a map of school choices is extremely valuable in itself, a tool that directs efforts towards school improvement through parents and students participation has a greater chance for success and is much more sustainable.
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OPEN KNOWLEDGE, UK
6. OPEN SPENDING
This platform is, all at once, an open database for centralized public financial information, a community of users who analyze it, and a series of open resources for visualizing and analyzing it. In short, this site, created by Open Knowledge and built upon their previous project Where Does My Money Go?, allows any user to download or create and share data visualizations of public expenditure across 72 countries through 923 data sets.
Open Software
✓
Citizen Participation
✓
Participation/collaboration with government
✓
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
✓
Uses Open Data or Services
✓
Generates and Publishes New Data
✓
Open Spending is a tool that has been widely used for academic research and data journalism —in fact, the site provides a series of guides to help journalists identify patterns of tax evasion, tools for understand public spending, and other resources.
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST The misuse of public money is possibly the first item in terms of priorities and interest of all efforts related to transparency at government level. This tool is the largest and most successful project in that sense, and its ultimate goal is to complete a single, global database where you can see—and compare—government expenditures. Along this goal, the project also proposes a standardization of public spending data. In addition, thanks to this tool’s open architecture and API, others can use it as a database to build or derive other websites and tools. For example, if a journalist wanted to show spending in her country on a news website, she can create a sophisticated visualization taking data from the API and simply embed the visualization on a webpage, as if it were a video from YouTube.
KEY POINTS 13
NOSSAS CIDADES, BRAZIL
7. PANELA DE PRESSﾃグ
Using this online application, citizens in several Brazilian cities that make up the Nossas Cidades (Our Cities) network can raise issues to get support from the community and directly impart pressure to politicians and authorities to bring about change. The name in English means "pressure cooker", and it could not be more adequate; the general goal of the platform is perfectly summarized on the website: "this is not a petition website; the pressure here is direct!"
KEY POINTS Open Software
✓
Citizen Participation
✓
Participation/collaboration with government
－
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
✓
Uses Open Data or Services
－
Generates and Publishes New Data
－
Any citizen can generate a campaign explaining a problem and presenting the position using text, video or photos. Initiatives are distributed by their promoters and they make it possible that any citizen email and even call the people (not offices or agencies) they want to push for the change.
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST Of all the platforms that crowdsource signatures or petitions, this one achieves a more active and mobilizing profile, perhaps due to the somewhat combative tone, or maybe to the polished interface. But its focus on pressuring specific people rather than organizations seems to be a factor that has helped achieve victory in plenty of the mobilizations enhanced by the platform. The success has also been a matter of timing, as Brazil recently lived a time of mass mobilizations promoted through social media, where the slogan "we came from the networks to the streets" was one of the central ideas.
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CIUDADANO INTELIGENTE, CHILE & MY SOCIETY, UK
8. POPLUS
This is not a specific tool, nor does it "do" one specific thing; in fact, it’s defined as a "open federation with members all over the world". Poplus is something like a "meta tool" that offers components that perform very specific tasks (e.g., show searchable transcripts, save and publish lists of people, assigning a geographic point the local government) that are used in social applications all around the world. They seek to be as generic and universal as possible so that they can be reused without restrictions related to language, political system, or legislature.
KEY POINTS Open Software
✓
Citizen Participation
－
Participation/collaboration with government
－
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
✓
Uses Open Data or Services
✓
Generates and Publishes New Data
✓
In essence, this is a way to optimize time and resources for organizations working in the field of civic technology, giving a twist to the traditional model of free software and open source by creating small, basic elements that are easy to reuse and share.
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST It is very likely that we are facing the most ambitious international effort (beyond the founding organizations, others are already participating in various forms from all over the world) of collaborative work civic applications by civil society in the world. Its potential is huge and the results are beginning to show. Beyond that, the basic idea of sharing "components" with high specificity—if successful—can be applied to many different fields related (or not) to civic technology. Perhaps before long, the governments of the region, or across the globe, can use this same concept to unite the various initiatives of Public Software they are pursuing.
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DATA, URUGUAY
9. POR MI BARRIO
There are dozens of applications that allow citizens to place demands of the city on a map and Por Mi Barrio is an evolution of one of the most successful and popular ones, Fix My Street. However, this one introduces a much deeper and unprecedented integration with local government systems. Each report entered through Por Mi Barrio, automatically generates a new Record in the Single Claims System in the Municipality of Montevideo.
KEY POINTS Open Software
✓
Citizen Participation
✓
Participation/collaboration with government
✓
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
✓
Uses Open Data or Services
✓
Generates and Publishes New Data
✓
From there the application also receives each update on this claim, such as the scheduled date for a commission visit or internal comments entered in the complaint entry, until it is resolved. The result is that it displays a comprehensive view of the entire resolution process, from the internal timestamps to comments made by individual officials, allowing the complainant not only to obtain solutions but to also understand their role in a broader process, while allowing the local government to show their work in detail.
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST The project is characterized by a holistic conceptualization of the challenge to solve, which has important technology components but goes far beyond this area. The level of integration and trust in the local government, a complete revamp to the interface to improve its usability, the incorporation the Office of the Neighbor (Neighbor Ombudsman) as guarantor of the processes and an intense fieldwork to take the platform to users of all socioeconomic levels, make this a broad vision project.
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LA NACIÓN DATA, ARGENTINA
10. VOZ DATA
The newspaper La Nación already had a data team with various projects under its belt when it launched VozData, an open collaboration platform that, unlike other applications of data journalism, does not focus in data visualization, but in transforming public documents (usually published as PDF documents) into open, computerreadable data, capable of being analyzed and published.
KEY POINTS Open Software
✓
Citizen Participation
✓
Participation/collaboration with government
－
Involucramiento de la sociedad civil
✓
Uses Open Data or Services
－
Generates and Publishes New Data
✓
It is newspaper readers who, through this tool, read the documents and fill short forms with key data and confirm data uploaded by other users. A task that would be Herculean for the news team becomes achievable thanks to crowdsourcing and even increases the transparency when the quality of public information is low.
WHY IT’S ON THIS LIST This idea, enhanced by the fact of being supported by news media, was very successful in achieving open information in Argentine Senate expenditures. Its users have reviewed over 1,600 documents, clearly making an impact on an audience interested in improving transparency by lowering greatly the access barrier to collaboration through a user-friendly system. Another strong point is the collaboration with civil society groups working on legislative issues, ensuring demand for "liberated" data.
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OUR BIT At GobApp, an idea lab supported by the Inter American Development Bank (IADB) and the birthplace of the YoGobierno.org project, we are also creating new tools to build together the road towards development in Latin America and the Caribbean. One of them is the Somos Afro platform, which connects African-descent citizens with the municipalities of their countries in the search of co-created solutions to local problems. For this, it uses an open system of collective proposal and online voting. We also want to invite you to participate in Gob247, the first Virtual and Collaborative Open Government Manual. On it, people around the world can collaborate with their knowledge, in the construction of a manual, thanks to innovative and intuitive tools for online collaboration.
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AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Once again, we extend a big thank you to the agencies and governments that are part of theYoGobierno initiative: the IDB through its Division of Institutional Capacity, the governments of Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Panama, Ecuador, Chile, Dominican Republic and the Organization of American States (OAS). To the authors who publish on the site and to all users who sent contributions to the site. To all platforms that are dedicated to spreading Government 2.0 Â initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean, thanks to those who disseminate content of enormous value.
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GobApp 2014 Content under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike xxiv