Share-PSI 2.0 Best Practice

Source: Best Practices/Getting Journalists Involved In the Process Of Opening Up Data

Outline of the best practice

Open Data Albania (ODA, http://open.data.al/en) is an ongoing project implemented by the Albanian Institute of Science (AIS), a non-profit, nonpartisan organization established in 2011 Albania. The mission of AIS is to promote research activities that offer solutions to socio-economic problems, increase transparency and strengthen civic engagement. Since its beginning and continuing in the present year, the institute has successfully executed Open Data Albania as its most prominent project on transparency through Open Data usability in the country. One of the criteria for Open Data Albania success was the active involvement of journalists in the process of opening up data.

Management summary

Challenge

The main concern on the reusability of public data in Albania is the presentation of datasets from the public offices. Data, statistics and other primary content are rarely found in a reusable format that could be stored and analyzed. Ιn many cases, additional work is performed to extract data from public reports. Data related to state treasury transactions are available but only published temporarily online in PDF representations. Various tools and applications have been implemented to collect, process, store and search treasury information. In order to access the data, which risked of being censured at a point in time, public pressure through the media and organizations engaged in protecting the right to information. In addition, the Albanian state budget is open, and offers tools for filtering information based on various criteria.

Solution

In order to disseminate the data and analytical findings, ODA has targeted the media, academia and the general public not only with the online platform, but also through various channels, such as workshops with journalists, activities (datathons, hackathons, workshops) with the academic community comprising lecturers and students, and various online social networks.

AIS has established a close and high-quality collaboration with the media inside and outside the country. The data published by ODA are cited in the front pages of newspapers and headlines of news editions. Every domestic media organization has published or quoted at least once the reports released in the Open Data Albania or Spending Data Albania platforms. The work of ODA has continuously enriched with arguments and recommendations many public debates in radio and television. The data have also been reflected in the international media. The moderators of the public debate or public information channels regularly voice their request for more information and findings to be delivered in the form of reports.

Best Practice identification

Why is this a Best Practice? What’s the impact of the Best Practice

It is not sufficient to just make the data open. As a basis to publish high-quality and relevant Open Data, ODA recommends to get in contact early with journalists, raise their awareness on the Open Data culture, train them with the tools and applications that make it possible to use the data easily, and collaboratively create stories (narrative) around published data. These insightful narratives help the general public to understand the data and the statistics.

Links to the PSI Directive

Policies and Legislation

Why is there a need for this Best Practice?

Open Data publishers risk to make data available that is not interesting or not reliable. Without promotion of released data, it will not be discovered and used. A continuous usage of the data, including feedback cycles, e.g., in round tables, trainings and workshops with journalists is necessary to make the exploitation of the tools, use of data, and publication efforts sustainable. Continuous contact and collaboration with journalists is crucial to promote further Data journalism and investigative journalism, which is already becoming more and more important.

What do you need for this Best Practice?

• A basic website (has not to be perfect right from the beginning if journalists are to be involved in the evolution of the application).
  • Most important: Stable URIs and citeable content.
  • If possible: well-structured data using standards (RDF, XML, CSV with metadata).
  • User-friendly tools to make the data searchable and exportable
  • Tools to generate graphics from the data
• Target journalists possibly interested in the published data, maintain contact with them and update frequently on new releases, e.g., an open mailing list that journalists can subscribe to.
• A self-describing interface for the usage of released open data
• Training capacities for journalists (datathons, hackathons, workshops).
• Processes to receive and implement feedback from journalists. In particular, react on requests by journalists for access to specifically interesting open data (e.g., infant mortality rates).

Applicability by other Member States

The approach is applicable to any Member State. Open Data Albania makes most data available according to the Open Definition (http://opendefinition.org/, except when stated otherwise on the website). Depending on the country and open data domain, other licenses may be needed.

Contact info

• Julia Hoxha – Albanian Institute of Science, Tirana, Albania.
• Aranita Brahaj – Albanian Institute of Science, Tirana, Albania.
• Benedikt Kämpgen – Institute AIFB, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany.

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