At the Open Government Partnership summit, we spoke to Chris Vein, chief innovation officer for global information and communications technology development at the World Bank.
Tell me a bit about your job at the World Bank: My job at the bank is designed to figure out how technology, specifically information and communications technology, can be used by our governments and the poorest of the poor to figure out how to improve their development and make it better, cheaper and faster.
What interesting examples of open government have you come across?
I have lots of stories but I think one of the stories that often gets the most understanding is that in Uganda we used something as simple as SMS text messaging to reach out to over 200,000 people living in that country. We helped them to understand how to solve the problem of what was destroying their banana crop; their number one export.
A conversation was started using something as simple as text messaging and it enabled farmers to change how they are solving this problem; change how they work together and the relationship between the government and the farmer.
What does open government mean to you?
It means three things: opening up government so that it is more transparent. It means enabling greater participation by citizens with the government and collaborating to solve problems.
What's at stake if the opportunities of open government are not seized?
Government will continue without open government but it will not be as efficient or effective if open government isn't part of the discussion. We are talking about the possibility of revolutionising the relationship between government and its citizens. Whether it is revolutionary or just evolutionary I am not sure, but we will have missed a great opportunity to improve how we live, work and play without it.
How can human rights be protected within the open government framework?
If the government is open about things like data and the data around things like - not only contracts - but also health and transportation services, and public protection services. If all of that is transparent and that data is open then they can hold their government to account for behaviour. That is what will enable human rights to be strengthened.
Are there privacy concerns about data being shared?
Privacy and security must be always be maintained and so there has to be balance and sometimes hard decisions will have to be made about whether you err on transparency or privacy and security. Those debates can only happen within a particular country depending on the environment they are in. We have to be diligent about it and enable the conversation to happen in the right way.
What will you take away from the summit?
What I am taking away right now is in two short years this movement has grown to 61 countries and that through those two years we have taken a concept and built it into a worldwide movement. We have had some successes and failures. We are realising that there is a lot of work ahead, but what is most amazing to me is to see the energy. No one is daunted by the challenges and we are all committed to this experiment of open government going forward.
What is the biggest challenge?
One of biggest challenges is this issue of trust; trust in terms of government and releasing information. The issue of citizens trusting government to actually follow through on what they have promised. If we can deal with this issue of trust then the rest of benefits of open gov will come very easily.
Does private sector need to be part of this open government move?
The private sector is such an important component to society that the private sector must come into the conversation. We have had some discussions and this morning recognition we need more conversations because they do play such an important role. In next few years we will see private sector in some form or function coming into the open government family in some way.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sarah Marsh
Quelle/Source: The Guardian, 07.11.2013
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