Geothoughts Conversations 2: The Nature of Democracy in the Age of Open Data

By Drew Bush The largest grant investigating two-way exchanges of locational information between citizens and their city governments, Geothink makes possible countless collaborations and discussions. This month, Geothoughts Conversations brings you a look at one such conversation that took place this past January on the wintry downtown campus of McGill University in Montreal, QC. We sat down with Geothink head … Read More

Can Citizen Science Help Cities Address Climate Change?

By Naomi Bloch If you were following the recent climate change talks in Paris, you may have noticed a recurring theme: policymakers acknowledging the leadership of subnational governments in addressing climate change. Canada’s own delegation to the conference included representatives from the Canadian Federation of Municipalities, as well as provincial and indigenous leaders. While the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference focused on political negotiations, critics … Read More

Twitter Chat: Civic Participation on the Geoweb

All cylinders were firing by the time we wrapped up our Nov. 23 Twitter chat on meaningful civic participation on the geoweb. There were many parallel conversations that we hope will continue among participants and the wider Geothink community into the future. Here we share a few highlights, as well as a transcript of the chat. We should ask what criteria define “civic … Read More

An Expert's View on Civic Participation on the Geoweb

By Naomi Bloch As an early warm-up to our November 23 Twitter chat — What does meaningful civic participation on the geoweb look like? — we asked Geothink Head Renee Sieber to share her perspective. Here are a few highlights. More access, more communication I think we’re in an environment where we’ve really broadened opportunities for citizens to participate through social media, through … Read More

Tracey P. Lauriault on Citizen Engagement (or lack thereof) with Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2.0

By Drew Bush More than 1,450 individuals collectively generated 2,010 ideas, comments and questions for the Canadian Government on its Action Plan for Open Government 2.0. But one researcher with The Programmable City project who studies open data and open government in Canada feels these numbers miss the real story. The process leading up to the “What We Heard” report, … Read More

Civic Hackathons: Innovation, Procurement, or Civic Engagement?

By Peter Johnson I’ve recently published a jointly-authored viewpoint piece with Dr. Pamela Robinson from Ryerson University in Review of Policy Research. Titled ‘Civic Hackathons: Innovation, Procurement, or Civic Engagement?‘, we take a critical look at the recent phenomenon of civic hackathons – time limited contests typically run by governments designed to promote use of open data resources, and potentially solve … Read More