In this issue, you’ll find reasons to have health data, ideas for encouraging participation in open government, and databases on voting rights. But does it all have something in common? At first glance, there’s the data, but what’s important is what citizens and government do with it to improve the quality of people’s lives. Want to know how? Reading this newsletter is an excellent place to start.

Without data, there is no quality health

Data is essential to understand the spread of viruses, how they affect people and how they evolve. The challenges posed by covid-19 showed that, despite the efforts made by various governments, countries need their public management systems to become resilient.

The pandemic seems to be over. However, the article “Very Harmful” strongly criticizes one of the persistent problems: the lack of public investment in information systems in the United States. Sharon LaFraniere points out, using an example, how the lack of information paralyzes efforts against this type of disease and hinders access to public health.

The journalist brings to the table a problem that extends beyond the United States and is repeated with other diseases, such as monkeypox. This issue threatens effective response by professionals not only because of the non-existence of some fundamental data but also because of the lack of capacity, quality and interoperability between systems, even when the data have already been collected.

📖 Read the full article

Get involved in Open Gov!

During 2022, OGP has been holding regional meetings to establish actions for anti-corruption, digital innovation and democratic participation. Open Americas was the first of them and we dedicated a special issue of our newsletter to it. Then followed the European Meeting, October 11-12, in Rome, Italy.

From November 1-3, Africa and Middle East OGP Meeting will take place in Marrakech, Morocco. This event will focus on leveraging open government approaches in service delivery for sustainable development and economic recovery. Learn more about news and events like these on its page.

OGP also encourages participation through other means, as it is a priority theme for the 2023-2028 strategy, according to the community that participated in the consultation. Learn about the recommendations and resources for participatory decision-making processes and the guide for skeptics to learn about the evidence of the impact of the open government approach.

Databases: voting freedoms

In which countries can you vote and under what conditions? Explore the data of the V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index for 2021. The Index data shows progress in election freedoms and rights in countries since 1789.

☑️ Explore the database

And how do people who do not live in their home countries vote? Extraterritorial Rights and Restrictions (EVRR) is a global time-series dataset on voting policies and procedures of non-resident citizens. No existing data source simultaneously captures the scale of 195 countries, the time frame from 1950 to 2020 and the level of detail, with more than 20 variables assessed. So, what relationships do you find between the two datasets?

🌎 Explore the database

Radar

• 🤝 OECD Global Forum and Ministerial Meeting on Public Governance: Building Trust and Strengthening Democracy | OECD
• 💸 Report “Exporting Corruption 2022: Assessing the Implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention” | Transparency International
• 💡 Innovation Labs for Participation: Launching virtual course on the potential of public participation laboratories (es) | Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales, Spain (CEPC)
• 🌡️ Course “Measuring Internet censorship with Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) tools and open data” | Advocacy Assembly
• 🗳️ How algorithmic remapping detects gerrymandered congressional maps | Washington Post

See you next time!