Perceptions of data ownership, rights to access information and data governance are evolving rapidly. People are demanding greater transparency, accountability and participation in decision making (including about access to information and data) – not only from government but also from companies, NGOs and the media. Openness is no longer optional. It must be embedded in organisational culture. This session builds on last year’s event “Government Information Accessibility”, which discussed the issues and challenges for agencies releasing information, and for citizens searching or requesting information. Speakers will share some of the drivers, benefits and practices of openness, including lessons from across Australia and the global open government movement.

Sonya Sherman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Rdl098xZA
May Miller-Dawkins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V0mnL-8Y5M&t=6s
Mel Flanagan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vCl1hDG4fU

Presenters:

Mel Flanagan is creative director and service designer at Nook Studios, her company of researchers, storytellers, designers, and makers of information services. Mel has been involved in making theatre, film, documentaries and useful software tools for over 30 years. She is a pioneer in producing collaborative open government projects and designing data narratives to drive community and industry engagement. She is a local and global advocate for open government, transparency, public participation, open process, data sharing and open data initiatives such as open contracting and beneficial ownership - amongst many other things!

May Miller-Dawkins is an advocate, researcher and coalition builder who works with community groups, foundations, universities and governments to achieve more open government, corporate accountability and community control. She has a track record of bringing together unlikely groups to collaborate, influencing shifts in policy and practice and leading empirical research efforts that have provided new insights and informed new approaches. She was the Director of Governance and Transparency at The B Team and Research Director of Corelab in New York. She was previously head of research at Oxfam Australia. She currently serves on the Australian Open Government Forum as a civil society member and is a board member of Gender at Work.

Sonya Sherman is a librarian, archivist and records manager with experience at the coal face of delivering information services to diverse communities and business users. She is passionate about open government and digital government – their interplay and the role of information governance enabling both. Sonya has developed legislation and policy for public records, FOI, open data and data sharing in Australia, the UK and the Caribbean. She currently works with Objective Corporation, an Australian software company, designing information governance tools for government and regulated industries.