Posted by
Cory Horner on
Jul 08, 2008; 3:21pm
URL: http://civicaccess.416.s1.nabble.com/capitol-words-tp1130p1139.html
On 8-Jul-08, at 6:18 AM, Hugh McGuire wrote:
> Thus far civicaccess has been mostly an email list, and a wiki
> outlining a idea/vision for data & the govt, pointing to various
> projects and things of interest (probably a bit of spam too). I see
> it as a useful gathering place, that *might* evolve into something
> later - but after X months (years?) it has remained mostly an
> occasional information swapping ground, and nothing more.
>
> ...our objectives, which are:
>
> 1. To encourage all levels of governments (county/municipal,
> provincial, federal) to make civic data and information available
> to citizens without restrictions, at no cost, and in useable open
> formats.
> 2. To encourage the development of citizen projects using civic
> data and information
>
> So i'd see visiblegovernment as a specific project that civicaccess
> enthusiastically encourages (to the extent that visiblegovernment
> does objective #2) ... and civicaccess as a broader group that
> cheers on & supports visiblegovernment and any number of other
> interesting projects that come along.
Fair enough -- there can be two.
As to our objectives however, i'd have to say we've failed so far.
We've encouraged, informed a little, and served as a placard to point
to during a few talks, but I can't point at an achievement and say
"CivicAccess" made this possible -- and i'd really *like* to.
Perhaps a little structure is warranted, in order to drive the rather
significant community that has formed into action.
Personally, i'd like to see the following happen:
- movement on CitySondage
- start a census petition and send it off to Parliament
- discussion on non-profit status (and gathering of resources to fuel
initiatives)
Maybe we should start a monthly IRC chat to stir things up a little
and get some more interaction happening...
Cheers,
Cory.