Building DataTO.org – An Overview
November 17th, 2009
DataTO.org is a community website, built as a venue for the users of Toronto’s open data to request and discuss open datasets. On top of enabling conversation, the site also helps users garner support for their request so as to establish a democratic prioritization of requests.
I first became interested in the open data dialogue back in early 2009 at ChangeCamp in Toronto, which was an event aimed at re-imagining government and citizenship in the age of participation. ChangeCamp spawned ChangeEngine, a project where a group of citizens (including myself), imagined a geo-aware issue tracking system, aimed at bringing communities together to solve problems and to provoke systemic change.
As the launch of Toronto’s open data site approached, some of my colleagues at Architech Solutions and I, met with Mark Kuznicki (organizer of ChangeCamp) to discuss the possibility of building a community companion site to the city’s site. We all felt there was a need, and so DataTO was born. Continue Reading
