Towards an expanded and integrated open government data agenda for India

Meeting: ICEGOV2013, October 22-25, 2013, Seoul, KoreaThe paper analyses the recently approved and implemented government data policy (National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy) in India, and identifies the possibility and need of expanding and integrating it within the larger national egovernance and information policy ecosystem. The study draws from an ongoing research project on the Indian government data policy and the roles played by data intermediary organisations. The paper argues that an expanded and integrated open government data agenda will address crucial shortcomings of the national e-governance initiatives in India, and strengthen democratic interactions between the state and citizens through electronic and other means

Towards an expanded and integrated open government data agenda for India

The paper analyses the recently approved and implemented government data policy (National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy) in India, and identifies the possibility and need of expanding and integrating it within the larger national e-governance and information policy ecosystem. The study draws from an ongoing research project on the Indian government data policy and the roles played by data intermediary organisations. The paper argues that an expanded and integrated open government data agenda will address crucial shortcomings of the national e-governance initiatives in India, and strengthen democratic interactions between the state and citizens through electronic and other means

NGO provision of basic education: alternative or complementary service delivery to support access to the excluded?

While access to state schooling has grown in many countries in recent years, a hardcore of marginalised children continue to be excluded from this. Some of these children are able to gain access to education through non-state provision. The focus of this paper is on primaryschool aged children who find access through (international) non-government organisations (NGOs). Based on a review of the available literature, the paper shows that there have been fluctuations in attention paid to NGO provision by education researchers since the 1970s. Changes are due in part to the prevailing political and economic environment, as well as to pressure placed on international agencies and national governments to reach education targets. The paper also shows that there has been a shift in the priorities of these providers over this period, from seeing themselves as supporting a parallel, alternative system of education independent of the state system, towards one aimed at being complementary to the state system, with the intention of ultimately supporting children’s access to a state-provided education. The paper highlights that much of the available literature suggests that NGO provision often intends to bring benefits in terms of the alternative forms of pedagogy and accountability it aims to offer. However, as the paper indicates, there is very little systematic, critical analysis of who is gaining access to education offered by alternative providers, or what they are actually getting access to. As such, there is a need for analysis of educational access to pay greater attention to diverse forms of access – both in terms of who provides, and what is provided. Moreover, changes in priorities associated with the effects of the international economic and political agenda, along with the intention of integrating multiple providers of education into a system-wide approach, give rise to the need for an analysis of the implications for NGO-government collaboration to ensure sustainability of educational access to those who would otherwise be excluded

New Approaches to Participation in Fisheries Research

This study was commissioned by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) and SIFAR (Support Unit for International Fisheries and Aquatic Research) on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research (ACFR). It is concerned with research in the context of fisheries development.The ACFR acknowledges that the fisheries sector is faced with serious social and environmental problems and that current approaches to research have their limitations. It is recognised that participatory approaches and methods potentially have a greater role to play in fisheries research. This study aims to explore that potential and to suggest how we might move forward. The main focus of the report is on experiences in developing countries because this is where much of the innovative work in participation in research is being carried out. However, it is acknowledged that there is also much to be learnt from developed world experience

Variation of health-related quality of life assessed by caregivers and patients affected by severe childhood infections.

BACKGROUND: The agreement between self-reported and proxy measures of health status in ill children is not well established. This study aimed to quantify the variation in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) derived from young patients and their carers using different instruments. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between August 2010 and March 2011. Children with meningitis, bacteremia, pneumonia, acute otitis media, hearing loss, chronic lung disease, epilepsy, mild mental retardation, severe mental retardation, and mental retardation combined with epilepsy, aged between five to 14 years in seven tertiary hospitals were selected for participation in this study. The Health Utilities Index Mark 2 (HUI2), and Mark 3 (HUI3), and the EuroQoL Descriptive System (EQ-5D) and Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) were applied to both paediatric patients (self-assessment) and caregivers (proxy-assessment). RESULTS: The EQ-5D scores were lowest for acute conditions such as meningitis, bacteremia, and pneumonia, whereas the HUI3 scores were lowest for most chronic conditions such as hearing loss and severe mental retardation. Comparing patient and proxy scores (n = 74), the EQ-5D exhibited high correlation (r = 0.77) while in the HUI2 and HUI3 patient and caregiver scores were moderately correlated (r = 0.58 and 0.67 respectively). The mean difference between self and proxy-assessment using the HUI2, HUI3, EQ-5D and EQ-VAS scores were 0.03, 0.05, -0.03 and -0.02, respectively. In hearing-impaired and chronic lung patients the self-rated HRQOL differed significantly from their caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: The use of caregivers as proxies for measuring HRQOL in young patients affected by pneumococcal infection and its sequelae should be employed with caution. Given the high correlation between instruments, each of the HRQOL instruments appears acceptable apart from the EQ-VAS which exhibited low correlation with the others

Business for Sustainable Society Project

This three-year project's main objective was: "How can business/industry realise a sustainable society?" The two goals for achieving the main objective were: (1) to identify promising business models for realising a sustainable society and develop relevant methods to quantify their potential while proposing measures to promote such businesses, and (2) to clarify the conditions of business/industry activities and a direction of local development that are suitable for sustainable local society. "Research on Environmentally-Sound Business Models (BM Research)" and the "Research on Environmentally-Sound Local Industry System (LIS Research)" were implemented with these two goals in mind. They were reinforced with associated research to accomplish the goals based on the results of a progress review that was made on completion of the first half of the Third Phase

Bangladesh and Regional Connectivity : Best Practices from Global Experiences

South Asia, economic integration, Bangladesh, transport costs

The role of nongovernmental organizations in primary education - a study of six NGOs in India

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) extend education to underprivileged children in India, and develop innovations that improve the quality of primary education. In this study of six NGOs working with school-age children in India, the author shows the potential benefits of a government-NGO alliance to achieve universal primary education. The author emphasizes several areas in which collaboration can be particularly fruitful. 1) Targeting under-served children: The Government could support the efforts of NGOs to bring out-of-school children into schools, through timely supply of teachers, classroom space, and other resources. Targeted action is needed to reach different types of out-of-school children - those who work, those who live in slums, those on the street, those who are members of tribes, or of migrant families, and those who live in places without schools. To encourage young, first-generation learners to stay in school, requires a supportive, and nurturing environment. To help make learning interesting, and worthwhile for such children, teachers in government schools could receive special training in new methods developed by NGOs. 2) Enhancing quality: Improving the quality of education requires working closely with key agents of change, such as teachers, school heads, school management committees, and village education committees. To develop a cadre of trainers for primary school teachers, teacher training institutes would do well to evaluate, and learn from NGO models for teacher training. Teachers need a range of knowledge, and skills to teach underprivileged children effectively. Here again, NGO models would be a useful tool for teacher training institutes. NGOs, and the government could collaborate in developing appropriate, and flexible learning assessment tools, in line with innovative teaching, and learning methods. But without safeguards, large-scale replication by the government of such NGO innovations as the"alternative school"and the"voluntary teacher"could lower the quality of education. 3) Government-NGO links: The Government and NGOs will need to share a common vision on how to achieve universal primary education if India is to reach this goal. NGOs can be credible partners with the government in shaping policies for primary education. This entails collaboration, rather than parallel initiatives by NGOs. To stay at the cutting edge in education, NGOs should continually evaluate, and refine their models. If NGOs are to play a policy role in education, two areas that have been neglected will need to be addressed - NGO capacity building, and organizational development.Primary Education,Teaching and Learning,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Gender and Education,Curriculum&Instruction

A feminist political economy analysis of public policies related to care: a thematic review

Unpaid care work is directly linked to the economic empowerment of women and girls. There is a large and robust body of evidence about the extent of unpaid care work that women and girls do, and its contributions to both the economy and human development outcomes. But is this evidence being used to inform public policy? Doing so would include recognising the role of women and girls in the provision of unpaid care; the need to reduce the drudgery of unpaid care; and the need to redistribute unpaid care work (from women to men, and from the family to communities and the state), thus laying the basis for true gender equality. This review of secondary material aims to identify the political economy conditions of where, why, when and how unpaid care concerns become more visible on domestic policy agendas