Useful links

David Eaves on technology, government and other topics: Prolific writer on the use of technology in government covering issues such as innovation, transparency, open data, etc.

OpenSpending: The aim of OpenSpending.org is to track every government financial transaction across the world and present it in useful and engaging forms for everyone from a school-child to a data geek. The website has increasingly detailed datasets that provide us the ability to analyze at the macro level or drill down deep to spot contracts and purchases. Not surprisingly, the data is a lot richer for countries like the UK that have invested on releasing government information in great detail.

Global Digital Download by Internews: A weekly publication

After winning right to spend, political groups fight for secrecy – latimes.com: This article by the LA Times argues that large private donors in the US are making an argument to keep details about their political funding a secret, arguing that privacy (read secrecy) is democratic.

Articles on fighting corruption: An extensive list of published articles on corruption and on fighting corruption.

The Missing Open Data Policy – Sunlight Foundation: Sunlight Foundation argues that the open data policies so far discuss the format in which information should be released, but do not provide a overview on what information should be released in open data format. The article discusses some ways of regulating this.

National Democratic Institute | NDI: NDI is a “nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government”. NDI has several leading projects in the intersection of technology and democracy.

Internet World Stats – Usage and Population Statistics: A website providing up to date information on internet usage internationally along with data on population, etc. for insights on internet penetration internationally.

Rating of RTI laws around the world: This page contains information about a ranking of countries based on the strength of the right to information Law. Serbia has the highest ranking followed closely by India. Sweden, the first country to legislate the right to information, falls very low in the list.

Global Integrity: “Global Integrity champions transparent and accountable government around the world by producing innovative research and technologies that inform, connect, and empower civic, private, and public reformers seeking more open societies”. The website contains a good review of anti-corruption movements and initiatives from around the world.

New Stanford computing lab imagines the mobile-social future: Project on making the mobile phone social at Stanford.

Budapest Convention on Cybercrime: One of the conventions on governing the internet relating to cybercrime.

E-Democracy.org: “E-Democracy.org builds online public space in the heart of real democracy and community. Our mission is to harness the power of online tools to support participation in public life, strengthen communities, and build democracy”.

Cyberspace Policy Review by The White House: Documents on cyber space policy of the US government.

www.radiojamming.info: Website dedicated to Jamming of radio broadcast by various countries with cool photographs and sound recordings of jammed broadcast.

Center for Democracy & Technology: It is “a non-profit public interest organization working to keep the Internet open, innovative, and free”.

Global Network Initiative: GNI is a network for protecting and advancing freedom of expression and privacy in information and communications technologies

Information Technologies & International Development: Multi-disciplinary journal focusing on the relationship between ICT and development. Published by USC’s Annenburg school.

Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering by OpenNet Initiative: “Many countries around the world block or filter Internet content, denying access to information–often about politics, but also relating to sexuality, culture, or religion – that they deem too sensitive for ordinary citizens. Access Denied documents and analyzes Internet filtering practices in over three dozen countries, offering the first rigorously conducted study of this accelerating trend”.