Four seasons in one open data standard
In 2017 I was fortunate enough to visit Rome four times.
Specifically, I was there to work with agencies that provide food and agriculture-related aid, as Rome is a major hub for this. With support from the Initiative for Open Ag Funding, I was able to provide advice and support to the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), amongst others.
The brief: help these organisations publish open data, using the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) data standard.
I visited in January, May, July and October. Conveniently, that helps me (mis)use the themes of agriculture and seasons to describe how the year went….
Winter
Preparing the ground.
At FAO, I attended meetings focused on planning towards publishing IATI data. This was all about the data, its availability and the plan to extract it. With IFAD there was a slight difference, in that IATI data was already published but needed to be improved, in terms of both the production and processes.
I left with plans and tasks, including a rather large spreadsheet which mapped each and every part of the IATI standard to backend systems. These foundations were vital, as we sought clarity, support and momentum.
The winter season was all about the hidden: the data under the surface; the systems to interrogate; the teams to engage.
Spring
Signs of progress.
FAO Data had been gathered, tested and shaped. We ran a trial run to test for any issues. We refined and iterated, to enable the data to take shape. Quite soon, an initial file was published! At IFAD we held a meeting with the IT team, to understand how IATI could be automatically published. There was lots of encouragement, and a plan to get production moving over the coming months.
Things were certainly shaping up, with the shoots of progress becoming clear.
Spring was growth, progress and positive developments.
Summer
Fruition.
With data published and in use at FAO, the rewards of our labour were there to see. Over 3,000 projects had been shared in a standard format — meaning lots of opportunity for people interested in agricultural development to use a new ingredient. FAO also started to improve various aspects of their data, and plan for other developments. Meanwhile, the IFAD team were building together a new system and process, meaning more data — both in terms of coverage and detail — was readied for publication. We held a workshop to confirm this, which included far too many colourful post-its!
Certainly, as the summer sun shone, the full bounty of data cooperation bloomed.
Autumn
The harvest.
This was most evident in IFAD hosting the IATI Members’ Assembly in October. IATI publishers and data users from across the world congregated to discuss the detail of the initiative. Behind the scenes, there was an exhilarating (honest!) afternoon as IFAD pushed out IATI data in near real time, for the first time. Equally, FAO also hosted a “mini Technical Advisory Group” that week, providing the space and opportunity for more in-depth discussion around such topics as machine learning and classification systems.
Given the seeds sown in the winter, this was a proud moment. Both agencies had toiled and worked hard to produce and publish data. It was also apparent that matters had moved beyond data production to being engaged citizens of a wider community.
Autumn was a time for sharing. Not just data, but stories and ideas.
So, what did we learn?
Sure, this is a nice story, with a stunning backdrop and seasonal theme. In terms of going forward, here are three things to think about:
1. Things take a while
This is a year-long story. The journey from paper-based planning to community participation took a while. We should be patient with organisations (particularly complex ones) that are working towards transparency. Additionally, it’s also vital to realise that the story doesn’t stop at the end of the year: 2018 will be another four seasons of development, perhaps of a different nature.
2. All seasons need labour
These four visits to Rome were not always on a linear path — we should expect to iterate, reiterate, rinse and repeat. Sometimes, it helps to present or explain concepts around transparency more than once, and in different ways. Nevertheless, it’s clear that time and attention are needed throughout the period — things don’t work when you just show up for the harvest!
3. A data standard is more than data
Whilst IATI is well-documented as a technical standard, it needs much more to help embed it to grow. For any organisation, the key is to engage and co-operate across departments. This balance of interests and understandings requires time and resource. To make IATI a success, we need to invest in channels for building understanding and sharing observations.
So, as we start 2018, please consider your seasonal approach to IATI.
Are you planting seeds, or thinking forward to the harvest? Regardless, don’t forget to tell others and invite them along.
