There's of course a lot we still need to do -- we need to help other people publish data (other people's data can make ours even more powerful and help tell more complete stories), we need to help people learn to use our data, we need to raise awareness about the availability and potential of open data, there of course is more (and more granular) data we still need to publish, and the like.
A larger question however hangs over the program -- can open financial data help the Bank increase development impact, can the availability of open financial data help the Bank either answer new questions or answer existing development questions differently, can open financial data become a part of how organizations like the Bank work (and how the Bank's partners interact with it)?
We're surely not the only organization or open data crew grappling with these questions, and luckily for us, a few groups have made impressive strides towards answering them. And they will be at the Bank on September 5 to share their experience during a Knowledge Conversation hosted by Mahmoud Mohieldin, Managing Director, World Bank Group on 'Open Finances: Getting to the Next Level for Better Development Results' (kudos to our friends at the Bank's Knowledge & Learning team for organizing it) . It's going to be an interactive discussion with plenty of questions from the audience and via Twitter and has the makings of a really stimulating event.
Come hear Dr. Huguette Labelle, Chair of the Board of Directors, Transparency International, talk about Transparency International's work in countries such as Slovakia on procurement related challenges; Melody Hildebrandt, Forward Deployed Engineer Commercial & Forensic Accounting, Palantir Tech will then take us through specific case studies that describe how big and small data can help public and private organizations (e.g. US Recovery Board, the city of New York, and JP Morgan Chase) become proactive rather than reactive, and Chuck McDonough, Acting CFO and VP & Controller, World Bank Group will round it off by bringing the demand-side perspective to open financial data and discuss what decision-makers need from the open community and what they are counting on open financial data to deliver.
We hope you will be able to join us on Wednesday September 5th online and at the World Bank in DC from 1215 EDT.
More details and registration information at http://openfinance.eventbrite.com. See you there (or on Twitter at #wbfinances).
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