Open Government

CKAN, the most commonly used software platform to build open data portals, now supports responsive designs. This interface technology automatically provides a uniform experience to visitors viewing and navigating websites, from large screens (i.e. desktop monitors) to small (i.e. mobile phones).

The UK parliamentary Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy just published its 'Open Up!' report. This report contains five targets for parliament, with 34 associated recommendations and actions to catalyse participation in politics using digital technology.

This summer, Spain renewed its law on the re-use of public sector information. The amended law, originally dating from 2007, now implements the European 'Directive 2003/98/EC on the Re-use of Public Sector Information' (i.e. the PSI Directive).

The European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) recently organised its second Workshop on e-Democracy and e-Governance. The theme of the workshop was the "Current state of use of electronic tools in the context of citizens' participation", focussing on the work of the Council of Europe and its standards in relation to e-Democracy, e-Governance as well as the internet.