New project on the Politics of Data at the University of Amsterdam

I’m part of a new research project called DATACTIVE: The Politics of Data According to Civil Society at the University of Amsterdam. The project is funded by the European Research Council and led by Stefania Milan who specialises in the study of social movements and their technologies.

The three main research questions of the project are as follows:

  1. How do citizens resist massive data collection by means of technical fixes (re-active data activism)?
  2. How do social movements use big data to foster social change (pro-active data activism)?
  3. How does data activism affect the dynamics of transnational civil society, and transnational advocacy networks in particular?

I will largely focus on the second question, building on my research on the politics of public information – including on open data, data journalism, data activism and transparency after the “digital turn”. This will incorporate a combination of empirical, historical and theoretical research to critically study and contribute to rethinking the politics of data.

This research will also inform my work to advance a more ambitious civil society agenda around reshaping data infrastructures as Director of Policy and Research at Open Knowledge.

Further information about the project is available on the project website: data-activism.net.

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