I read an interesting article this week by Ana Brandusescu, Michael Canares and Silvana Fumega. Called “Open data standards design behind closed doors?” it explores issues of inclusion and equity around the development of “open data standards” (which I’m reading as “open standards for data”).
Ana, Michael and Silvana rightly highlight that standards development is often seen and carried out as a technical process, whereas their development and impacts are often political, social or economic. To ensure that standards are well designed, we need to recognise their power, choose when to wield that tool, and ensure that we use it well. The article also asks questions about how standards are currently developed and suggests a framework for creating more participatory approaches throughout their development.
I’ve been reflecting on the article this week alongside a discussion that took place in this thread started by Ana.
Improving the ODI standards guidebook
I agree that standards development should absolutely be more inclusive. I too often find myself in standards discussions and groups with people that look like me and whose experiences may not always reflect those who are ultimately impacted by the creation and use of a standard.
In the open standards for data guidebook we explore how and why standards are developed to help make that process more transparent to a wider group of people. We also placed an emphasis on the importance of the scoping and adoption phases of standards development because this is so often where standards fail. Not just because the wrong thing is standardised, but also because the standard is designed for the wrong audience, or its potential impacts and value are not communicated.
Sometimes we don’t even need a standard. Standards development isn’t about creating specifications or technology, those are just outputs. The intended impact is to create some wider change in the world, which might be to increase transparency, or support implementation of a policy or to create a more equitable marketplace. Other interventions or activities might achieve those same goals better or faster. Some of them might not even use data(!)
But looking back through the guidebook, while we highlight in many places the need for engagement, outreach, developing a shared understanding of goals and desired impacts and a clear set of roles and responsibilities, we don’t specifically foreground issues of inclusion and equity as much as we could have.
The language and content of the guidebook could be improved. As could some prototype tools we included like the standards canvas. How would that be changed in order to foreground issues of inclusion and equity?
I’d love to get some contributions to the guidebook to help us improve it. Drop me a message if you have suggestions about that.
Standards as shared agreements
Open standards for data are reusable agreements that guide the exchange of data. They shape how I collect data from you, as a data provider. And as a data provider they shape how you (re)present data you have collected and, in many cases will ultimately impact how you collect data in the future.
If we foreground standards as agreements for shaping how data is collected and shared, then to increase inclusion and equity in the design of those agreements we can look to existing work like the Toolkit for Centering Racial Equity which provides a framework for thinking about inclusion throughout the life-cycle of data. Standards development fits within that life-cycle, even if it operates at a larger scale and extends it out to different time frames.
We can also recognise existing work and best practices around good participatory design and research.
We should avoid standards development, as a process, being divorced from broader discussions and best practices around ethics, equity and engagement around data. Taking a more inclusive and equitable approach to standards development is part of the broader discussion around the need for more integration across the computing and social sciences.
We may also need to recognise that sometimes agreements are made that don’t provide equitable outcomes for everyone. We might not be able to achieve a compromise that works for everyone. Being transparent about the goals and aims of a standard, and how it was developed, can help to surface who it is designed for (or not). Sometimes we might just need different standards, optimised for different purposes.
Some standards are more harmful than others
There are many different types of standard. And standards can be applied to different types of data. The authors of the original article didn’t really touch on this within their framework, but I think its important to recognise these differences, as part of any follow-on activities.
The impacts of a poorly designed standard that classifies people or their health outcomes will be much more harmful than a poorly defined data exchange format. See all of Susan Leigh Star‘s work. Or concerns from indigenous peoples about how they are counted and represented (or not) in statistical datasets.
Increasing inclusion can help to mitigate the harmful impacts around data. So focusing on improving inclusion (or recognising existing work and best practices) around the design of standards with greater capacity for harms is important. The skills and experience required in developing a taxonomy is fundamentally different to those required to develop a data exchange format.
Recognising these differences is also helpful when planning how to engage with a wider group of people. As we can identify what help and input is needed: What skills or perspectives are lacking among those leading standards work? What help or support needs to be offered to increase inclusion. E.g. by developing skills, or choosing different collaboration tools or methods of seeking input.
Developing a community of practice
Since we launched the standards guidebook I’ve been wondering whether it would be helpful to have more of a community of practice around standards development. I found myself thinking about this again after reading Ana, Michael and Silvana’s article and the subsequent discussion on twitter.
What would that look like? Does it exist already?
Perhaps supported by a set of learning or training resources that re-purposes some of the ODI guidebook material alongside other resources to help others to engage with and lead impactful, inclusive standards work?
I’m interested to see how this work and discussion unfolds.
Lost Boy 