We expect nearly 70 participants from different parts of the world. Among them, 40 will present their papers and projects. In order to ensure that participants get a flavour of the work done by all presenters, the conference will have plenary sessions that will convene all the participants in one room where every presenter will make short presentations. Apart from the plenaries, we will have three sessions in which we will host three parallel workshops each. In other words, there will be a total of 9 workshops of which a participant will be able to attend three. Each of these will be for 1 – 1.5 hours and the workshops will provide the opportunity for deeper engagement with subsets of the participants.
The conference organisers will designate three workshops for the first day and the participants will be allowed to pitch for workshop themes at the end of the first day. Each participant will then be allowed to vote for two, and based on this the top six workshops will be selected for the second day.
WHAT IS A WORKSHOP
A workshop is meant to be an active space in which the participants can collaborate around a broad question or a challenge. The individual or the team that pitched for the workshop will get the opportunity to explain the question or the challenge involved in the first ten minutes. After the initial presentation, the participants will work in a collaborative exercise in addressing it. A member from the organizing team will facilitate the workshop along with the team that pitched for it. We encourage workshops on active projects including academic research, on-going interventions and projects that are slated to begin in the next few months.
PITCHING FOR A WORKSHOP
Pitching for the workshop could be done by an individual or a team among the participants towards the end of the first day of the conference (March 11). The pitch will have to be within the scope of the conference and should be based on an on-going project, a project under serious consideration or a common challenge that is faced in this community of practice. Consider the following as examples:
- Sharing practices in monitoring parliaments and other legislative bodies.
- How can we evaluate the impact of a new project that seeks to create helplines through which people can make formal right to information requests?
- Are there differences between how men and women use technology to access public records, and what can be done to improve women’s access?
- How can we use technology to create access to information for marginalized sections of a society?
Those who are pitching for a workshop are expected to provide the organizers with a brief title and a two paragraph description of the question or the challenge. These will be distributed to all the participants. In addition, you can bring props such as posters, hand-outs or other materials that will be displayed in the venue. Pitchers will also have the opportunity to answer questions and talk to people in person during the pitching session on the evening of March 11.
In case you are interested in organizing a workshop and would like to connect with others before arriving at Stanford, please write to the organizers and wewill be happy to make the introductions. A list of speakers and their topics can be found here.