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!"# %&'"( )*+ !"# ,**'(

Lucy Beinholz

Let's assume we'ie successful.

All of oui uata aie netwoikeu. They aie accuiate,
inteiopeiable, anu available.

Will we finu new solutions to longstanuing challenges. New
cuies foi uiseases, new euucational stiategies, anu bettei
ways to measuie impact.

Yes, we will.

Will we uevelop new insights about communities, new ways
to manage natuial iesouices, anu new mechanisms foi
holuing ouiselves anu otheis accountable.

Yes. I'm suie we will.

Will we -.*/0 completely pieuictable policy conflicts
between existing foims of goveinance anu these new uigital
possibilities.

Nope. Not the way we'ie heaueu now.

If we keep uoing what we'ie uoing- heie's what's bounu to
happen.

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A completely pieuictable tiain wieck between olu iules anu
new piactices.

We'ie alieauy seeing it in the shaiing economy wheie
companies that iely on uigital uata aie iunning heaulong
into local anu state laws uesigneu to piotect people anu
suppoit public infiastiuctuie.

We'ie seeing it in euucation, wheie paients conceineu about
the unpieuictability of the long teim aie challenging
expeiimental uses of stuuent uata.

S
Anu we'ie seeing it in people's heighteneu conceins about
how oui uigital tiails aie useu by businesses anu
goveinment.

We 1""0 a civil society that uses uigital uata to invigoiate
pioven solutions anu infoim new ones.

Anu we 1""0 to piotect people anu suppoit public
infiastiuctuie.

We 2-1 have all of this. We 2-1 stave off policy collisions. We
2-1 imagine new futuies that meet all oui goals -
innovation, social solutions, peisonal contiol, anu public
infiastiuctuie.

We 2-1 #+/3" 2*0" that iespects oui iights anu #+/3" '-#(
that encouiage the uonation of piivate iesouices foi public
benefit. At the Bigital Civil Society Lab at Stanfoiu, we call
34/( ReCouing uoou.

To 0* this we have to plan now foi a social sectoi oiganizeu
aiounu uigital uata - the veiy futuie eveiyone in this ioom is
woiking to cieate. ,4/( )&3&+" is uigital civil society.

***

!"# %&'(#, we have to unueistanu that uigital uata aie a
funuamentally uiffeient iesouice than what we've known in
the past.

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Foi moie than a hunuieu yeais we've oiganizeu civil society
aiounu time anu money. Philanthiopy anu nonpiofits aie
built on these two iesouices. Anu time anu money shaie
ceitain funuamental chaiacteiistics. )%&*+,' -."*#/
0nly one peison can use them at a time
They can't be copieu.
Anu they'ie scaice.

Bigital uata shaie none of those chaiacteiistics. Bigital uata
aie 1*3 '/5" time oi money.

They aie ienewable, ieplicable, netwoikeu, anu abunuant.
They can be stoieu on vast scales, shaieu fastei anu moie
bioauly than anything we've evei known, anu they uon't
iespect oui bounuaiies between public, piivate, anu
nonpiofit.

Bata can be useu by many people at once. They can be
copieu. They aie abunuant. Anu geneiative. Eveiy time we
use uigital uata we cieate moie uigital uata - the uatasets
that holu all of oui clicks, likes, anu texts - the metauata
about oui uata - aie yet anothei new iesouice.

At the Lab, we suggest thinking of uigital uata as watei, anu
time anu money as lanu.

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S



We aie iight at the euge wheie these elements meet. Anu it's
exciting. Anu tieacheious. Watei anu lanu each iequiies its
own navigational skills, its own iules, anu its own
institutions anu noims. We simply can not manage watei the
way we manage lanu.

,4/( is the cuiient state of uigital civil society.

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hoLo: vkg, hup://commons.wlklmedla.org/wlkl/llle:Poklpal_8each-_Puge_Waves_2.!C
The beauty and peril of edges

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Anu houseboats aie only equippeu foi the calmest of wateis.

We have new tools.

We neeu new iules.

***
As the people in this ioom succeeu, uigital uata will become
evei moie poweiful iesouices foi public goou. 0sing them
well is essential to civil society.

So, how will we govein, stoie, anu uestioy uigital uata foi
public benefit. Bow will we use them ethically, iespecting
the iights of the people iepiesenteu in uatasets while also


hoLo: hup://en.wlklpedla.org/wlkl/llle:Lake_8lgeaux_houseboaL.!C
The current state of digital civil society
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puisuing the benefits available fiom the aggiegateu
infoimation.

Each of these questions points to an oppoitunity foi
invention - anu ieinvention - to builu the futuie we want.

The Bigital Civil Society Lab is ueuicateu to woiking #/34
you to ask these questions - thiough expeiimentation anu
ieseaich - anu to tianslating the answeis into policy iueas
)*+ -'' *) &(.

Beie aie thiee examples of oui woik:

We'ie cieating a 6**0 7/8/3-' 7-3- 6*."+1-12" 6&/0" -
tools to help nonpiofits anu founuations cieate anu
implement uata accountability piactices anu policies.

Seconu, in paitneiship with 9"33"+:'-2" ;-< we'll be
collecting anu telling stoiies of uigital civil society fiom
aiounu the globe - uocumenting this emeigent sectoi as it
uevelops in uiffeient cultuies anu with many goveinance
mouels.

Anu thiiu, we'ie hosting an =34/2( *) 7-3- 2*1)"+"12" foi
activists, scholais, anu funueis to pioactively geneiate
ethical piinciples foi the use of uigital uata in civil society.

Looking fuithei into the futuie, we neeu to builu an NIT
Neuia LabBeikman Centei0pen Bata Institute -
specifically foi civil society anu philanthiopy. We neeu to
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come togethei - as uoeis, uonois, activists anu scholais -
anu aiticulate the values of piivate anu public that uefine
this sectoi . Then we can wiite the coue - both technical anu
legal - that caiiies those values foiwaiu.

We neeu to uefine uigital civil society - togethei - anu
ReCoue uoou.

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***

Eveiyone in this ioom is woiking haiu to make uata woik
bettei. 0ui goal at the Lab is to fostei the ethical piinciples,
institutional piactices, anu policy fiames that will allow youi
innovations to spieau.

To not only manage uigital uata, but to uo moie than we evei
thought possible.

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We aie almost in the veiy futuie you'ie woiking to make
happen. So theie's no bettei time than the piesent to
piepaie foi uigital civil society.

Thank you veiy much.


The best possible future