One of the themes I keep hearing at Davos is about open access to data and transparency by governments. There has been an open government movement for many years now with varying levels of success but we haven’t seen the type of major shift in power to the hands of citizen as a result. You can lead a society to information but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be mobilized to do anything with it.

Along with the OpenGov movement, there needs to be an equally, if not more aggressive one, on how to use the relevant data points. I’m not talking about economists and political scientists, I’m talking about average middle and lower class citizens who are too busy trying to make a living to wallow in punditry and wonk. I’m not advocating slacktivism, but a way people can see how this data affects them in a real and tangible way, and how they can do something about it.