1. Poster Print Size: This poster template is set up for A0 international paper size of 1189 mm x 841 mm (46.8” high by 33.1” wide). It can be printed at 70.6% for an A1 poster of 841 mm x 594 mm. Placeholders: The various elements included in this poster are ones we often see in medical, research, and scientific posters. Feel free to edit, move, add, and delete items, or change the layout to suit your needs. Always check with your conference organizer for specific requirements. Image Quality: You can place digital photos or logo art in your poster file by selecting the Insert, Picture command, or by using standard copy & paste. For best results, all graphic elements should be at least 150-200 pixels per inch in their final printed size. For instance, a 1600 x 1200 pixel photo will usually look fine up to 8“-10” wide on your printed poster. To preview the print quality of images, select a magnification of 100% when previewing your poster. This will give you a good idea of what it will look like in print. If you are laying out a large poster and using half-scale dimensions, be sure to preview your graphics at 200% to see them at their final printed size. Please note that graphics from websites (such as the logo on your hospital's or university's home page) will only be 72dpi and not suitable for printing. [This sidebar area does not print.] Change Color Theme: This template is designed to use the built-in color themes in the newer versions of PowerPoint. To change the color theme, select the Design tab, then select the Colors drop-down list. The default color theme for this template is “Office”, so you can always return to that after trying some of the alternatives. Printing Your Poster: Once your poster file is ready, visit www.genigraphics.com to order a high-quality, affordable poster print. Every order receives a free design review and we can delivery as fast as next business day within the US and Canada. Genigraphics® has been producing output from PowerPoint® longer than anyone in the industry; dating back to when we helped Microsoft® design the PowerPoint software. US and Canada: 1-800-790-4001 International: +(1) 913-441-1410 Email: info@genigraphics.com [This sidebar area does not print.] BRINGING GOVERNMENT DATA INTO THE LIGHT: SLOVAKIA’S OPEN DATA INITIATIVE, 2011- 2015 Author: Jordan Schneider Professor Jennifer Widner, Director Pallavi Nuka, Associate Director, FOR MORE INFORMATION: In 2011, Slovakia’s prime minister, Iveta Radičová, mandated that all government contracts be published online in a central registry before companies or individuals received any payments. The success of this initiative and pressure from NGOs persuaded Radičová to join the Open Government Partnership in 2011 and prioritize open data as a tool for improving governance. After the 2012 elections brought the opposing party to power, the small government office charged with implementing the open data initiative worked with a dozen committed NGO activists to press for political support, coordinate with various ministries, and ensure that Slovakia’s nascent open data portal would survive. Overview Slovakia’s first Action Plan called for the government to develop: An Open Data Portal including pilot data sets, at least two data sets from each ministry, and details of the information technology monitoring system A list of all datasets as well as a plan for their progressive publication Technical and content standards for public sector data, meta data for the portal, and guidelines for data publication and use OGP Commitment The portal initially had top-level political support, but mid-level reformers and civil society played a major role in sustaining the project as national political priorities shifted. Former Prime Minister Iveta Radičová supported data-driven open transparency initiatives. Through a PM decree, she gave the OGP Action Plan, including the open data portal, the force of law. Filip Vagač, the Plenipotentiary for the Development of Civil Society, worked with ministries, IT offices, and civil society to collect datasets and create the portal. Civil society activists including NGOs like Fair Play Alliance lobbied the government and sustained public interest. Reform Champions The OGP commitment was a rallying point for open data activists. Within government, the commitment was used by mid-level reformers to sustain momentum when top political support waned. Jan Gondol: ‘In Slovakia, whenever there’s a public international commitment, it’s taken seriously. Governments don’t want to lose face and need to take at least small steps forward.’ Suzanna Wienk: “Before OGP, [open data] wasn’t on the table at all, no one was proactively publishing anything.” OGP Contribution Policy Problems In pushing for an Open Data Portal, reformers in Slovakia sought to address the problems of transparency and lack of access to government data. The Open Data Portal was designed to: Facilitate citizens’ timely access to relevant government data Increase transparency through provision of information on the nature of data collected and maintained by government agencies Reduce the administrative burden on the state by cutting the number of applications submitted under the Free Access to Information Act Promote the active and creative use of the data by companies, NGOs, and citizens in the form of new computer applications or innovative services Working with a small team on a tiny budget, the Plenipotentiary’s office built the portal’s website in only 4 months. As of mid-2015, the portal had published more than 600 datasets from 26 government organizations. The Slovak government’s IT service, the National Agency for Networks and Electronic Services will install a new portal with an improved interface as well as better searching and tagging features in 2015. COMSODE, an EU-funded consortium, plans to streamline the process of converting data into machine-readable formats and assist ministries with publication. Key Accomplishments Government data was in paper format or was hard to extract from existing systems. Ministries had never coordinated their IT systems and databases. Systems or procedures for organizing datasets and preparing them for publication were absent. Few people in government had IT and technical skills. Only a few civil society organizations worked on this issue. The team charged with implementing the open data portal had a small budget and only a handful of staff. Key Challenges Photos: The portal website, Plenipotentiary Filip Vagač, and Suzanna Wienk, director of NGO Fair Play Alliance. Email: iss@princeton.edu Website: successfulsocieties.princeton.edu