Public Eye Northwest (PEN) is a Seattle-based non-profit that helps people and communities plug in to government information online so they can be informed, constructive participants in our democracy. As a news partner with The Seattle Times, our Public Data Ferret project captures and translates into plain language for readers a wide variety of important new government reports and information that would otherwise slip through the cracks. To accent government transparency and civic capacity building we also do teaching, journalism internships, outside publishing, social media, and informal consulting. Our work covers Seattle and other local and regional governments in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. We also selectively cover the Washington state and U.S. governments.
PEN has received IRS approval as a tax-exempt public charity and is seeking baseline annual investment to sustain our journalism and outreach work – please contact Matt Rosenberg, matt(at)publiceyenorthwest(dot)org – if you are interested in helping support PEN. (Secure donations can also be made electronically, using a credit card, here). We’ve also identified additional work that would be done if a second, “baseline-plus” level of annual investment can be achieved. This would include a special project on digital inclusion in the Central Puget Sound region, “big data” journalism projects, and targeted transparency assessments of Washington state, and regional and local governments in the state. PEN has a 10-member board of directors, an experienced founder/executive director, rotating interns, and a variety or working partnerships with other organizations.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES
1) Maintaining and growing our existing public policy news knowledge base project called Public Data Ferret, which provides non-partisan synopses of recent, high-news-value public documents, then archived by jurisdiction and topic. Beneficiaries: Citizen stakeholders, non-profits, government, business, educators, students, media.
2) Media partnerships for distribution of Public Data Ferret news knowledge base material. Active, well-exposed member of Seattle Times News Partner Network. All Public Data Ferret material is linked to at Seattle Times online edition, sometimes on front page. Ferret material is also sometimes published through AOL’s online local newspaper network Patch, as well as independent blogs, and other newspapers (i.e. The Oregonian). Beneficiaries: Citizen stakeholders, non-profits, government, business, educators, students, media. Details: Section 3 and Section 1 at “Public Data Ferret In The News.”
3) Teaching online journalism skills and aiding in portfolio development for student interns. In summer 2011, three unpaid part-time news-writing interns from colleges and universities in Washington state were trained and produced a high volume of quality content for the Public Data Ferret project. The parent organization, Public Eye Northwest, intends to continue the internship program with new participants in the future, during the academic year and in summer, adding data visualizations, audio, video. Beneficiaries: Students, educators, citizen stakeholders, business, non-profits, media. Details: work samples of Melissa Steffan, Kyle Kim, and Andrew Taylor.
4) Guest author, thought leader and expert source on government transparency. Guest analyses have been published by PEN/Public Data Ferret founder Matt Rosenberg for Sunlight Foundation blog, Open Knowledge Foundation blog, Crosscut, Investigate West, Intersect. Beneficiaries: government, business, citizen stakeholders, media, educators, students. Details: Section 1 and Section 2 at “Public Data Ferret In The News.
5) Community collaborator, educator on government transparency, developer of civic capacity. Have partnered for public symposia, guest lectures, or special events with Washington Coalition for Open Government/Seattle Times, University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs, Seattle Pacific University, City Club of Seattle, Seattle University, U.S. State Department, and government communicators through Public Relations Society of America, and Nyhus Communications. Beneficiaries: visiting international public affairs master’s program students, NGO delegation from Ukraine, undergraduate political science students, government communicators, varied community stakeholders. Details: PEN community outreach work.
6) Social media curator of news and best practices on government transparency, “Government 2.0,” open science, freedom of press. Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Intersect. Beneficiaries: government, business, citizen stakeholders, media, educators, students. Details: MrDataFerret @Twitter.
7) Informal consulting to government officials on best practices in open government online, transparency. Local governments in Washington state, and Washington state agencies. Beneficiaries: government staff including communicators, technologists, agency executives, legislative aides.
8) “Open Science”/”Open Access” Initiative. At Public Data Ferret we’re continuing to build an archive capturing in plain language the published research findings of medical, scientific and public health researchers working at publicly funded universities in Washington state. We plan to grow these efforts, and to educate interested stakeholders on how to use the so-called “open access” journals where some of this work is found. We will liaise with public university research communities, public health agencies and related decision-makers to accent the importance of free public access to full text of online journal articles stemming from research at public institutions – in the sciences, particularly including public health and medicine; transportation; education; and other fields. Beneficiaries: citizen and organizational stakeholders, business, media, public officials, researchers, educators, students. Details: Public Data Ferret’s “Open Science” archive; PEN’s Guide To Open Access Journals.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
DONATE. We are a federally-aproved tax-exempt 501c3 public charity, meaning your investment in our work is tax deductible. We are also a Washington state-registered non-profit. Our continued work depends on community investment from individuals, businesses, foundations, and bequests. Please contact PEN’s Founder and Executive Director Matt Rosenberg – matt(at)publiceyenorthwest(dot)org – if you wish to discuss an investment. (Secure donations can also be made electronically, using a credit card, here).
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS. Arrange a facilitated conversation we will lead for a high school or college class; or community, civic or workplace group. Topics: digital literacy tools and techniques; or voluntary government transparency and the emerging news and information ecosphere.
CREATE CONTENT. Get trained as a contributor to Public Data Ferret. Or apply your video, audio or data visualization skills to any of the many public policy areas and communities we cover. We will provide guidance and oversight.
VOLUNTARY TRANSPARENCY. If you work with local, regional, state or the federal government and would like to open an informal dialog on improving your division’s online transparency, contact us.