@timdavies
@timdavies.org.uk
timgdavies
email
Tim has spent the last 20 years working at the intersection of technology, participation and governance as both a researcher and practitioner. From piloting digital tools bringing youth voice into local decisions, to developing data standards that enable community scrutiny of billions of dollars of public spending, or writing about the political dynamics of open data initiatives, his work has explored how shared social challenges need participatory, collaborative and collective responses.
Tim was lead for the World Wide Web Foundation’s Open Data in Developing Countries research network (2013 - 2015), and led development of the Open Data Barometer. He was co-editor of The State of Open Data: Histories and Horizons (2019), and founding director of the Global Data Barometer project. From 2015 - 2018 Tim was a co-founder and director of Open Data Services Co-operative, a worker owned team providing the technical backing to initiatives including 360Giving, the Open Contracting Data Standard and OpenOwnership.
Tim is a former fellow of the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and a senior fellow of the Datasphere Initiative. He is a graduate of the Oxford Internet Institute (Social Science of the Internet), and Oriel College, Oxford (Politics, Philosophy and Economics).
He lives in the People’s Republic of Stroud where he is involved in various Green politics, on the board of Create Gloucestershire, and a school governor.
Opinion
On 9th June the Prime Minister announced a skills drive on AI focussed technical/functional skills for students and workers, with the announcement centred on industry collaborations, and economic impacts of AI.
Drawing on inputs from a meeting of the Charity AI Taskforce, and from the Data & AI Civil Society Network, and with feedback from contributors listed below, we drafted an open letter to call for a greater focus of investment and action on scaling and sustaining comprehensive critical AI literacy programmes for all citizens.
The letter was open for signature over June, and has been sent to the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Science, and Secretary of State for Education.
A full copy of the letter can be found here and if you would like to receive updates on any government response or be invited to a follow-up online conversation, please complete the form here.
Over March 2025 we’re mapping out organisations and projects across the globe that are giving communities a voice in the governance of digital technology in public or private sectors as part of a rapid research project for the Open Government Partnership.
As part of our work on the Community Campaigns on Data: Campaigners Toolkit we have identified a series of case studies that provide an insight into how data is a key component of campaigns.
As part of our work on the Community Campaigns on Data: Campaigners Toolkit we have identified a series of case studies that provide an insight into how data is a key component of campaigns.
As part of our work on the Community Campaigns on Data: Campaigners Toolkit we have identified a series of case studies that provide an insight into how data is a key component of campaigns.
As part of our work on the Community Campaigns on Data: Campaigners Toolkit we have identified a series of case studies that provide an insight into how data is a key component of campaigns.
As part of our work on the Community Campaigns on Data: Campaigners Toolkit we have identified a series of case studies that provide an insight into how data is a key component of campaigns.
As part of our work on the Community Campaigns on Data: Campaigners Toolkit we have identified a series of case studies that provide an insight into how data is a key component of campaigns.
Late last year the team at Brickwall (who produced Connected by Data’s intro video) got in touch with us to ask if we might collaborate on a commission from the Local Government Association (LGA) to put together scripts for a series of videos intended to explain artificial intelligence. Drawing on desk research, interviews and a session at UK Gov Camp, we put together a proposed approach based on three sections: introducing AI, AI in Action, and Implementing AI.
Weeknotes
Need help?
Want to get involved?