28-29th September 2023
The United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Citizen Contributions to Data: A Conceptual Framework was held on 28 to 29 September 2023, in Copenhagen. The meeting was organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and hosted by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, as Steering Committee members of the collaborative on Citizen Data. The collaborative was established with support from the UN Secretary General, various member states and other stakeholders.
The meeting had three main objectives: reviewing and discussing a draft conceptual framework on citizen contributions to data, operationalizing this framework, and addressing challenges related to citizen engagement in data processes, including data quality, trust-building, and sustainability.
The meeting attendees represented a diverse group, including national statistical offices, academic institutions, civil society organizations, the private sector, regional and international organizations, and national human rights institutions. Meeting discussions emphasized the significance of placing citizen ownership at the core of citizen-generated data (CGD) development and the need to precisely define the scope of CGD.
The EGRISS Secretariat and several members actively participated, stressing the importance of adopting an inclusive CGD definition that encompasses forcibly displaced and stateless individuals. Currently, the Secretariat is planning to join the CGD collaborative initiative and is working to develop a CGD case study for inclusion in the conceptual framework draft. The final framework is planned to be submitted to the United Nations Statistical Commission in March 2025.
