Prefiguration group of the International Observatory on Information and Democracy (OID)

Enable the constitution of the IPCC of information and communication

In order to find appropriate responses to the information chaos, society as a whole must have a common and shared understanding of the situation and the stakes. Similar to the IPCC for climate change, the International Observatory on Information and Democracy seeks to enable States, stakeholders and the entire society to have a periodic and complete overview of the situation by aggregating all scientific results.

The prefiguration group of the International Observatory on Information and Democracy (OID), composed of recognized personalities from the world of research and international governance, was tasked to specify the objectives, methodology and means of this Observatory.

Following this thorough feasibility assessment, this group is meant to continue to play a crucial role in the build out of this intitiative by becoming a Nomination Committee for the Observatory’s inaugural Steering Committee in 2023.

The Observatory will allow a necessary global evaluation of the digital space in order to feed the global reflection on the regulation of the digital space and to respond effectively to the challenges of new technologies.

Report

On the occasion of the second Summit for Information and Democracy held on 22 September 2022, the Forum published the report of the prefiguration group entitled “Observatory on Information and Democracy – Feasibility study”. The report was presented to the States of the International Partnership for Information and Democracy during the Summit. Based on the contribution of international experts, it defines the objectives, working methodology and means of the Observatory.

Read the report

Scope

Chapter 1

Objectives of the Observatory

Define the general and specific objectives of the Observatory so that it responds to the needs in a relevant way, including the main fields and levels of evaluation, the phenomena and their causes, the related effects and risks, and the structure of the report.

Define recommendations on how the OID can structure exchanges between States, digital platforms and the research community.

Chapter 2

Methodology of the Observatory

Produce recommendations on OID’s methodology, considering that it will be based on a meta-analysis of the information space, i.e., on an aggregation and synthesis of all available research and data.

Define the research areas within the scope of this meta-analysis and how it will be cross-referenced with data on democratic developments

Chapter 3

Means of the Observatory

The working group will assess the human, technical and financial needs for OID’s activities. It will make recommendations on the skills to be integrated into the Observatory, the technical means necessary for the evaluation of the information and communication space and the analysis of data (computer infrastructure, hardware, software, secure collaborative work environment, etc.).