The Open Observatory

The VAD was conceived as a dynamic tool that supports users’ research and creativity. To facilitate the capacity of users to use the VAD for content exploration, to research topics and identify trends, the project will continue developing and integrating a “Dashboard Lite'' in the Open Observatory. The VAD Lite will include a selection of easily navigable widgets with preset topics. The topic presets, or set search filters will reflect themes of digitisation in the CHI sector. Moreover, they will help demonstrate the capabilities of the dashboard and serve as a case study for participants to find how to gain insights and where to continue their exploration. 

Currently, the Participatory Space is connected with the VAD, sending content to the webLyzard inDICEs content repository every time it is generated. This content includes new proposals and debates as well as the public comments created by any participant, which are then accessible for further content exploration through the dashboard. This communication is performed by the backend of the Participatory Space every time new content is created. In the other direction embedded visualisations accompany the creation processes on the Participatory Space, showing related content from the news and media domain, as well as from the cultural sector,  in the form of keyword graphs and a geographic map.