The Role of Open Data in Development

At the Open Government Data (OGD) camp this year, David Eaves, a Canadian open data and public policy activist, gave an excellent keynote talk highlighting some of the challenges that lie ahead in the world of OGD.

He made some interesting points which I’ll share and add to with a perspective from international development. In short: building international development open data portals will help to create a more effective, data-literate aid sector; openness fosters a culture of learning and improvement, and if you’re doing something interesting with data, talk about it.

We built libraries to help citizens become literate

Across the world, an increasing amount of government data is being released through online portals. Only last week, the UK government released details of all spending over £25,000. In due course, with initiatives such as data.worldbank.org, AidData and IATI leading the way,  good quality data on international development needs, actions and outcomes will become readily available.