1

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Executive summary
Open data can make an impact across the globe. Its role in combating development challenges
of the next 15 years, both as a tool for measuring progress and in finding solutions, is becoming
more clear. As this paper will show, open data has been used to help plan smarter cities in Rio
de Janeiro, streamline emergency response in the Philippines, map the Ebola outbreak to save
lives in West Africa and help parents to assess school performance in Tanzania. Open data
can also bring significant economic benefits: it could be used worldwide to generate between
US$720-920bn in digital transport applications,1 and US$150270bn in geospatial technology. 2
In 2015, the United Nations will gather governments, civil society groups and international nongovernmental organisations (NGO) from around the world to decide on global development
priorities for the next 15 years. The previous eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have
guided global efforts to reduce extreme poverty since 2000. The next Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) will address major global issues of justice, human rights, social inclusion, prosperity
and the environment.3
Following the release of the UN Secretary Generals synthesis report on the post-2015
development agenda,4 this is a critical time for country governments, donors, business, NGOs,
academia and the open data community to consider how open data can be applied practically
in pursuit of the new UN principles, goals and targets.

While open data can be used to benefit many sectors, this report identifies three where it could
have a significant impact in the next development agenda and beyond.

Schneider Electric, Arup, and the Climate Group (2014) Urban Mobility in the Smart City Age

Oxera Consulting (2013) What is the economic impact of Geo services?

UN (2014) Synthesis report of the Secretary General on the post-2015 agenda: The road to dignity by 2030: Ending

poverty, transforming all lives and protecting the planet

4 Ibid.

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Open data can: i) more effectively target aid money and improve development programmes,
ii) track development progress and prevent corruption, and iii) contribute to innovation,
job creation and economic growth.
To achieve these aims the development community must address many challenges, including:
1. A weak enabling environment for open data publishing
2. Poor data quality
3. A mismatch between the demand for open data, and the supply of appropriate datasets
4. A digital divide between rich and poor, affecting both the supply and use of data
5. A general lack of quantifiable data and metrics
With these challenges in mind, the report sets out ways that governments, donors and
(international) NGOs with the support of researchers, civil society and industry can apply
open data to help make the SDGs a reality:
1. Reach global consensus around principles and standards, namely being open by default,
using the Open Government Partnerships Open Data Working Group as a global forum for
discussion.
2. Embed open data into funding agreements, ensuring that relevant, high-quality data is
collected to report against the SDGs. Funders should mandate that data relating to performance
of services, and data produced as a result of funded activity, be released as open data.
3. Build a global partnership for sustainable open data, so that groups across the public
and private sectors can work together to build sustainable supply and demand for data in the
developing world. The ODI supports the UNs proposal for a Global Partnership for Sustainable
Data, which should include data-users and the private sector to foster global technology transfers,
policy development and knowledge sharing.
This report explores how world leaders can use and promote open data to tackle global problems
post-2015. It does not evaluate specific SDGs, but provides examples of where open data is
starting to make a difference in cities and nations around the world. It draws extensively on
international open data case studies, the Open Data Barometer,5 a survey of open data policy
and practice across the world, launched by the World Wide Web Foundation and ongoing
research by the Open Data Research Network.6

Davies, T. (2013) Open Data Barometer, 2013 Global Report

Davies, T. (2013) Open Data Barometer, 2013 Global Report

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Table of contents
Introduction: why open data?

Open data and the data revolution: the story so far

What can open data do for development?

Open data case studies:

10

1. Protecting banana farmers livelihoods in Uganda

2. Using maps to improve access to education in Kenya
3. Helping parents to assess school performance in Tanzania
4. Exposing $62m in potential health savings in Southern Africa
5. Mapping the Ebola outbreak to save lives in West Africa
6. Monitoring child malnutrition around the world
7. Making aid more effective in Nepal
8. Holding the Global Fund to account for its health spending
9. Engaging citizens in policy-making in Nigeria
10. Shedding light on 84 million companies around the world
11. Tracking crop quality to boost food security and nutrition
12. Building smarter, more responsive cities in Latin America

Ongoing challenges and gaps in support for open data

24

The way forward for open data and development

25

Conclusion

26

About the Open Data Institute and the Partnership for Open Data

27

What do you think?

28

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Introduction: why open data?

Around the world, governments have recognised the potential of open data to drive development
and improve livelihoods. Open data is data that is made available by organisations, businesses
and individuals for anyone to access, use and share. By being available to anyone, open
data can be used by policy-makers, researchers, entrepreneurs, civil society, journalists and
citizens to improve service delivery, build new businesses or hold aid recipients to account
for resource allocation.
Over the past five years, national, regional and city governments have built open data platforms,
enacted open data policies and strategies, conducted open innovation competitions and
hackathons, and built capacity in open data and digital literacy. Alongside this, a number of
international institutions and NGOs have launched open data projects. In 2013, the Open Data
Charter was signed by G8 countries, setting out the principle of open by default,7 prompting
calls for a data revolution to take centre-stage in the post-2015 development agenda.8
Underlying these efforts is the notion that opening data can improve access to information
and transparency, which promotes better informed decision-making and accountability.

While the benefits of open data are relevant to governments the world over, open data can
make a particularly important contribution towards international development. Recognising the
potential for open data, 12 of the 41 national platforms for accessing open data launched by
2013 were created by developing countries.9 Regional and global institutions have followed suit,
with the African Development Bank becoming the first pan-African entity to provide regional
information through a central platform.10 As the international community considers what the
next global development framework will look like, open data is a central part of this discussion.
7

Cabinet Office UK (2013) G8 Open Data Charter and Technical Annex

UN High Level Panel of Eminent Persons (2013) A new global partnership: Eradicate poverty and transform economies

through sustainable development

9

Mutuku, L. & Mahihu C.M. (2014) Understanding the impacts of Kenya open data applications and services, iHub

Research, Nairobi Kenya

10

For example, the African Development Bank (ADB) has initiated the Open Data for Africa platform, which is aimed

at boosting access to quality data necessary for managing and monitoring development results in African countries, including
the Millennium Development Goals. See: http://opendataforafrica.org, accessed on 2014-12-22

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

The data revolution is still in its early stages, so the full range of impacts and gains from open
data are yet to be fully realised. Truly harnessing the transformative potential of open data will
require cooperative efforts of country and local governments, donors, global institutions, civil
society, academia, business/industry and the wider open data community.
This report examines what is possible in the post-2015 world to inspire and motivate leaders
on their open data journey, rather than evaluate specific Sustainable Development Goals and
targets. It provides examples of where open data is already making a difference in cities and
nations around the world, and draws extensively on the Open Data Barometer,11 which surveys
open data policy and practice internationally, case studies from the ODIs work and ongoing
research by the Open Data Research Network.

Open data and the data revolution: the story so far

In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were committed to by the nations of the
world as a new framework to guide development priorities until 2015. By 2014, enormous
progress had been made towards achieving many of the goals, in particular, halving the number
of people living in extreme poverty. However, progress has been slow other areas, such as
gender equality, maternal and infant mortality, governance and environmental sustainability.12
As the MDG deadline approaches, funders, NGOs, international government organisations,
governments, civil society organisations and other interested parties have joined in a global
consultation to define a new framework. This consultation process has led to 17 proposed
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide international development cooperation for
the next 15 years.
The data revolution has formed a central part of the post-2015 development discussions. It
was first identified in the report of the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the post-2015
development goals, in May 2013:13
New technologies are leading to an exponential increase in the volume and types of data
11

The 2013 Open Data Barometer report was a joint collaboration between the World Wide Web Foundation and the

ODI.
12

UN (2014) The Millennium Development Goals, 2014 report

13

UN High Level Panel of Eminent Persons (2013) A new global partnership: Eradicate poverty and transform economies

through sustainable development

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

available, creating unprecedented possibilities for informing and transforming society and
protecting the environment. Governments, companies, researchers and citizen groups are in
a ferment of experimentation, innovation and adaptation to the new world of data, a world in
which data are bigger, faster and more detailed than ever before. This is the data revolution.14
The revolution has been driven by multiple factors, most importantly the fast-growing quantity
of data that is being collected by corporations, governments, NGOs and individuals, and
new technologies which make it possible to better collect and analyse data. Many in the
development community recognise the need to measure development indicators more reliably
to be able to determine progress. This is driven by a push for greater aid effectiveness and
accountability from development programmes: requiring reliable, transparent data as evidence.

To enhance understanding of the data revolution, the UN Secretary General appointed an

independent expert advisory group to prompt a data revolution for sustainable development.
Their report, released in November 2014, calls on governments and the UN to enable data to
play its full role in the realisation of sustainable development by closing key gaps in access
and use of data.15
This means:
integrating traditional and new data sources to produce relevant information for many
purposes and users, especially to monitor development progress
promoting greater openness and transparency, while minimising inequality in data
production, access and use
encouraging more empowered people, better policies, better decisions and greater
participation and accountability
However, the report also raises two main problems in achieving this vision: a lack of high-quality
data, and data not being used or usable.
In response to this report and many other submissions from citizens and organisations, the
14

IAEG on a data revolution for sustainable development (2014), A world that counts

15 Ibid.

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

UN Secretary General released a Synthesis report on the post-2015 development agenda on

4th December 2014.16 The report proposes six elements essential to delivering on the SDGs,
to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. The elements have interrelating themes such as justice,
prosperity, dignity, social inclusion and environmental protection.17 While the elements provide a
useful lens for understanding the interrelated dimensions of poverty, there is still no agreement
on how to achieve the SDGs.
However, there is a stated commitment to more public transparency, information sharing,
participatory monitoring and open data. The report also calls for a global action plan on data,
including supporting national data capacities and a global partnership for sustainable data
to mobilise and coordinate actions to make the data revolution for sustainable development
a reality.18

What can open data do for development?

Open data can work as a tool for development in many different ways, from boosting aid
transparency to broadening access to education, as the case studies in this section demonstrate.
Following the release of the UN Secretary Generals synthesis report, this is a critical time for
governments, donors, business, NGOs, academia and the open data community to consider
how open data can be applied in pursuit of the new principles, goals and targets. This section
identifies how open data can be embedded into the next development agenda.

Informing evidence-based policy-making for better government

services
Open data can help to inform evidence-based policy-making and the design of government
services. It offers policy-makers a source of information to identify wasteful spending, better
target resources and design more responsive services. Although open data can be useful to
most services, to date it has been especially relevant in the areas of healthcare, education,
disaster risk management and transportation, as the case studies presented here show.
16

UN (2014) Synthesis report of the Secretary General on the post-2015 agenda: The road to dignity by 2030: Ending

poverty, transforming all lives and protecting the planet

17

Ibid. The six principles proposed by the UN Secretary General are: 1) dignity, to end poverty and fight inequality; 2)

prosperity, to grow a strong, inclusive and transformative economy; 3) justice, to promote safe and peaceful societies, and
strong institutions; 4) partnership, to catalyse global solidarity for sustainable development; 5) planet, to protect our ecosystems
for all societies and our children; 6) people, to ensure healthy lives, knowledge, and the inclusion of women and children.
18

Ibid. p38

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Open data can improve government services in three main areas: first, streamlining the
dissemination of information within government; second, providing better information for
policy-makers; and third, enabling the targeting of resources. By opening up datasets on a
central portal, government departments can share information easily and prevent silos from
emerging. Evidence suggests that where governments have introduced open data portals,
a large proportion of the views or downloads are from civil servants in other departments.19
Therefore, open data portals can quickly circumvent bureaucratic obstacles, and instead
provide policy-makers with immediate access to the relevant data.

Case study 1: Protecting banana farmers livelihoods in Uganda

Open-sourced, open datasets (gathered via Ureport)20 on banana bacterial wilt in Uganda
provided the government with real-time information on the spread of the disease. They were
able to quickly identify the most affected areas and direct the limited treatments for the
disease to prevent further advances. At the same time, they could disseminate information
directly to the public via SMS on treatment options and how to protect their crops. Within
five days of the first messages being sent out, 190,000 Ugandans had learned about the
disease and knew how to save bananas on their farms.21

19

Stott, A. (2014) Open data for economic growth. World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/

document/Open-Data-for-Economic-Growth.pdf, accessed on 2014-12-21

20

Ureports website: http://ureport.ug/about_ureport, accessed on 2014-12-20

21

Find a blog on the combating of banana bacterial wilt at: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/04/26/

open-data-can-transform-farmers-response-to-crisis, accessed on 2014-12-21

10

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Governments, NGOs and other stakeholders must establish where there is a need for services,
so they can determine where to target scarce resources. Information about water quality, police
coverage or concentration of resources against demographic changes, for example, is vital for
planners. If this data is released openly, all stakeholders can access and reuse it to demand
improved services, policy changes, or build on the knowledge about their communitys profile.

Case study 2: Using maps to improve access to education in Kenya

Visualising education data in Kenya revealed a dynamic picture of the state of schools, as
well as future opportunities for improvement. In a country where 50% of the population is
under 18, it is important for policy-makers to have access to accurate information about
access to education, literacy rates and performance across regions. A joint operation
between GroundTruth Initiative, Map Kibera, Development Gateway, Feedback Labs, and
the Gates Foundation, among others, has connected existing data to bring the informal
school sector in Kenya to light for parents, school leaders and education officials.22 With
open data visualisations, it is now possible to see where schools are located in Kenya, and
the percentage of children not in education, revealing areas of the population which may
be under-served and can therefore be targeted with better services.
Case study 3: Helping parents to assess school performance in Tanzania
Open data can provide an incentive for quality and performance improvements in education
by revealing patterns of sliding test scores. Shule.info is a website set up in Tanzania to
allow users to examine school performance, compare exam results (by region, or over time),
22

Hagen, E. (2014) Making education information available to all in Kebera, available at http://groundtruth.in/2014/07/09/

making-education-information-available-to-all-in-kibera, accessed on 2015-02-11

11

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and evaluate the impact of a huge drop in pass rates in 2012. Those schools performing
well can be identified to set the benchmark for best practice in the country. Conversely,
those institutions that are under-performing can be more easily identified and targeted with
support and interventions. Parents may also be more selective in their choice of schools.23
Open data is also being applied in emergency and disaster scenarios. For example, New York
has a well-established open data culture, which was utilised when Hurricane Sandy struck
the eastern coast of the USA.24 The experience also prompted the city to open up more data.
Meanwhile, Haiti lacked basic information and communication technology infrastructure, but
was supported by those who contributed to OpenStreetMap efforts to improve information on
Port-au-Prince in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. In the Philippines, the value of open
data was demonstrated by the response to Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. In many respects the
response to Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda shows how these forms of crisis response are maturing
quickly.25
Case study 4: Exposing $62m in potential pharmaceutical savings in Southern Africa
The Southern Africa Regional Programme on Access to Medicines and Diagnostics (SARPAM)
has painstakingly collected and published data on the price and availability of medicines
used by members of the Southern African development community. The study revealed
huge variations of prices between countries, with public and private sector health groups
in Southern Africa having the potential to save over $62m simply by switching to generic
medicines, and being charged the same price as other countries.26 If this data was openly
published, it would allow for the prices of medicines to be easily compared and savings to
be made. For example, Prescribing Analytics, a joint venture of NHS doctors, academics
and London tech startups used open data on the prescription records of family doctors in
the UK to reveal over 200m in potential National Health Service savings, where generic
drugs could have replaced branded versions.27
23

See Open Education Tanzania, on Open Knowledges Open Education Working Group website: http://education.

okfn.org/open-education-tanzania, accessed on 2014-12-22

24

Open Knowledge Blog (2012) Hurricane Sandy and open data: http://blog.okfn.org/2012/11/01/hurricane-sandy-

and-open-data, accessed on 2015-02-11

25

Ibid. See also: Open data in the Philippines: best practices from disaster relief and transportation mapping, on

Innovation is Everywheres website: http://www.innovationiseverywhere.com/open-data-in-the-philippines, accessed on

2014-12-22
26

Blog post: http://www.sarpam.net/archives/category/news, accessed on 2014-12-22. Database showing potential

savings: http://med-db.medicines.sadc.int/country-ranking, accessed on 2014-12-22

27

NHS efficiency savings: the role of Prescribing Analytics: http://www.prescribinganalytics.com, accessed on 2015-

02-10

12

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Case study 5: Mapping the Ebola outbreak to save lives in West Africa
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed over 9,000 lives to date,28 and the spread
of the disease has been difficult to track. Initially, maps lacked sufficient detail to show the
spread of the disease. The Humanitarian Data Exchange has sought to accurately map the
spread of the disease as well as where the treatment centres are, using OpenStreetMap.29
These maps can quickly show governments and NGOs where the disease is most prevalent,
and where new hotspots may be developing.

Keeping track: boosting transparency to help monitor progress and tackle

corruption
Without access to basic metrics, it is difficult to build an accurate picture of a countrys status in
order to improve programmes and demonstrate impact. Aggregating, visualising and publishing
baseline information is a critical first step for distributing resources equitably and efficiently.
Opening this data provides country governments, international institutions, NGOs, citizens
and donors with tools to monitor their progress against development targets and outcomes.
Case study 6: Monitoring child malnutrition around the world
Health inequality within many countries is becoming more pronounced. Malnutrition is one
area that requires access to subnational data to make urgent, well-informed decisions. A
global database utilising World Health Organisation data on child growth and malnutrition
is making subnational data on child malnutrition indicators available and openly accessible.
The database, published by the World Bank in Google Maps Gallery showcases sub-national
estimates of child malnutrition (prevalence of stunting, underweight, overweight, wasting and
severe wasting indicators) using the most recently available data for each country mapped.
Data is also available over a 10-year period to track how individual jurisdictions perform
against the national average over time and to reveal pockets of vulnerability.30 A particularly
beneficial use of this data would be to build a global subnational map of the prevalence of
underweight children that could be used by governments and aid groups to target nutrition
interventions to where they are needed most.
Having access to basic demographic data that is collated and tracked over time is especially
28

Ebola response roadmap: Situation report, World Health Organisation: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/situation-

reports/en, accessed on 2014-12-22

29

See the Humanitarian Data Exchange website: https://data.hdx.rwlabs.org/ebola, accessed on 2014-12-22

30

Sub-national malnutrition indicators for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, World Bank Group: http://maps.google.com/

gallery/details?id=z8hzujMV2-Do.kYtn9L0FoNyI&hl=en, accessed on 2015-01-22

13

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important to uncover patterns of inequality, and increase awareness of it in communities.

A recent study by Development Initiatives assessed the role of open data in the equitable
allocation of resources for the eradication of extreme poverty in Kenya and Uganda. They
found that although open data is a relatively new concept in both countries, it is facilitating
citizen engagement and driving demand for the release of datasets, which, over time, could
influence resource allocation.31 In Uganda, a joint initiative of AidData, the Office of the Prime
Minister and Renewed Efforts Against Child Hunger is using geocoding to map nutrition
assistance against nutrition indicators, such as prevalence of stunting, to measure impact of
development programmes.32

Greater openness around budgets, procurement, contracts and aid spending can lead to a number
of good governance outcomes, including greater accountability and reduced corruption. The
International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(EITI), for example, encourage transparency and monitor financial information on a global scale.
The former tracks aid spending, while the latter examines the disclosure of taxes and payments
made by oil, gas and mining companies to governments.33 The 2013 Open Data Barometer report
found that accountability was the most commonly reported impact by participating countries.34
Individual donors, government agencies, global institutions and NGOs are responding to calls for
greater transparency by making their financial and programme information open and accessible.
31

Lwanga-Ntale, C.,Mugambe, B., Nganwa, P. (2014) Understanding how open data could impact resource allocation

for poverty eradication in Kenya and Uganda

32

AidData (2013) Can mapping nutrition assistance help Uganda solve its malnutrition problem?

33

IATI website: http://www.aidtransparency.net, accessed on 2014-12-22 and EITI website: https://eiti.org, accessed

on 2014-12-22
34

14

Davies, T. (2013) Open Data Barometer, 2013 Global Report

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Case study 7: Making aid more effective in Nepal35

Nepal is currently focusing on building transparent and accountable public institutions
following a period of disruptive civil war. By 2013-14, foreign aid represented 22% of the
national budget36 and financed most development spending. NGOs, journalists and civil
society have demanded more comprehensive, timely and detailed information on aid flows,
particularly geographic information, to show where money is being directed.
In June 2013, the Aid Management Platform37 was launched by the Ministry of Finance to
assist efforts aimed at monitoring aid and budget spending. All NGOs are now required to
report details about their funding and programmes to the platform, building on civil societydriven open data initiatives including Open Nepals open data portal, Aid Snapshot, and
the Open Aid Partnership.
There have been positive indications of open data use: civil society organisations are using
budget and aid-related data to produce analysis for policy reform; development agencies
and NGOs use open government data for programme planning, monitoring and evaluation;
and the Ministry of Finance uses open data to formulate the entire governments budget,
helping to trace gaps between spending and output.
Case study 8: Holding the Global Fund to account for its health spending
An early application of open data has been the monitoring of aid spending, contributing
towards greater donor transparency. Aidspan is an international NGO based in Kenya,
35

Sapkota, K. (2014) Exploring the emerging impacts of open aid data and budget data in Nepal

36

IECC (2014) Development cooperation report

37

Nepals Aid Management platform: http://portal.mof.gov.np, accessed on 2014-12-21

15

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working to enhance the effectiveness of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria by serving as a watchdog of the funds programmes.38 It does this using open data
from the Global Fund to publish information, analysis and policy advice for use by policymakers, data scientists and health advocates alike.
Aidspan publications have covered topics such as procurement cost trends; levels of
donor contributions to the fund; the costs and impact of investment in antiviral therapy;
and the effect of investment in malaria treatment on child mortality. Impacts of Aidspans
work include informing Global Fund governance reform efforts, influencing the Global Fund
funding model, improving the quality and completeness of data through requests to the
fund for information, and exposing the misuse of Global Fund money.
Open data initiatives provide motivation for government and intermediary actors to improve
and harmonise internal procedures for creating, preparing and using data. Open data standards
may lead to improvements in overall data management and the ability to reuse off-the-shelf
tools, by providing a format and set of shared practices for collecting and sharing data. For
example, in Sao Paulo, geocoding of government budget and spending data by the Caring
for my neighbourhood project, has inspired discussion within the city government about how
to support more detailed geocoding.39

Creating new spaces for citizens to engage with governments

Opening data can improve policy feedback loops and create new spaces for civil society to
engage with government, even in closed political contexts. Increased availability of open
data allows researchers, civil society and entrepreneurs to access sources of information to
support constructive dialogue with government on improving specific services or programmes.
The Know your budget initiative in Kaduna state, Nigeria, allows citizens to access budget
data and feedback on it to their government.40 Open Contracting seeks to combat corruption
surrounding public contracting (including those funded by combinations of public, private
and donor sources) by offering people more information on their governments procurement
practices.41

38

Aidspan website: http://www.aidspan.org/page/home, accessed on 2014-12-22

39

Davies, T. (2014) Open data in developing countries: emerging insights from phase 1, The World Wide Web Foundation,

2014, 8
40

Department for International Development (2013) Thinking and acting politically: Supporting citizen engagement in

governance: The experience of the State Accountability and Voice Initiative in Nigeria
41

16

Open Contracting website: http://www.open-contracting.org, accessed on 2014-12-22

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Case study 9: Engaging citizens in policy-making in Nigeria42

Corruption, wastage and dysfunctional public services are major concerns for citizens in
Nigeria.43 In 2011, the Edo state government began implementing an open data initiative with
the support of the World Bank. The initiative explores new approaches to addressing budget
transparency, teacher absenteeism and urban upgrading through a citizen engagement
platform. An open data portal, data.edustate.gov, was launched in September 2013, the
first in Nigeria, and first sub-national portal in all of Africa. For the first time, the state budget,
including historical data, was published and made available online for citizens to access.
One year on, the portal is being reused by the tech community, media and civil society,
providing citizens with access to about 90 government datasets, including census, fiscal
and geospatial data.44 Other opportunities for participation have included hackathon events
and stakeholder roundtables, including with the extractives industry. With the support of
the World Bank, the next phase of implementation will focus on releasing new datasets
and data visualisations to draw value from existing datasets. Edo states experience is now
being used to inform future initiatives elsewhere in Nigeria.

Stimulating $13tn in economic growth, job creation and innovation

Transforming economies to boost growth and employment has been a major theme of discussion
on the global development framework post-2015. The International Labour Organisation
estimates that 200 million new jobs are needed over the next five years to keep pace with the
growing working-age population in emerging economies and developing countries.45 To date,
many of the benefits of open data for the economy have taken place in developed countries,
but there is enormous potential for developing countries to gain from similar approaches. Kenya,
which in 2011 became the first sub-Saharan African nation to launch an open data initiative,
estimates that opening up government procurement data and exposing price differences could
save the government $1bn annually.46

42

Bujoreanu, L.,Kaplan, J.,McNaughton, M. (2014) Open government initiative in Edo State: Fostering an ecosystem

of collaboration and transparency, World Bank

43

See Transparency Internationals article on Nigeria: http://www.transparency.org/news/feature/nigeria_corruption_

and_insecurity, accessed on 2014-12-22

44

Repackagers and civil society organisations reportedly using open data include Budgit, Connected Development,

and the Centre for Social Justice: http://www.opendataresearch.org/project/2013/unilorin, accessed on 2014-12-22

45

International Labour Organisation (2014) World of Work Report 2014: Developing with Jobs

46

Berkowitz, E. & Paradise, R. (2011) Innovation in government: Kenya and Georgia, McKinsey Quarterly: http://www.

mckinsey.com/insights/public_sector/innovation_in_government_kenya_and_georgia, accessed on 2015-02-10

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McKinsey has estimated the value of open data at $3tn a year globally, which includes the value
of new companies and efficiency gains in key sectors as such as education, health, agriculture
and energy.47 A study for Omidyar has set the cumulative value of open data to G20 countries
over the next 5 years at $13tn.48 A report by the World Bank, Open data for economic growth,
identifies several economic benefits of open data, including reducing the costs of existing
services, and supporting creation of new businesses, digital service and innovation.49

Governments are beginning to realise the value of releasing datasets which support business
activities, such as land registries, addresses of public and private institutions, company registers
and geospatial data. The geospatial sector alone is estimated to generate US$150270bn
of revenue globally, by providing digital mapping and location data services.50 In the UK,
data from the Ordnance Survey, the UKs national mapping agency, underpins an estimated
100bn per year of economic activity, for a production cost of 100m.51 Meanwhile, Norway
has introduced an open company register with strong uptake from the business community,
who use it to assist invoicing.52 An evaluation of the policy providing free access to Denmarks
address register found that 1,200 enterprises and individuals were consuming the data, with
an estimated financial benefit of 62m, compared to implementation costs of 2m.53

Corporate data philanthropy: exploring an emerging trend

A small number of companies have started opening anonymised and aggregated data enabling
others to analyse the data to derive policy insights or other public goods.54 In the Ivory Coast
and Senegal, for example, Orange Telecom hosted a Data for development challenge, which
47

Manyika, J., Chui,M., Farrell, D., Van Kuiken, S., Groves,P., & Almasi Doshi, E. (2013) Open data: Unlocking innovation

and performance with liquid information, McKinsey Global Institute

48

Gruen, N., Houghton,J., & Tooth, R (2014) Open for Business: How open data can help achieve the G20 growth

target, Omidyar Network.

49

Stott, A. (2014) Open data for economic growth, World Bank, Transport and ICT Global Practice

50

Oxera Consulting (2013) What is the economic impact of Geo services?

51 Ibid.
52

Davies, T. (2013) Open Data Barometer, 2013 Global Report

53

Ibid. See also: Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority, The value of Danish address data, 2010.

54

Term coined at the World Economic Forum in Davos 2011. See http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/02/wolfe.

gunasekara.bogue.data, accessed on 2014-12-22

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encouraged researchers and developers to use anonymised, aggregated data from their
mobile company to develop solutions related to transportation, health and agriculture.55 Some
corporations have voluntarily moved towards open and collaborative practices, but to improve
their reputation and, ultimately, their bottom line. Burkina Faso has implemented the Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), where companies disclose what they have paid in taxes
and other payments, and governments report on what they receive.56

Case study 10: Shedding light on 84 million companies around the world57
OpenCorporates is the largest open database of companies in the world. Running since
2010, the project has aggregated data for nearly 50 million companies in 81 countries and
aims to include every company in the world. The data, collated from government websites,
company registers, official filings and data released under the Freedom of Information Act
is being used by various people and organisations, from journalists to audit companies and
tax offices.
Open data published on the platform also provides businesses around the world with
intelligence on competitors, suppliers and potential collaborators. For journalists and civil
society, OpenCorporates also provides information to research companies, providing an
avenue for policy analysis and corporate responsibility. The World Bank recently recognised
the work of OpenCorporates at the G8, when discussing the importance of opening data
to tackle trade, tax and transparency.58

Predicting crop patterns and weather systems for improved farming and
food security
Agriculture is one particular sector where open data has great potential. As the World Bank notes,
open data and knowledge sharing can help farmers and governments in Africa and around the
globe protect their crops from pests and extreme weather, increase their yields, monitor water

55

See: http://www.d4d.orange.com/en/home, accessed on 2014-12-22

56

Ousemane, D., and Kluttz, C. (2013) Open Contracting addresses employment in the Burkina Faso mining sector

57

For more information see: http://theodi.org/case-studies/opencorporates-case-study, accessed on 2014-12-22

58

Anstey, C., Remarks at Closing Plenary of G8 Conference on Tax, Trade and Transparency in 2013

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supplies and anticipate planting seasons that are shifting with climate change.59 Farmers may
benefit through new approaches to pest management, for example, while intermediaries such
as NGOs or entrepreneurs who access this data can develop new derived services. Some
groups are already putting open agriculture data to use in analyses and visualisations. For
example, the Agriculture Market Information System, which is an initiative of the G20, uses
open data to monitor and analyse key markets for wheat, maize, rice and soy bean prices.
This information helped inform responses and quell panic surrounding the 2012 drought by
providing transparency around the food market.60 Meanwhile, the Arab Spatial Development
and Food Security Atlas uses open data to map land degradation, irrigated land, crop value
and other data across the Arab region.
Case study 11: Making data available to help feed the world
The Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition network (GODAN), of which the ODI is
a member, is a partnership of development, open data and agricultural actors calling for
institutions to open up agriculture and nutrition data, so it can be freely used to benefit the
agriculture sector and improve food security.61 So far, a variety of web-based portals, maps
and tools have already been built using publicly available data, such as the Food Security
Portal,62 which helps to track price volatility of different crops. The portal collects data from
various sources, including the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the
United Nations and others. It provides data and tools, as well as facilitating policy dialogues
and networks of members to design appropriate policies. Going forward, GODAN seeks to
create a high-level platform for policy engagement, and to reach out to the private sector
and innovation startups to foster collaboration on projects that use open data to benefit
agriculture and food security in the developing world.

59

At the 2012 G8 Summit, leaders committed to sharing relevant agricultural data with African Partners as part of

the New alliance for food security and nutrition. In April 2013, an international conference on open data for agriculture was
also convened, which resulted in several countries releasing action plans to make agricultural datastreams available to users
worldwide.
60

Abbassian, A. (2014) Quelling Future Panic Over Global Food Security, Australian Institute of International Affairs:

http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australian_outlook/quelling-future-panic-over-global-food-security/, accessed on 201502-05

61

GODAN website: http://www.godan.info/index.html, accessed on 2014-12-22

62

Food Security Portal website: http://www.foodsecurityportal.org, accessed on 2014-12-21

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Driving innovation, fostering startups and building smart cities

One of the most significant impacts open data can have is supporting entrepreneurship around
the world.63 Some of the benefits are being seen through startups delivering new data-rich
services and through existing companies utilising open data to improve their operations.
Open data supports a range of business activities and models, including:

Suppliers: public and private sector bodies who publish their data.
Aggregators: collectors and aggregators of open, and sometimes private, data.
Developers: those who design, build or sell applications.
Enrichers: those using open data to improve products or services.
Enablers: organisations that provide a platform or technology for open data users.64

With new businesses that use open data in these ways emerging internationally, it shows that
open data innovation can serve to create employment opportunities.
Open data can also spur innovation in the ways cities are planned and organised, enhancing
architecture, transportation systems, basic services, crisis management and the environment.
Designing infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing urban population, while ensuring
economic and social inclusion, is a major development challenge. By 2050, the urban population
is projected to increase by 2.5 billion people, with 66% of the global population living in cities.65

Different sectors of government, entrepreneurs and citizens can reuse open government
data to solve infrastructure problems, and construct new applications which can improve the
local and national economy. For example, in Rio de Janeiro, engineers and architects use
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data made available through a portal called Armazem
de Dados for strategic planning and developing commercial activities.66 A recent report from
Arup, Urban mobility in the smart city age, considers the opportunities for cities to improve
63

Davies, T. (2013) Open Data Barometer, 2013 Global Report

64

Deloitte analytics (2012) Open growth: Stimulating demand for open data in the UK

65

Floater, G. & Rode, P. (2014) Cities and the new climate economy: The transformative role of global urban growth,

New Climate Economy Paper 01, LSE

66

21

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their operational efficiency and traveller experience of transport systems, while generating
economic value. Arup estimates that US$720-920bn could be generated worldwide every year
by utilising open data to develop digital transport applications.67
The integration of open data with new technologies also provides new opportunities for citizens
to engage in decisions that affect their day-to-day lives, such as energy use and traffic planning.68
For example, the Rio Ideas and Rio Apps initiatives called for citizens to share their ideas for
how to improve the city, which were then successfully developed into demand-led applications
(see case study 12).69 Local governments in diverse areas, from Sao Paulo and San Francisco,
have introduced similar app competitions and hackathons to stimulate innovative, demand-led
approaches toward economic reuse of open data.
Case study 12: Building smarter, more responsive cities in Latin America70
Cities often represent the lifeblood of their nations economies, acting as hubs for innovation,
tourism, research and employment. Urbanisation is a global phenomenon, with 84% of
people in Latin America living in cities, according to the Open Data Research Network.71
In recent years, several cities throughout the region, including Buenos Aires, Montevideo,
Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, have begun to put open data initiatives into practice. These
will address a host of policy challenges such as increasing efficiency, stimulating business
innovation, and engaging marginalised groups.
In Rio de Janeiro, open data is being used to inform city planning, transportation and
emergency responses.72 Following flooding in 2010, where torrential rains left thousands
homeless, over 70 dead, and the citys infrastructure crippled, the Mayor determined that
the city needed a more resilient information management system to safeguard it against
future disasters. The Centre of Operations Rio de Janeiro (COR) was created, providing all
government departments with access to georeferenced information on issues such as the
position of public transport, tidal levels and traffic, much of which is derived from real-time
data. This data provides the basis for rapid decision making and coordination between
67

Schneider Electric, Arup, and the Climate Group (2014) Urban Mobility in the Smart City Age

68

For more examples of how big open data is being applied in major cities, see Hinssen, P. (ed.) (2012) Open Data

Power Smart Cities: How Big Data Turns Every City into a Data Capital
69

Matheus, R. & Maia Ribeiro, M., (2014) Open Government Data in Rio de Janeiro City; pp20-22

70

For more, see the ODDCs research project on open data in local governments of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay:

http://www.opendataresearch.org/project/2013/jcv, accessed on 2014-12-22

71 Ibid.
72

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departments such as police and health, especially when crises occur.

Recognising the value of this data to citizens and local businesses, the city decided to
open it: anyone can access data collated by the COR through a central web portal, Rio
Datamine.73 Rios municipal government has since hosted several hackathons, bringing
together CSOs and developers to create applications that solve social problems. Winning
apps include The BUUS which gives the location of the nearest bus and its current status
full or empty. The app has since been introduced to Sao Paulo, where it has become one
of the key applications for urban transportation. Another application, EasyTaxi, has recently
attracted financing and operates in 12 countries.74

Ongoing challenges and gaps in support for open data

Despite significant progress by governments at multiple levels embracing open data policies
and portals, substantial challenges remain to be solved before open data can be widely applied
to support development. From the available body of research, some of the ongoing gaps
and challenges which have been identified by the World Wide Web Foundation, Open Data
Research Network and the Open Data Institute, particularly for developing countries, include:75
1. A weak enabling environment. Low connectivity, scarce technical skills, weak legal
frameworks and political barriers can limit effective implementation of open data. The 2013 Open
Data Barometer report found that low and mid-ranking countries often lack the foundations
for effective publication and reuse of data such as weak or absent right to information laws.76
Introducing a law or policy of full disclosure is important, but is only part of a broader culture
change. Early reviews of an open local government data project in the Philippines have
found that other necessary enabling factors required include public awareness of open
data, identifying data user demand and building the capacity of data users such as NGOs.77
2. Poor quality, not necessarily poor quantity, of data. The low quality of published data
can often inhibit use of open data platforms and related applications. Missing data or low
73

Rio Datamine website: http://riodatamine.com.br, accessed on 2014-12-22

74 Ibid
75

See namely Tim Davies observations in Open data in developing countries: emerging insights from phase 1, The

World Wide Web Foundation, 2014

76

Davies, T. (2013) Open Data Barometer, 2013 Global Report

77

Caares, M., Marijoe, N., de Guia, J., & Jare, A. (2014) Opening the Gates - Will open data initiatives make local

governments in the Philippines more transparent?, Step Up Consulting

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accuracy of datasets is particularly a challenge for developing economies. Between 19902009, very few Sub-Saharan countries had data on all 12 MDG indicators.78 When data is
available, it is sometimes based on models rather than empirical observations or surveys.
Obtaining access to information on public spending and projects at the local level can
be particularly difficult. For example, an exploratory study of Kenyas experience of open
data found that issues of limited relevance, outdated information and a lack of readily
useable datasets was contributing to underuse of the central platform (opendata.go.ke).79
3. A mismatch between the demand for open data, and the availability of appropriate
datasets. Often the datasets released are those that are easiest to publish, not
those most in demand by data users. For example, land ownership records and
company registries are only partially digitised in many developing countries, despite
high demand for this type of information.80 Similarly, in the Philippines, citizens within
Bulacan province were most interested in datasets related to disaster risk reduction
given their vulnerability to natural disasters, but the data was difficult to find.81
4. A digital divide between rich and poor, affecting both the supply and use of data. In
some countries, data is not digitised or available in standard machine-readable formats82. Just
25% of countries surveyed in the Open Data Barometer 2013 report had machine-readable
data available on public transport.83 On the demand side, low internet connectivity may affect
access to information, particularly in rural or poor areas. Urban areas tend to have higher levels
of connectivity, but even there, only more affluent parts of the population may have access to
applications built on open data. In developing country contexts, traditional offline channels
such as community radio stations, poster campaigns and journalists may still need to play
a crucial intermediary role in promoting access to information especially for marginalised
communities.84 A related challenge is building capacity to make sense of open data, and
be able to use it, among citizens, national statistical organisations, and data intermediaries.

78

Data for African Development Working Group (2014) Delivering on the data revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa, Centre

for Global Development, 2014

79

Mutuku, L. & Mahihu, C. (2014) Open data in developing countries: Understanding the impacts of Kenya open data

applications and services, iHub Research

80

Davies, T. (2013) Open Data Barometer, 2013 Global Report

81

Caares,M., Marijoe, N.,de Guia, J., & Jare, A. (2014) Opening the gates - will open data initiatives make local

governments in the Philippines more transparent?, Step Up Consulting

82

If data is machine-readable, it might be in PDF documents, which humans can read, but machines cannot.

83

Davies, T. (2013) Open Data Barometer, 2013 Global Report

84

Davies, T. (2014) Open data in developing countries: emerging insights from phase 1, The World Wide Web Foundation

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5. A lack of quantifiable data and metrics. The MDG framework and global development
practice generally has sometimes found it difficult to establish accountability. This is partly
due to a lack of clear targets that include quantitative, time-bound benchmarks, clearly
defined responsibilities and enforcement mechanisms.
Addressing these critical issues in the next global development framework will help to realise
the many potential benefits of open data to promote development.

The way forward for open data and development

As this report has discussed, open data can provide a tool to both monitor and drive progress
towards diverse development outcomes, whether through providing information for nutrition
programmes or enabling entrepreneurs to access essential data for their businesses.
Regardless of the specific goals agreed upon in the post-2015 framework, the next development
agenda should request and rely on accurate, open data to assess those goals, and to inform
their solutions. This will require the cooperation of a multitude of stakeholders, including
governments at different levels, civil society, researchers, NGOs, technology developers and
corporate actors.
Any approach to maximising the benefits of the data revolution within the post-2015 process
should begin by applying the principle of open by default. This principle underpins the G8 Open
Data Charter, as well as the international Open Data Charter being formulated by the Open
Government Partnerships Open Data Working Group. This principle, and the commitments
that flow from it in the G8 and international Open Data Charter, offer a strong standard to
guide work in this area.
More specifically, the UN Secretary Generals synthesis report on the post-2015 development
agenda laid out several recommendations for use of data in development, primarily to launch a
comprehensive programme of action on data.85 Governments, donors and other development
actors working to meet the Sustainable Development Goals should:
Build global consensus around principles and standards
Use the Open Data Working Group in the Open Government Partnership as a global forum
within which to discuss and shape consensus on principles and standards regarding data
85

UN (2014) Synthesis report of the Secretary General on the post-2015 agenda: The road to dignity by 2030: Ending

poverty, transforming all lives and protecting the planet

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that advances or measures progress towards the SDGs. These principles and standards
should build on work that has been undertaken by groups including the W3C Consortium,
Open Knowledge, the World Wide Web Foundation, the Open Government Partnership,
Open Data Research Network, the Sunlight Foundation and the Open Data Institute.
Embed open data into funding agreements
Government data producers must be supported to ensure that relevant, high-quality data
is collected to report against the Sustainable Development Goals. Funders should mandate
that data relating to performance of services, and data produced as a result of funded activity,
be released as open data. This should be explicitly addressed at the Third International
Conference on Financing for Development in July, 2015.
Build a global partnership for sustainable development data
Groups across the public and private sectors need to work together to build sustainable
supply and demand for data in the developing world. The ODI supports the UNs proposal for
a Global Partnership for Sustainable Data, which should include data-users and the private
sector to foster global technology transfers, policy development and knowledge sharing.

Conclusion

Open data is a relatively new concept, but its impacts in broad areas across the world are
already beginning to show. The potential for open data in international development is significant.
As this report shows, open data is being used to promote aid transparency, with platforms
such as Nepals Aid Management Platform monitoring and sharing aid flows. Open data boosts
corporate accountability, with groups such as OpenCorporates tracking companies across the
world. It drives innovation in business and economic growth, with the potential to generate
an estimated US$3tr a year globally in business activity and efficiency gains in key sectors
as such as education, health, agriculture and energy, according to McKinsey.86 It streamlines
disaster responses in humanitarian crises, shaping maps used by emergency services in Haiti,
the Philippines and New York.
It is too early to evaluate the full extent of many of the economic, social and political impacts
of open data. But, following the promising progress that has been seen, much more can be
done to unlock the value of open data for development.
86

Manyika, J., Chui, M., Farrell, D., Van Kuiken, S., Groves, P., & Almasi Doshi E., (2013) Open data: Unlocking innovation

and performance with liquid information, McKinsey Global Institute, 2013

26

Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

In maximising open datas positive social, economic and environmental impacts, the global
development community must address many challenges, such as a weak enabling environment
and poor quality of datasets. Governments, donors and NGOs, with the cooperation of
researchers, civil society and industry, will need to embrace and promote open data in all
stages of development processes in order to make reaching the Sustainable Development
Goals a reality.

About the Open Data Institute and the Partnership for Open Data
This paper is part of a series produced by the Open Data Institute, as part of the Partnership for
Open Data (POD), funded by the World Bank.
What is the Open Data Institute?
The Open Data Institute (ODI) is an independent, non-profit and non-partisan company based in
London, UK. The ODI convenes world-class experts from industry, government and academia
to collaborate, incubate, nurture and explore new ideas to promote innovation with open data.
It was founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, and offers training,
membership, research and strategic advice for organisations looking to explore the possibilities
of open data.
In its first two years, the ODI has helped to unlock over US$55m in value through the application
of open data. With 22 nodes around the world, the ODI has trained more than 1,000 people
from over 25 countries. In 2014, the ODI trained officials from countries including Botswana,
Burkina Faso, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and the UK on the publication
and use of open data.
What is the Partnership for Open Data?
The Open Data Institute has joined Open Knowledge and the World Bank in the Partnership
for Open Data (POD), a programme designed to help policy-makers and citizens in developing
countries to understand and exploit the benefits of open data. The partnership aims to: support
developing countries to plan, execute and run open data initiatives; increase reuse of open data in
developing countries; and grow the base of evidence on the impact of open data for development.
The initial funding comes from The World Banks Development Grant Facility (WB DGF).87
87

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Supporting sustainable development with open data | Open Data Institute 2015

Under POD, the ODI has carried out open data readiness assessments, strategic advice, training
and technical assistance for low- and middle-income countries across four continents. One
example is our work in Burkina Faso, supporting the launch of their open data initiative and
providing technical assistance to construct an open data portal.
In 2015, POD will merge with the Open Data for Development (OD4D) network. As part of this
new, larger network, the ODI will continue to take a lead in supporting the worlds government
leaders in implementing open data, and in doing so will continue to publish practical guides
and learning materials, such as this series of reports.

What do you think?

The ODI will continue to explore ways to build on this paper, and encourages feedback and
comments from the open data and global development communities. Get in touch with william.
[email protected] to share your thoughts.

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