Open Data Watch is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization that works at the intersection of open data and official statistics. It monitors the accessibility and comprehensiveness of official data in over 180 countries and provides practical information and assistance in implementing open data policies and systems. The Open Data Watch team has unparalleled experience in development data and is committed to making open data a global reality in support of Sustainable Development Goals.

Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution

19/01/2016 – 23/01/2016, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland

​Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution is now a global imperative. This theme drives the design of the sessions, task forces and private meetings at the Annual Meeting 2016. The World Economic Forum​ Annual Meeting provides an unparalleled platform for co-design, co-creation and collaboration for global leaders from across business, government, international organizations, academia and civil society to advance multiple agendas…more ​

International Development: Ideas and Experience

15/01/2016, Bangkok, Thailand

​The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will host an Executive Secretary’s Seminar Series by Dr. David Malone on “International Development: Ideas and Experience”. Dr. David Malone will draw on the book International Development: Ideas, Practice and Prospects (2014)​, which he helped edit. He will discuss international efforts to promote development, which, starting in the early 1950s, were shaped largely by the ideas of the Scottish enlightenment. He will highlight that these ideas have been tested in newly decolonized and other developing countries, and found to be largely irrelevant to their local contexts. Building on this historical context, he will show that our wider thinking on development remains challenging, even today…more

Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Post-2015 Monitoring

14/01/2016 – 15/01/2016, New York, USA

​The United Nations Statistics Division​ is conducting the third meeting of the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for post-2015 monitoring (HLG for post-2015 monitoring), to be held at the United Nations-New York, 14-15 January 2016. The main objectives of the meeting are to: review the mandate and working mechanisms of the group; discuss strategic aspects of the implementation of a global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator framework, and discuss next steps in the HLG programme of work for 2016, including the organization of the World Forum on Sustainable Development Data …more

Accounting for the Informal Sector in SDG Statistics

11/01/2016 – 14/01/2016, Addis Adaba, Ethiopia

​As part of the African Project on ​the implementation of the 2008 System of National Accounts, the Expert Group Meeting on Statistics for SDGs: Accounting for Informal Sector in National Accounts will be organized by the African Centre for Statistics of ECA from 11 to 14 January 2016 in Addis Ababa. The purpose of the meeting is to (i) present the draft of the guidebook; (ii) share and exchange experiences and best practices of methodologies and procedures for collecting and compiling informal sector data; and (iii) share and exchange experiences and best practices on how to integrate the informal sector into national accounts. The meeting is expected to broaden delegates’ knowledge and help countries to improve the measurement of informal sector. Furthermore, the first draft of the Operational Guidebook on Accounting for Informal Sector in National Accounts will be reviewed and discussed with feedback on the follow-up revision and improvement…more

The Era of Big and Small Data

20/12/2015 – 24/12/2015, Pune, Maharashtra, India

​The 2015 International Indian Statistical Association Conference​ will bring together statisticians worldwide from academia, industry, government, and research institutes to explore the latest developments and challenges in the era of big and small data. Recent advancements in the fields of Statistics, Biostatistics, and Probability will also be discussed…more

Private-Public Partnerships: A New Data Source

17/12/2015 – 18/12/2015, Paris, France

​The OECD​ and PARIS21​ are hosting a workshop on Access to New Data Sources for statistics: Busines Models for Private-Public Partnerships. This wor​kshop w​ill bring together stakeholders from the commercial, non-commercial and public sectors and will start by reviewing opportunities, challenges and lessons learnt in using new data sources (telecom data, social media, sensors, credit card records, etc.) to enrich official statistics. The workshop will examine the specific aspects of access to such data…more​

Open Nepal Week Introduces Open Government Partnership

16/12/2015 – 17/12/2015, Thapathali, Nepal

​​​​​This yea​r Open Nepal Week brings together members of Nepal’s open development community to begin a discourse around the agenda of Open Government. The event will introduce, for the first time to civil society in Nepal, a globally recognized key engine for achieving effective and sustainable development – the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The event will also discuss the role of open government in successfully achieving the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), showcase the efforts of organizations working to promote transparency of Nepal Earthquake relief funds, and share findings of the research studies dealing with post-disaster response.​..more​

Innovative Data Sources to Manage Disasters

09/12/2015, Paris, France

The PARIS21​ event at COP21 on data for disaster risk management aims at addressing the role of new technologies and the use of innovative sources of data in the management of natural disasters and catastrophic events.To better manage disasters and their impact, governments and the aid community can increasingly rely on new technologies and new sources of data such, including mobile phones, drones, biometric scanners or wearable devices. Yet the increasing abundancy of information also creates challenges. To explore how to meet these challenges, our side event will look at recent country case studies and discuss them in a broader development context, putting particular emphasis on capacity building and zooming in on the experiences of national governments officials, experts and professionals from the field.​​..more​

Big Data and the 2030 Agenda

08/12/2015 – 09/12/2015, Bangkok, Thailand

The United Nations Economic and Social Comission for Asia and the Pacific’s (ESCAP) will host an expert group meeting on the role of big data in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’s goals in Asia and the Pacific Region. The two day expert group meeting will bring together practitioners at the forefront of Big Data research and practice to (1) develop a shared understanding on the challenges, opportunities and current state-of-play of Big Data for sustainable development policy; (2) determine areas of mutual interest as relates to Big Data and the Agenda 2030; and (3) identify creative-solutions and strategic directions for action using Big Data to support implementation, follow-up and review of the Agenda 2030…more