by Jamison Crowell and Niklas Jutting
1 May 2020
Open Data Watch (ODW) began research in April for the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) 2020/21 and has published an updated Methodology Guide. In anticipation of the results, which will be published later this year, the ODIN website will feature some important updates. These updates will be tailored to enhance users’ experiences and better meet their needs. To determine these needs, ODW is surveying users to learn more about how they use the website.
The first round of feedback from the survey came primarily from national statistical offices (NSOs) and has given a first look into what recommendations may be implemented, including:
- Provide more guidance to NSOs on how to improve scores: Many NSOs are looking to improve the quality of the open data they publish and improve their ODIN scores, but have a difficult time translating their scores into direct actions they can implement. Some of the website’s updates will be designed to help bridge that gap. Have ideas on how we can achieve this? Fill out our survey.
- Showcase good practices: Even with more guidance on the actions countries can take to improve scores, specific examples from countries who are doing well can also be beneficial. Currently, the ODIN website only highlights top scoring countries with high overall, coverage, and openness scores. Updates to the website can expand this to include examples at the category or even indicator level. What types of good practices would you like to see? Fill out our survey and let us know.
- Provide more guidance on how to use the custom weighting feature: Did you know you can manipulate the scores on the ODIN website to weight certain categories, coverage, or openness elements more or less? If not, you’re not alone. Most users do not know that this option exists or how to use it. Updates to the website will include directions on how to use this feature and how it can be useful to do things such as find the top scoring country in Gender Statistics. What types of analysis would you like to use the weighting tool for? Fill out our survey and let us know.
Last year, over 6,500 people visited the ODIN website. If you’re one of them, please consider taking 5-10 minutes to complete the survey. We’re looking for feedback from NSOs, government agencies, researchers, students, civil society organizations, and anyone else who is interested in ODIN.
For more information about ODIN 2020 and past assessments you can visit the ODIN homepage.
