Open Data Watch (ODW) – Our Story in 2017
Having just crossed the threshold of a new year, we take a moment to reflect on the previous year. We have much success to build on, and face a world where open data is more needed than ever before. In an era of fake news and alternative facts affecting discourse around the world, official statistics that are accessible and suitable to the needs of policy-makers and citizens alike are crucial. And 2018 will see our work continue and grow to promote data openness and completeness.
While our focus in 2017 remained on measuring and monitoring adoption of open data in national statistical offices (NSOs), 2017 has been an exceptional year for raising the level of open data discussions. The key note address at the UN Statistics Commission’s seminar on the “Understanding the Future of Open Data” provided an opportunity to share our point of view. We were pleased to see high-level excitement about the topic and many NSOs showing support for open data. The outcome of that session led to the decision to select open data for a more detailed discussion at the 48th session of the commission in March 2018. This will be the first time the subject of open data has been placed on the agenda of the UN Statistical commission as a standalone item. This marks a turning point for ODW, which will impact our work from 2018 onwards as policies and standards are formalized and more countries adopt open data practices.
In 2017, we also played a significant role in the research and publication of influential policy reports. Working with colleagues in PARIS21 and the OECD Development Assistance Committee, we co-authored two chapters in the annual Development Co-operation Report, this year on the topic “Data for Development.” This work led us to do more research on barriers to countries’ statistical capacity, the status of funding for data, and the state of innovation and adoption of policies in NSOs. Also, as the co-chair and member of the Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (TReNDS), we participated in the research and publication of the Counting on the World report.
One year after the launch of our flagship product, the Open Data Inventory (ODIN), we published scores on the coverage and openness of official statistics for a total of 173 countries, including 48 new countries. For the next round of ODIN, to be published in February 2018, we expanded the assessments to 180 countries, covering 99 percent of the world’s population. Building on the success of partnerships formed last year, we increased outreach to countries and established new relationships with NSOs. Forty-eight countries provided links to data for consideration as part of the review process. And in addition to building new partnerships with countries, we have also initiated new and deeper partnerships with other organizations.
OUR PROJECTS
The intersection of open data and official statistics remained the core focus of ODW in 2017. ODIN continues to be our flagship product, but we have been active in researching gender data availability and gaps, building partnerships, and providing technical advice to strengthen statistical systems. Below are some highlights of our work.
The Open Data Inventory
- ODIN 2016 launched on 27 February – prior to the 48th session of the UN Statistical Commission – provides detailed scores on the coverage and openness of official statistics for 173 countries. These scores identify gaps and barriers to the access and use of official statistics.
- The ODIN 2016 Report, summarizing findings and methods, was disseminated to national statistical offices, country-level media, and other global journalists and bloggers focused on open data.
- ODIN 2017 research began on 31 May with an expanded list of 180 countries and refined methodology. Methodology changes included the introduction of a new data category for crime statistics, new indicators for existing data categories, and minor adjustments to scoring criteria.
- In the 2017 round of ODIN, Open Data Watch invited countries to participate in the NSO review process, seeking their inputs. As part of the process, NSOs were able to suggest datasets for the ODIN team to review. Sixty-five NSOs initially agreed to participate, of which, 48 were able to provide feedback.
Gender Data
- In close partnership with our sister organization Data2X, the Ready to Measure (R2M): Phase II Indicators Available to Monitor SDG Gender Targets report was launched in September 2017 in advance of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. This report shares findings on data availability and gaps of gender data and highlights key policy-lessons.
- An online data query tool was developed to facilitate access to a database of the available R2M indicators. The data query tool allows visitors to make custom selections and download data in open formats for the indicators, countries, years, and sex-disaggregation options most relevant to their needs.
- Partnering with Tableau, we learned a great deal about data visualization and created an interactive visualization of gender data to facilitate access and analysis of R2M health indicators for women and girls.
- Working alongside our gender-data partner, Data2X, we began desk research that informed the recently launched call for gender data impact stories. We hosted two summer interns to assist our team in documenting and identifying examples of gender data leading to impact.
- We developed the concept of a data value chain as a framework for visualizing and analyzing the life cycle of data as it increases in value. Although the value chain can be applied to all types of data, we developed it specifically to support our forthcoming research on collecting and documenting gender-data impact stories.
- We discussed gender data at many events, including:
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- United Nations World Data Forum, South Africa, 15-18 January.
- GPSDD High Level Meeting on Data for Development in Africa, Kenya, 29-30 June.
- Sixth Meeting of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on the Sustainable Development Goals (IAEG-SDGs), Bahrain, 12-13 November.
- Q-Step “Go Figure!”, United Kingdom, 15 November.
- Global Digital Health Forum: Towards Closing the Gender Gap in Data and Digital Health: Lessons Learned from the Field, United States, 15 December.
Partnerships
- We continue to be an active partner in the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD). We remain involved in the technical advisory group as well as important, upcoming projects on financing for data, the value of data, and interoperability.
- PARIS21 remains an important partner for us. In 2017, we expanded areas of collaboration, working on new approaches to capacity development and participating in the PARIS21 task force on this topic.
- In collaboration with AidData and PARIS21, we began a project in late 2017 to collect information on the barriers faced by national statistical offices in their efforts to disseminate and promote use of official statistics.
- With AidData we will conduct a targeted snap poll of leaders of national statistical offices and select government ministries in low- and middle-income countries.
- With PARIS21, we will complement survey data with usage statistics from national data portals or NSO websites.
- In partnership, throughout the year, ODW has made contributions to several key international reports, including:
- Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), Counting on the World.
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Development Co-operation Report (Chapters 3 and 4).
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Harnessing the Data Revolution to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
- As part of building and strengthening partnerships, we attended many international events, including:
- United Nations World Data Forum, South Africa, 15-18 January.
- 48th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC), United States, 7-10 March.
- National Data Roadmap Forum, Ghana, 5-6 April.
- PARIS21 Annual Meeting, France, 5-6 April.
- OD4D: A Conversation with Fernando Perini, United States, 23 May.
- GPSDD High Level Meeting on Data for Development in Africa, Kenya, 29-30 June.
- United Nations High-Level Political Forum, United States, 10-17 July.
- 61st World Statistics Congress, Morocco, 16-21 July.
- Using Data and Technology to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: Tackling Global Threats and Ensuring a Better Future for Us All, United States, 19 September.
- UN International Seminar on Open Data for SDGs, South Korea, 25-27 September.
- International Conference on SDG Statistics, Philippines, 4-6 October.
- World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings, United States, 13-15 October.
- Sixth meeting of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs), Bahrain, 11-14 November.
- PARIS21 and UNDP Capacity Development 4.0 Workshop, France, 11-12 December.
Technical Assistance
- ODW has engaged with several NSOs, including Ecuador and the United Arab Emirates, to provide advice on how to improve the coverage and openness of official statistics available through their NSO websites.
- We engaged with Ecuador’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC), and as a result, the NSO improved its website by publishing data in machine readable, nonproprietary formats, along with providing weblinks to ministry data.
- Prior to its release, ODW provided feedback to the UAE Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority on improving the openness of their new data portal.
- Throughout the year, ODW has also responded to calls for help with peer reviews of technical material and policy recommendations in various reports. We also have helped our partners brainstorm on new approaches through formal and informal conversations. Additionally, we have chaired discussions on these reports and assisted with dissemination events.
- The PARIS21 NSDS Guidelines were updated in 2017, and as part of this process, ODW helped draft new text for the chapter on open data and assembled a list of resources to accompany the chapter. This work began in 2016, but was ultimately published in 2017.
- In 2017, ODIN and PARIS21 held a workshop for Jamaican officials to build capacity and momentum for the creation of their first national strategy for the development of statistics. The workshop hosted approximately 45 officials from Jamaica’s NSO, Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), and other agencies that produce statistics including the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, Ministry of Education, Youth, and Information, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and representatives from UNDP, the Caribbean Development Bank, and UNICEF. The feedback from this work has been positive and we hope to participate in similar workshops to provide training on the areas of our expertise for monitoring and measuring open data work in NSOs.
Our Partners and Friends
We worked with many amazing organizations in 2017, conducting research, producing reports, and hosting events. We’d like to extend a special thank you to these organizations for joining us in such a successful year. And we look forward to future collaboration.
AidData
Center for Open Data Enterprise
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Cepei
Data2X
Development Gateway
Forum One
Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
Centre of Excellence for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Systems
International Open Data Conference (IODC)
Open Data Charter
Open Data for Development (OD4D)
Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (TReNDS)
The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21)
World Bank
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
United Nations Statistics Division
UN Women
THANKS TO ALL OUR PARTNERS FOR MAKING 2017 A GREAT YEAR!
