Event
The Power of Open Data: Moving from Concept to Action
by
Open Data Watch
11 February 2022
The demand for open data both raises the profile of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and brings new challenges. To respond, the U.N. Statistical Commission (UNSC) created a Working Group on Open Data in 2019 to look at how best to assess and implement open data in the context of collecting and managing official statistics.
On 10 February 2022, Open Data Watch, alongside Statistics Sweden, Australian Bureau of Statistics, and Stats New Zealand, hosted a virtual United Nations Statistical Commission side event, “The Power of Open Data: Moving from Concept to Action,” to report on findings of the Working Group to date.
Bringing together expert speakers from national statistical offices and development agencies, the event provided an opportunity to report on research in critical areas aimed to ensure that data collected and managed by NSOs can reach their full potential and benefit to society. Covering topics such as the “Open Data by Default” principle, Interoperability, and disseminating local-level open data while safeguarding confidentiality and privacy, the session presented best practices and paths to move forward from conceptualization of Open Data to implementation and action.
Specific questions explored in the session included:
- What activities and efforts are national statistical offices taking on to encourage and help create an “open data culture” within their country?
- What remains the biggest challenge facing national statistical offices in their efforts to implement “open by default” policies?
- How are countries balancing openness and privacy, both within their broader open data framework and within their local-level statistics publication efforts?
- What more is needed to mainstream open data into national plans, data governance processes, and results-monitoring?
Watch the full event below:
Explore the presentations
@ indicates the approximate timestamp in the video above
- @ 02:20 – “Opening Remarks” by Eleisha Hawkins, General Manager, Data System Capability, Stats New Zealand
- @ 06:30 – “The State of Open Data in Official Statistics” by Jamison Crowell, Open Data Inventory Manager, Open Data Watch – ? Slides
- @ 17:20 – “Open Data by Default: Implementing Stewardship into Statistical Practice” by Dominik Rozkrut, President, Statistics Poland
- @ 27:50 – “The Power of Open Data” by Satee Boodoo, Ag. Assistant Director of Statistics, Central Statistical Office of Trinidad and Tobago – ? Slides
- @ 35:40 – “What is the Role of National Statistical Offices in Open Data” by Modernization of the State Lead Specialist, José Antonio Mejía, Inter-American Development Bank – ? Slides
- @ 45:30 – “Local-Level Statistics as Open Data” by Marie Haldorson, Head of the Methodology and Architecture Governance Unit, Statistics Sweden – ? Slides
- @ 53:40 – “The Power of Local-Level Open Data” by Gemma Van Halderen, General Manager, Population, Labour and Location Insights Division, Australian Bureau of Statistics – ? Slides
