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Harnessing Open Data to achieve
development results in Latin
America and the Caribbean
Open Data, the practice of openly publishing key datasets, especially by Governments, for anyone to analyse and reuse, has become a significant item on the global development agenda. The recent launch of the International Open Data Charter at the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Summit in Mexico City, underscores the commitment of a growing number of countries, multilateral development agencies, and major companies to the open data for development agenda. The charter enshrines five key principles that seek to foster greater coherence and collaboration for the increased adoption and implementation of open data around the world, anchored by:
• Principle 1 – Open by Default: A recognition that free access to, and subsequent use of government data are of significant value to society and the economy, and that government data should, therefore, be open by default, constrained only by applicable security, privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property considerations
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) -funded Research Grant - “Harnessing Open Data to Achieve Development Results in Latin America and the Caribbean (IDRC 107574- 004)”- was mobilised in 2014 as part of a larger Open Data for Development (OD4D) global initiative, and is being coordinated by the Mona School of Business & Management as a member of the Caribbean Open Institute. The scope of this project involves the conduct of rigorous action research to evaluate how open data policies and strategies can contribute to the Caribbean development agenda, through the following research goals:
• Improve understanding of the demand and use of Open Data for development in the Caribbean
• Support the collaborative development of products and services between government, civil society, academic institutions and entrepreneurs
• Promote the development and adoption of emerging open standards that enable open data initiatives to scale up
• Explore mechanisms for open data to address the needs of marginalised groups, focusing particularly on youth, women and urban poor
Insights from these studies are now being used to formulate strategic interventions in key areas related to one or more of the following developmental issues: governance structures, capacity/community building, standards development, and inclusion/cognitive divide.
Recognising Outstanding Researchers 2016