advocating for and with open data development data group

Advocating for and with Open Data

Development Data Group

What is open data?

How do you advocate for open data?

How do you advocate with open data?

Advocating for and with Open Data

Data doesn’t change the worldPeople do

Data doesn’t appear by itselfPeople make and curate it

Data doesn’t tell the whole truthData needs context

Remember

It’s data that’s technically open

You can search for it and find it easily onlineIt’s available in an editable electronic format

What is open data?

xls, json, txt, csv, xml, html,

doc, API, odt, ods etc.PDF, images (JPG, GIF, PNG), other proprietary formats.

It’s data that is legally open

You can use it freelyYou can re-use it freely

You can redistribute it freelyUse it for commercial and non-commercial purposes

It may require that you attribute the publisher when the data is used

All of the above should be clear in a usage license or terms of use

What is open data?

The main arguments for open data:

Transparencye.g. Who is doing what, where? Where does the money go?

EngagementLet others see your data, interact and provide feedback

EfficiencyLet others finds ways of improving what you’re doing

InnovationLet people do new things with your data

How to advocate for open data

Ask yourself:

What kinds of questions do you want to answer?

What datasets do you need?

What data is already collected and published?

How to advocate for open data

Find the owners and publishers of the data and:

Demonstrate the value of open data to youWhat are the questions you want to answer?

What similar things have others done internationally?

Demonstrate the value of open data for everyoneYou only have to open up data once.

A community of use around open data benefits all.

How to advocate for open data

What do you want to change?Have a clear issue in mind

How can change come about?Have a clear mechanism for change in mind

Who can help you bring about change?Understand your audiences and their capabilities

Data should support your messageData should not be your message.

How to advocate with open data

Percentage differences can be deceptiveFrom 2% to 4% is a 100% increase - it may sound more significant than it is.

Make sure your comparisons are validDo the numbers you’re comparing mean the same thing? e.g. GDP and GNI are different.

Be careful when visualizing dataGraph scales can mislead, chose right method, pie charts are rarely useful, avoid “chartjunk”

Don’t forget to consider and cite the data source Can you trust the source of the data? Where did it come from, how and why was it produced? People will trust your data more if you cite it, particularly if it’s a reputable source.

Remember basic data literacy!

1. An institution makes open data available online

2. Advocate transforms it into new form that people can better access, use and understand

3. People access information in this new form and take the action advocated desire

What advocacy with open data can look like

Represent Data in new ways

Put data into context

UK public expenditure open data

available online

Useful - but hard to engage with!

Put data into context

The same expenditure data visualised to give it more meaning

Put data into context

The same expenditure data

visualised differently

Put data into context

New ways of delivering data

Personalise your advocacy

Data relevant to an issue is often available at a local level.Present people with information that’s relevant to where they are.

Data support

• Metadata– Definitions– Sources

• Helpdesk – data@worldbank.org• Feedback directly from the site