{"id":2021,"date":"2017-11-16T08:25:10","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T08:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/labs.webfoundation.org\/id\/the-future-of-open-data-and-the-openness-agenda\/"},"modified":"2017-11-28T08:30:09","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T08:30:09","slug":"the-future-of-open-data-and-the-openness-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/labs.webfoundation.org\/id\/the-future-of-open-data-and-the-openness-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"The future of open data and the openness agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

This post was written by\u00a0Carlos Iglesias<\/a>, Web Foundation Senior Research Manager and lead researcher on the Open Data Barometer.<\/i><\/p>\n

This month I\u2019ll be at the Open Government Partnership\u00a0Latin American regional summit<\/a>joining discussions about the future of the open government data agenda. One\u00a0decade into active work on open data<\/a>, the field continues to evolve at a rapid pace. As researchers, we need to be flexible and adapt to these changing realities.<\/p>\n

Open data is increasingly recognised as an essential part of\u00a0transparent and effective government<\/b>\u00a0and better government\u00a0service delivery<\/b>. It is also heralded as one of the building blocks for innovation \u2013 with a growing number of governments and companies using this data to offer new services or products to citizens.<\/p>\n

While the global open data community has made a lot of progress, it remains far from the original end goal of openness:\u00a0data for everyone; the data people need and data people can easily use<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n

Governments are stalling on open data<\/h3>\n

Our last Barometer found that\u00a0nine out of 10 government datasets are not open yet<\/a>, the data people really want and need\u00a0is still missing<\/a>, and the\u00a0data that is available is usually low quality and incomplete<\/a>. At the same time, we\u2019ve seen a worrying trend, that\u00a0the\u00a0\u201copenness agenda\u201d<\/i>\u00a0is being\u00a0rolled-back<\/i>\u00a0in some countries<\/a>\u00a0with governments uninterested in pursuing\u00a0openness<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0civic participation\u00a0<\/i>agendas. In other countries, many in the Middle East and Africa, open data progress has stalled or has yet to take hold.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is, despite some progress, we\u2019re a long way from realising open data\u2019s potential. Open data is still hard to find and use for policy, social good or inclusion. The community continues to struggle to demonstrate the positive impact of open data on good government.<\/p>\n

The open data community needs to\u00a0work together like never before<\/b>\u00a0to address these challenges and rethink the way we work. We need to\u00a0flag common areas of concern that threaten our field<\/b>\u00a0and agree on how we can move forward with viable solutions and approaches.<\/p>\n

A changing Barometer to meet changing needs<\/h3>\n

The\u00a0Open Data Barometer<\/a>\u00a0(ODB) team, with guidance from its\u00a0Expert Advisory Group<\/a>, has decided that some significant changes to the Barometer are necessary; adjusting who, how and what we are measuring to assess progress. We aim to keep improving the Barometer as a policy and advocacy tool, while ensuring its usefulness and sustainability. To do this, we will:<\/p>\n