Open Data in Developing Economies: Toward Building an Evidence Base on What Works and How

Recent years have witnessed considerable speculation about the potential of open data to bring about wide-scale transformation. The bulk of existing evidence about the impact of open data, however, focuses on high-income countries. Much less is known about open data’s role and value in low- and middle-income countries, and more generally about its possible contributions to economic and social development.

Open Data for Developing Economies features in-depth case studies on how open data is having an impact across the developing world-from an agriculture initiative in Colombia to data-driven healthcare projects in Uganda and South Africa to crisis response in Nepal. The analysis built on these case studies aims to create actionable intelligence regarding: (a) the conditions under which open data is most (and least) effective in development, presented in the form of a Periodic Table of Open Data; (b) strategies to maximize the positive contributions of open data to development; and (c) the means for limiting open data’s harms on developing countries.

Ania Calderon, Executive Director, International Open Data Charter
10/11/2017
“An empirically grounded assessment that helps us move beyond the hype that greater access to information can improve the lives of people and outlines the enabling factors for open data to be leveraged for development.”

Fernando Perini, Coordinator of the Open Data for Development (OD4D) Network, International Development Research Centre, Canada
13/11/2017
“This book is compulsory reading for practitioners, researchers and decision-makers exploring how to harness open data for achieving development outcomes. In an intuitive and compelling way, it provides valuable recommendations and critical reflections to anyone working to share the benefits of an increasingly networked and data-driven society.”

Samhir Vasdev, Digital Development Adviser, IREX
14/11/2017
This book offers practical, evidence-based frameworks to help us understand how open data efforts can be designed, implemented, and measured for meaningful impact. With concise language and clear thoughts, this book is an accessible, relevant, and honest read for a broad audience, including practitioners, policymakers, donors, and implementing partners. Anyone seeking to grasp the current state-of-play of the open data landscape, to ground their understanding in practical use-cases, and to move forward armed with actionable frameworks will find value in this book.

Amparo Ballivian
14/11/2017
The book is an important contribution to understand how Open Data supports economic and social development processes. It does so using real-world examples in multiple domains and geographic areas. By leveraging the power of demonstration effects, it is a highly useful addition to the arsenal of advocacy tools available to both development and Open Data practitioners.

Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations

Chapter 1
Introduction

Part I: Open Data For Development

Chapter 2
The Relevance of Open Data for Developing Economies

Chapter 3
The Impact of Open Data on Developing Economies

Chapter 4
The Impact of Open Data in Developing Economies across Sectors

Part II: Case Studies

Open Data’s Impact on Improving Government
Chapter 5
Burundi’s Open RBF
Chapter 6
India’s ESMI
Chapter 7
Open Development Cambodia
Chapter 8
Uganda’s iParticipate

Open Data’s Impact on Empowering Citizens
Chapter 9
GotToVote! Kenya
Chapter 10
Tanzania’s Open Education Dashboards
Chapter 11
South Africa’s Medicine Price Registry

Open Data’s Impact on Creating Opportunity
Chapter 12
Acl.mate Colombia
Chapter 13
Ghana’s Esoko
Chapter 14
Jamaica’s Interactive Community Mapping

Open Data’s Impact on Solving Public Problems
Chapter 15
Nepal Earthquake Recovery
Chapter 16
Paraguay’s Dengue Prediction

Part III: Conclusion

Chapter 17
Leveraging Open Data as a New Asset for Development

Appendix A: Input Received