1. Open Data A public good for the public good
Introduce yourself
We are here today because we have a common interest in using the tremendous store of knowledge that we call data to improve the functioning of governments and international organizations like the World Bank and to increase our understanding of the world around us.

2. A year ago we made data free, accessible, and searchable
We call it the Open Data Initiative. We made our databases freely available, but the work didn’t stop there. To make data truly a public good, we had to find new ways of presenting them and invite others to use and reuse them. We also had to keep finding new sources of information and help data producers improve data quality.
Let me tell you what we have been doing in the year since our databases went public

3. We went from this
Before April 2010, our data was available to 24 million subscribers, in a format that only a true data junky could love!

4. To this…
Now it is available to anyone with access to the World Wide Web, and that may be as many as 27 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people!

5. In five languages
The World Bank’s open data website is now available in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.

6. With more datasets
The World Development Indicators is the most sought after database, but we have added many other specialized data sets to the Data Catalog.

7. Accessible on new platforms

8. With new possibilities for collecting data
New technology provides opportunities for collecting new data in news ways – such as crowd-sourcing. Here, people in Southern Sudan are using mobile phones for real-time data collection on living conditions in an experimental survey.

9. Free for anyone to use
Our Open Data policy is consistent with Creative Commons and Open Knowledge Foundation open data licenses. That means anyone can use or reuse our data for commercial and non-commercial purposes. We only ask that they provide appropriate attribution – and, of course, we do the same for the organizations that provide their data to us.
Since our data went public, Microsoft, Google, and others have made it available with tools for analyzing and visualizing them.

10. There is still more to be done
But this is just a start. With new tools and technologies, Open Data could make a real difference in people’s lives……..

11. Robert B. Zoellick, 2010, Washington DC
The vision …
“A health care worker… in a village with a mobile device… can see what is happening to local health…. she can compare her village with others… she can upload her own data… and mobilize the community to demand better or more targeted health programs.”
Robert B. Zoellick, 2010, Washington DC
President Zoellick articulated his vision in a speech last fall at Georgetown University. But to make this happen we need to expand our data bases and the tools for using them.

12. We need local and geo-coded data

13. We need more survey data
Although there is a huge amount of micro data collected through household and enterprise surveys. But much of it never reaches potential users. Better surveys -- made freely available -- can be a powerful tool for improving government policies.

14. And administrative data
The administrative records of government ministries are a huge potential source of information – but not in this form.

15. We need to improve data collection
Vital statistics systems can provide crucial information about the demographic change and the health of people. Registration of births and deaths is also important for establishing citizenship and the political and economic rights that go with that. But few developing countries are able to maintain complete vital registration systems.

16. And train and equip statisticians
Data do not make themselves. They require skilled attendants! We call this process “data curation.” There must also be skilled analysts who can use these statistics to improve government decision-making

17. There has been progress
The World Bank, working with other multilateral and bilateral agencies, has wide ranging programs to support improvements in statistical systems.

18. Countries are making more data available
Evidence of new and more open availability of statistics can be found everywhere you look.

19. And access to data is improving
We have been working on new systems and tools for preserving and disseminating microdata. There are now 370 (?) survey databases from around the world available in our Central Microdata Catalog – but there are thousands more that could be included.

20. What’s next?
The World Bank, working with other multilateral and bilateral agencies, has wide ranging programs to support improvements in statistical systems.

21. Open Data involves everyone
Those who use the data:
the public, civil society, researchers, academics
Those who produce the data:
Government bureaucrats, international agencies
Those who set the policy:
support from the top
Open governments provide Open Data. But this doesn’t happen by itself. There must be pressure from above and below and in the middle statisticians and others who gather, clean, disseminate, and safeguard data.
Everyone in this room has a role to play in creating Open Data and Open Governments – whether you are a data hacker, a government statistician, or in a position to influence high level policy makers. Everyone’s effort counts!

22. One example in Tanzania: Uwazi
Local Involvement makes a difference: Here’s an example of how a CSO in Tanzania has worked to make budget data widely available. A lot of this is hard, tedious work. But it can make a difference.

23. Local involvement makes a difference

24. But many countries have weak statistical systems
We monitor and track the performance of national statistical offices to focus our support for improving statistical capacity

25. What are the problems? Lack of: clear mandate trained staff equipment
resources
a knowledgeable public
This is a picture of the central statistical office in Chad.
In many countries, statistical offices are underfunded and underutilized. They lack a support from above and cannot reach the community of potential users.

26. What more can we do together?
Remember the vision
Broad access to data that can be used to improve peoples lives
There are opportunities for partnership in:
Improving data access, especially at local level
Capacity building
Innovation, new technology, and new methods for collecting and using data
Wrap up.

27. Thank you