Surge of support for transparency, says World Bank
Aid organisations argue against the publication of open data by reasoning that there’s no real demand for it – “no-one’s interested/no-one will use it”. In the past few months, we’ve heard the same argument deployed by both official donors and NGOs who remain sceptical about the potential benefits of the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI).
So it was good to see that argument firmly knocked-on the head by the World Bank a few days ago. One year after the Bank opened up its vast storehouse of data to the public, it reports that usage of datasets and indicators has tripled. Users have flocked in at the rate of around 100,000 a week to access its 7,000 free, searchable datasets.
Improving access to data has provided opportunities for innovation. The Bank has launched new applications and data visualisations. It’s also encouraging others to do so by hosting an “Apps for Development” competition.
No-one is arguing that open data is a panacea – it cannot, alone, guarantee good development outcomes, as the Bank readily admits. But the Bank’s experience nevertheless demonstrates that there is real demand for open data on aid and development. For institutions that embrace this, the results can be transformational.
We hope that the World Bank’s experience will encourage other aid providers to publish open data on their activities. This is achievable, whether they are official donors, NGOs, foundations or providers of south-south development cooperation. And we urge them to publish this information in line with the IATI standard. This will help users to locate their data and ensure comparability.
