Article by Adam Zable and Stefaan Verhulst: “Non-Traditional Data (NTD)—digitally captured, mediated, or observed data such as mobile phone records, online transactions, or satellite imagery—is reshaping how we identify, understand, and respond to public interest challenges. As part of the Third Wave of Open Data, these often privately held datasets are being responsibly re-used through new governance models and cross-sector collaboration to generate public value at scale.
In our previous post, we shared emerging case studies across health, urban planning, the environment, and more. Several months later, the momentum has not only continued but diversified. New projects reaffirm NTD’s potential—especially when linked with traditional data, embedded in interdisciplinary research, and deployed in ways that are privacy-aware and impact-focused.
This update profiles recent initiatives that push the boundaries of what NTD can do. Together, they highlight the evolving domains where this type of data is helping to surface hidden inequities, improve decision-making, and build more responsive systems:
- Financial Inclusion
- Public Health and Well-Being
- Socioeconomic Analysis
- Transportation and Urban Mobility
- Data Systems and Governance
- Economic and Labor Dynamics
- Digital Behavior and Communication…(More)”.