The GovLab Index: Open Data

Please find below the latest installment in The GovLab Index series, inspired by Harper’s Index. “The GovLab Index: Open Data — December 2013” provides an update on our previous Open Data installment, and highlights global trends in Open Data and the release of public sector information. Previous installments include Measuring Impact with Evidence, The Data Universe, Participation and Civic Engagement and Trust in Institutions.
Value and Impact

Potential global value of open data estimated by McKinsey: $3 trillion annually
Potential yearly value for the United States: $1.1 trillion
Europe: $900 billion
Rest of the world: $1.7 trillion
How much the value of open data is estimated to grow per year in the European Union: 7% annually
Value of releasing UK’s geospatial data as open data: 13 million pounds per year by 2016
Estimated worth of business reuse of public sector data in Denmark in 2010: more than €80 million a year
Estimated worth of business reuse of public sector data across the European Union in 2010: €27 billion a year
Total direct and indirect economic gains from easier public sector information re-use across the whole European Union economy, as of May 2013: €140 billion annually
Economic value of publishing data on adult cardiac surgery in the U.K., as of May 2013: £400 million
Economic value of time saved for users of live data from the Transport for London apps, as of May 2013: between £15 million and £58 million
Estimated increase in GDP in England and Wales in 2008-2009 due to the adoption of geospatial information by local public services providers: +£320m
Average decrease in borrowing costs in sovereign bond markets for emerging market economies when implementing transparent practices (measured by accuracy and frequency according to IMF policies, across 23 countries from 1999-2002): 11%
Open weather data supports an estimated $1.5 billion in applications in the secondary insurance market – but much greater value comes from accurate weather predictions, which save the U.S. annually more than $30 billion
Estimated value of GPS data: $90 billion

Efforts and Involvement

Number of U.S. based companies identified by the GovLab that use government data in innovative ways: 500
Number of open data initiatives worldwide in 2009: 2
Number of open data initiatives worldwide in 2013: over 300
Number of countries with open data portals: more than 40
Countries who share more information online than the U.S.: 14
Number of cities globally that participated in 2013 International Open Data Hackathon Day: 102
Number of U.S. cities with Open Data Sites in 2013: 43
U.S. states with open data initiatives: 40
Membership growth in the Open Government Partnership in two years: from 8 to 59 countries
Number of time series indicators (GDP, foreign direct investment, life expectancy, internet users, etc.) in the World Bank Open Data Catalog: over 8,000
How many of 77 countries surveyed by the Open Data Barometer have some form of Open Government Data Initiative: over 55%
How many OGD initiatives have dedicated resources with senior level political backing: over 25%
How many countries are in the Open Data Index: 70
- How many of the 700 key datasets in the Index are open: 84
Number of countries in the Open Data Census: 77
- How many of the 727 key datasets in the Census are open: 95
How many countries surveyed have formal data policies in 2013: 55%
Those who have machine-readable data available: 25%
Top 5 countries in Open Data rankings: United Kingdom, United States, Sweden, New Zealand, Norway
The different levels of Open Data Certificates a data user or publisher can achieve “along the way to world-class open data”: 4 levels, Raw, Pilot, Standard and Expert
The number of data ecosystems categories identified by the OECD: 3, data producers, infomediaries, and users