Scan of the literature by Andrew Young, Stefaan Verhulst, and Juliet McMurren: This edition of the GovLab Selected Readings was developed as part of the Open Data for Developing Economies research project (in collaboration with WebFoundation, USAID and fhi360). Special thanks to Maurice McNaughton, Francois van Schalkwyk, Fernando Perini, Michael Canares and David Opoku for their input on an early draft. Please contact Stefaan Verhulst (stefaan@thegovlab.org) for any additional input or suggestions.
Open data is increasingly seen as a tool for economic and social development. Across sectors and regions, policymakers, NGOs, researchers and practitioners are exploring the potential of open data to improve government effectiveness, create new economic opportunity, empower citizens and solve public problems in developing economies. Open data for development does not exist in a vacuum – rather it is a phenomenon that is relevant to and studied from different vantage points including Data4Development (D4D), Open Government, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Open Development. The below-selected readings provide a view of the current research and practice on the use of open data for development and its relationship to related interventions.
Selected Reading List (in alphabetical order)
- Open Data and Open Government for Development
- Solomon Benjamin, R. Bhuvaneswari, P. Rajan, Manjunatha – Bhoomi: ‘E-Governance’, or, An Anti-Politics Machine Necessary to Globalize Bangalore? – a paper offering a critical take on digitization and transparency efforts, particularly in Bangalore.
- Rosie McGee and Duncan Edwards – Introduction: Opening Governance – Change, Continuity and Conceptual Ambiguity – an introduction to a special issue of IDS bulletin on open government for development.
- Open Data and Data 4 Development
- 3rd International Open Data Conference (IODC) – Enabling the Data Revolution: An International Open Data Roadmap – a summary report of the third International Open Data Conference offering a roadmap for leveraging open data for sustainable development.
- Martin Hilbert – Big Data for Development: A Review of Promises and Challenges – an article offering a conceptual framework on the opportunities and threats of leveraging data for international development.
- International Development Research Centre, World Wide Web Foundation, and Berkman Center at Harvard University – Fostering a Critical Development Perspective on Open Government Data – a paper assessing how the real-world impact of open data, particularly in the Global South, are or are not meeting expectations.
- Open Data for Development – Open Data for Development: Building an Inclusive Data Revolution – a report providing an overview of the Open Data for Development (OD4D) program and its early findings.
- Elizabeth Stuart, Emma Samman, William Avis, Tom Berliner – The Data Revolution: Finding the Missing Millions – a report outlining the challenge of using data for development when many people are not represented in official databases.
- United Nations Independent Expert Advisory Group on a Data Revolution for Sustainable Development – A World That Counts, Mobilizing the Data Revolution – a report examining the opportunities and risks for using data for sustainable development.
- The World Bank – Digital Dividends: World Development Report 2016 – a report on the use of digital technologies, including big and open data, to improve development efforts.
- Open Data and Open Development…
- Open Data and Development Goals
- Evangelia Berdou – Mediating Voices and Communicating Realities: Using Information Crowdsourcing Tools, Open Data Initiatives and Digital Media to Support and Protect the Vulnerable and Marginalised – a report exploring how crowdsourcing, mapping and open data can generate and publicly share information that could benefit vulnerable and marginalized communities.
- Michael Canares, Satyarupa Shekhar – Open Data and Sub-national Governments: Lessons from Developing Countries – a synthesis paper providing lessons learned regarding sub-national open data from the Open Data in Developing Countries research project.
- Tim Davies – Open Data in Developing Countries – Emerging Insights from Phase I – a report offering 15 central insights from 13 countries studied in the Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries research network.
- Tim Davies, Duncan Edwards – Emerging Implications of Open and Linked Data for Knowledge Sharing Development – a study and collection of case studies examining how open and linked data can benefit development.
- Tim Davies, Fernando Perini, and Jose Alonso – Researching the Emerging Impacts of Open Data – a paper providing a conceptual framework and comparative theory of change for open data, with a particular focus on developing countries.
- Elise Montano and Diogo Silva – Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries (ODDC): ODDC1 Follow-up Outcome Evaluation Report – a report summarizing the findings of a project on open data’s impact on governance in developing countries.
- Fiona Smith, William Gerry, Emma Truswell – Supporting Sustainable Development with Open Data – a report describing the the benefits and challenges of using open data to achieve the SDGs.
- Open Data and Developing Countries (National Case Studies)….(More)”