The Global Data Barometer (GDB), which we refer to as “The Barometer” is a tool that seeks to measure the state of data around the world.
Our goal is to provide longitudinal data that can drive policy making, open dialogue, and further empirical research.
Highlights of the Barometer findings are available in this blog. The blog shares highlights and a comparison of the significant data availability gaps within a range of thematic areas.
Some snapshots:
- Developing and using data for the public good is possible. As mentioned, virtually all the norms established by the Barometer are, in theory, attainable today, however the scores show us that there is still a long way to go.
- Also, when thinking about open data, still a key component of these measurements, we could say that the Open data agenda is still alive, but no longer progressing in a linear way. It is not increasing at the same rate that it was a few years ago.
- In that sense, although new national open data initiatives have launched since 2016, others have disappeared completely. However, in those instances where initiatives have been sustained, they are often now better resourced and more embedded than they were in the past, and open data principles have been embedded in a number of sectoral initiatives.
- Capacity gaps (skills, training, infrastructure) remain a significant barrier to delivering value from data. While the digital divide may be narrowing in some places, gaps still exist across government, the private sector, and civil society in their ability to create and use data for the public good.
- Another key takeaway is that well-drafted frameworks deliver better data. When rules are explicit about data collection, management, and sharing, data is much more likely to be available, useful, and sustainable in addressing any number of issues for the public good.
A number of knowledge products have been developed from the Barometer by the GDB team, our regional partners, and thematic partners.
The Implementation of Access to Information Legislation in Latin America: what does the Global Data Barometer show? report by Dr. Silvana Fumega delves into the vital role of oversight bodies in ensuring the proper implementation of the right RTI (right of access to public information) as well as examine the results of the Global Data Barometer and the two indicators that evaluate the implementation of these laws provide, with a specific focus on data relevant to Latin America.
A few examples from our thematic partners:
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) Broken Links: Open Data to Advance Accountability and Combat Corruption report offers an overview of the state of open data against political corruption in OGP countries. Using new data from the GDB, the report explores trends across nine policy areas, identifies areas for improvement, and provides recommendations for future OGP commitments.
The Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) guide on Fulfilling the promise of e-procurement reform: Lessons from 5 African countries. Highlighting key insights from the GDB public procurement module, the guide encourages digitizing of the entire procurement process through an electronic government procurement (e-GP) system.
The Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) guide aims to facilitate understanding and use of the GDB public finance module. The Global Data Barometer’s Public Finance Module step-by-step guide will take you from downloading the database to answering specific concerns from stakeholders such as government officials, legislators, journalists, the organized civil society, academics, students, data enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the power of public financial data for the public good.
The Land Portal Foundation has hosted a number of events to discuss insights from the GDB land module. The insights have been shared in blog posts and the advance chapter on land data and development for the second edition of the State of Open Data.
The Reform Space to Watch blog series was authored using the GDB findings included in the OGP Broken Links report in consultation with Transparency International chapters in Kenya, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.
The GDB is a multi-dimensional and multi-layered study. You may explore and view the data globally, through thematic issues as well as on a country-level. Within the country data, you may further explore the state of data in accordance to the following pillars:
1. Governance —We survey the policies in place to enable a trustworthy public data ecosystem.
2. Capability — We map the capabilities of governments, civil society, and the private sector to collect, manage, share, and use data.
3. Data availability—We assess the availability, openness, and features of a wide range of public datasets, seeking to understand the state of national and sub-national data
4. Use and impact—We find evidence on the extent to which data is being used to deliver social goods, meet grand challenges, and navigate risks.
You can also explore the data through two types of modules: the core modules and thematic modules.
Core modules correspond to data governance and capability, two out of four of the Barometer’s main pillars. These modules contain indicators designed to provide a country level assessment of two of the most critical issue areas for developing an effective data ecosystem. Additional indicators on governance and capability in the thematic modules complement these core modules. The other two pillars of the Barometer, availability and use and impact, are assessed through the thematic modules.
Thematic modules investigate the interaction of governance, capability, availability, and use in specific domains or public policy areas. Five thematic modules examine data for the public good related to money, property, and power; these five are organized around:
- Company information;
- Land;
- Political integrity;
- Public finance;
- Public procurement.
While each of these have their own data particularities, they intersect with regard to anti-corruption, integrity, and accountability. In these thematic modules we ask a mixture of questions related to the four pillars of the Barometer.
Our other two thematic modules, climate action and health & COVID-19, are areas that are globally urgent, but often lack open and locally relevant data.
A number of our thematic modules are developed with partners who work on data in a particular sector. Our partners lend their expertise to our modules, while our survey development ensures that the data we have can be used to support governments and other stakeholders for reforms that can improve data governance, capability, availability, and use for the public good.
The Global Data Barometer was inspired by its predecessor, The Open Data Barometer. While the Open Data Barometer focused on improving the availability and impact of open dataset, the Global Data Barometer recognises a more complex landscape—one where policy must combine good governance of data with ongoing efforts to promote data re-usability, and to secure the benefits that open public data infrastructures can bring.
One of our goals is to provide policymakers, advocates, academics, journalists and people in the private sector with tools to navigate the data landscape through the four pillars or areas our study covers:
- governing data for the public good
- equipping a country to use data for the public good
- providing data for the public good
- using data for the public good
Our working definition of public good directly references these pillars, recognising that public good itself should be understood as a dynamic and democratic concept.
Data is a source of power. It can be exploited for private gain, and used to limit freedom, or it can be deployed and governed for the public good: a resource for tackling health, social and environmental challenges, enabling collaboration, driving innovation and improving accountability.
What constitutes the public good can ultimately be determined through open public debate. Different ‘publics’ may have different priorities at different times.
Ensuring that data is a resource for the public good involves a variety of interventions, depending both on the data in question, and the wider context.
We draw on established global principles, and in particular on the Sustainable Development Goals, the international human rights framework to give context to the idea of the public good used within the Global Data Barometer’s first edition.
Three key elements of the GDB set it apart:
- Our primary data collection—we work with a network of independent expert researchers across more than 100 countries and complement with government surveys and secondary data.
- Our global lens—we work to capture insights and bright spots from across the world, and to ensure full representation of low- and middle-income countries in both the design of our methodology and the collected data.
- Our specific focus on data—we address gaps in existing work that make it difficult to assess the extent to which countries are establishing data infrastructures that can support the public good.
On this last point, our goal is to build on and extend existing work.
The value that the Global Data Barometer adds is to ask specifically about data. We answer questions about the governance, capability, availability and use of said data. Wherever possible, we take these existing studies as our starting point and then layer analysis through a data lens on top.
Anyone interested in learning about the state of data around the world.
Whether you are a data analyst, activist, or someone from either the private or public sector, if you are interested in learning which countries have the best data availability and infrastructures and which are still struggling to open crucial data to the public, you have come to the right place.
Much of the value of a multi-dimensional index like GDB is in its function as a learning device that offers us the opportunity to understand each country’s relative strengths and weaknesses in certain areas or on a thematic level.
For example, the GDB makes it possible to explore which countries have good data availability but limited capability to make use of that data; or, within GDB’s governance component, the relative strength of data protection and data-sharing policies—and whether these strike the balance required to support public good outcomes in a datified society.
We hope that the Barometer can be used and understood by many people, across all sectors. If you would like to give feedback on how this FAQ has helped you, don’t hesitate to reach out.
In partnership with our regional hubs, the first edition of the Global Data Barometer managed to collect data from over 109 countries.
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We frame most indicators around a “to what extent”? question, scored on a 10-point scale.
Typically that score consists of three parts:
Existence—checking whether certain frameworks, provisions, or categories of data exist in the country. For example, a governance question may look at whether there is a data protection framework, awarding 1 point for the presence of any form of framework and 2 points for a framework with the force of law.
Elements—checking the specific elements a framework, provision, or dataset has; each element is recorded separately and then summed to create an overall score. For example, a data availability question may look at whether the data is machine-readable, whether it’s openly licensed, and whether it contains key fields specific to a theme, such as corporate identifiers in a procurement dataset.
Extent—checking whether what’s being evaluated demonstrates comprehensive coverage or limitations. For example, a capability question might ask whether a country’s data science training is available across the country or only in a limited number of locations. A data availability question might ask whether a dataset that scores highly in the elements checklist is an exceptional outlier in a federal system, or an example of the norm.
The Barometer data is available under an open license, you can download the full dataset and view the database structure, and definitions. When you visit our open data page, you can download the data by theme, country or region.
We have created two blogs digging deeper into the Barometer data, to help you unpack the structure of the Barometer, the indicators, and indicator sub-components. The blogs are clear hands-on guides that will take you beyond the summarised results.
Meet the Barometer data in the first blog that outlines the 39 primary indicators.
The second blog provides a hands-on-guide by taking you through the Barometer’s public finance data. The questions applied will guide through from an intermediary level to understanding how we landed at the numbers displayed in the website.
Once you’re done with the blogs, we challenge you to identify a module that you prefer and dig deeper into the Barometer data.
After almost a decade since the launch of the Open Data Barometer (ODB), the first edition of the Global Data Barometer (GDB) was launched. The GDB builds on lessons from the ODB, but contains a broader approach to the field. It looks at data in a broader sense, beyond openness. It also presents updates on both the topics as well as the structure of indicators.
The ODB aimed to understand the status and impact of open data initiatives around the world. However, during the last decade, aspects that were not at the beginning in the core of the data agenda could no longer be ignored. This created the need for a Global Data Barometer focusing on conceptual and methodological updates. While the GDB builds on some of the foundations set by the ODB, its uniqueness- thematic lenses, structured approach, evaluated variables, and the data collection and calculation processes- and its broader approach to data, does not leave room for direct continuity between the two.
Learn more about the differences in this blog.