Methodology

The Global Data Barometer is a global index study accomplished through an expert survey that is collaboratively designed. It is intended to be a time series, repeated every two years.

The Barometer assesses countries around the world on a set of robust comparative metrics focused on data for public good. To do so, the Barometer draws on more than 100 country-level researchers. These researchers, drawing on local sources, online resources, and in-depth dataset assessments, will provide evidence on the governance, capability, availability, and use of data for public good across a variety of sectors, providing justifications and supporting evidence for their answers.

Researchers’ answers and supporting evidence are then reviewed for clarity and robustness by the Barometer’s regional hubs and thematic partners. Regional hubs work with country-level researchers to gather more information as appropriate, and may seek additional input from local civil society organizations.

The Barometer’s survey instrument is organized into thematic and cross-cutting modules. Typically the core team designs these modules—focused on topics such as artificial intelligence, migration, or political integrity—in partnership with a well-established international organization with deep expertise in the thematic area. To make sure indicators are meaningful across country contexts, regional hubs pilot and provide feedback on module design.

As a complementary source of evidence, the Barometer also surveys governments about data governance, capability, availability, and use. This component runs in parallel with the work done by country-level researchers, with the two streams combined during the review stage.