The Government of Catalonia’s Directorate General for Transparency and Open Data (DTDO) wanted to open up their data to more sectors in order to help overcome the health-related, employment-related and economic crises that have been caused by COVID-19. In order to achieve this recovery, they realised that they needed reliable, disaggregated, complete data that will enable them to determine what resources the government has and how to tackle the public health crisis. With this aim in mind, the Government of Catalonia, together with the ODC, organised their first COVID-19 Data Meet-Up in September 2020.

The Meetup aimed to define which…

Led by the National Digital Platform (PDN) of the Executive Secretariat of the National Anticorruption System (SESNA), the government mapped 27 datasets that are priority for their country, grouped in three categories: Public Health, Socio-political and Economic needs. One workshop per topic was held between October 27- 29.

Mexico’s learnings and highlights are summarised as follows:

For Public Health

1. Data is necessary for action.
   Having inaccurate data regarding the number of COVID-19 cases prevents the authorities from making decisions and will in turn make any community feel helpless amidst a crisis.
2. Data structures must be dynamic. Governments must think in terms of data structures that allow the dynamism of a pandemic…

by Marisa Miodosky and María Eugenia Lago, BA City Statistics Bureau
Edited by Cat Cortes, Open Data Charter

An introduction to ODC and Buenos Aires City government’s ‘Caring Indicator System’ data collaboration, which was selected to be a part of Open Data Institute and Microsoft’s #PeerLearningNetwork.

A data collaboration unfolds amidst a pandemic

The Gender Equality Team and the Statistics Bureau of Buenos Aires City have a track record for working together on data collaborations. We wanted to replicate the successful experience we had building the Gender Indicator System together with a whole new project. That first collaboration, as well as the publication of ‘The progress of…

By Akrom Sultanov*

The Republic of Uzbekistan gained its independence in 1991, after 67 years under the former Soviet Union, and began its transition to a market economy. Independent Uzbekistan was faced with the task of objectively assessing its history — the development of a young independent state, studying the accumulated experience, analyzing the successes achieved and identifying measures for the beginning of democratic reforms.

Following the election of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as the President in December 2016, the Action Strategy for Five Priority Development Areas in 2017–2021 has shaped a new stage in the country’s development. It marked a qualitatively…

by Stefaan Verhulst, Andrew Young, Andrew Zahuranec, Susan Ariel Aaronson, Ania Calderon, Matt Gee

Our world faces many challenges ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to the threat of climate change to growing economic inequality. Faced with these serious and persistent challenges, many policymakers have turned to data. Through open datasets, both high-ranking officials and the public can improve their ability to make decisions. They can become better aware of their situation, understand cause and effect, improve their predictive capabilities, and better assess the impact of policies.

In July, The Open Data Policy Lab launched the Summer of Open Data. A…

by Emma Sheppard

As part of their campaign to lift the lid on data privacy violations, The Privacy Collective is asking some of the UK’s leading experts why this issue matters.

Ania Calderon is the Executive Director of the Open Data Charter, a movement committed to achieving a world where government information is used to empower people in order to build more prosperous, equitable and just societies. Here, she talks about finding the balance between openness and privacy, why the world’s data infrastructure was unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, and why we need new types of data institutions.

By Darine Benkalha*

Despite our increasingly data-driven world, the collection, sharing and use of data still provoke numerous debates. On one hand, public, private and civil society organisations all use data to inform their activities whether it is policy making, research on societal issues or the creation of applications and smart technologies. On the other hand, big data scandals sparked a “data fearing” dystopia where various actors, and especially individuals, practice “data holding”. …

by The B Team

With an estimated 250+ years until the world reaches economic gender parity, gender pay gaps have proven some of the toughest divides to close. According to the World Economic Forum, progress towards gender parity in pay has stalled and even regressed in some places. Pay gaps are difficult to close (and keep closed) because they are the manifestation of larger systems of bias and inequality. Despite the challenges, permanently closing gender pay gaps will benefit women, bolster business performance and strengthen the global economy.

Gender pay gaps widen along the lines of race — with Black…