OPEN DATA SYSTEMS: HAD A LOOK AT YOUR COUNTRY’S YET?

 

Many countries have adopted the transparency and accountability policies that come with Open data systems. The open data policies ensure that data and information is efficiently managed and shared to the public for easier access, better disaster management and decision sharing, better project development and use of effective financing mechanisms. The whole idea behind it is to ensure that data is available to the public in machine readable formats and can easily be cross combined and re-used by academia, researchers, media and other major sectors in every institution; the major premise being opening up publicly owned data from institutions and ensuring its accessibility.

Ensuring the open data is linked is essential since it fuels greater transparency and accountability which additionally spurs greater economic activities. With the immense information out there, users are able to fully manipulate the information by creating and combining different kinds of data sets which they can make their own interpretations in digestible and much friendlier applications and formats.

Am proud of Kenya! We are the first African country to have our own Open data portal which has published a lot of government data and has invited everybody to come, look, take and play! If you haven’t had a look at it, I would advise you to because it gives so much insight and new knowledge about our country with well leveled up and deeply researched and analyzed statistics. Other major organizations that have adopted this kind of paradigm include World Bank, New York Times, The Guardian, United Nations and several other governments throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

All the data from Open Data systems is license free and is not subject to patents, copyrights, trade secret regulations or trademarks. Through interlinked data, the open system facilitates knowledge creation and new knowledge essential in making assessments and research. Any researcher should definitely bookmark open data sites.