2015 was the year of the data revolution for development. And to fulfil and track the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we think that revolution must be an open data revolution. As part of our commitment to that belief, we’ve launched our latest research projects on open data in developing countries.

What we hope to learn:

• Where can open data have the greatest impact? Are there particular sectors, levels of government, or types of communities where we see the greatest returns?
• What works, and what doesn’t? How can we replicate or scale what works?
• What skills do people need to make good use of open data, and who needs these skills?
• Are standards helping governments implement open data? What are the benefits and shortcomings?

Our focus is on action research: weaving innovation throughout the entire the research process by testing processes and tools. This learning-by-innovating approach means we go beyond theory to find out how open data is used to create real change in communities.

In February 2015, through the Open Data Labs, we held the Regional Open Data Agenda-Setting Workshop with participants from over 11 countries across the Asia-Pacific region. The results of the workshop include Open Data Asia 2020 – the open data strategy for Southeast Asia which defines the ideal state of open data in the region by 2020, how it could be achieved, and the roles various stakeholders from governments to civil societies and citizens hold. Similarly, in March we held the Open Data Agenda-Setting for Africa as part of the Data Revolution conference.

Building on the findings of these regional workshops, we’re undertaking 11 projects across 21 countries, detailed below.

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These projects build on our previous work through the first and second phases of our open data in developing countries research, and will get us closer to maximising the benefits of open data for development.

You can stay up to date with the project by following us on Twitter @webfoundation or subscribing to our newsletter. Our Jakarta Lab will also regularly post updates on projects in Asia @ODLabJkt.