What we do
The Open Data Policy Lab works to accelerate the responsible re-use of data by lowering existing barriers and building a center of expertise that will be available to all stakeholders involved in democratizing access to data. The Open Data Policy Lab will achieve these goals through four areas of work.
Using comparative research and analysis, the Lab will identify best practices in the field of open data and inform the development of responsible data initiatives that contribute to economic development and societal resilience.
The Lab will develop and curate guidelines, toolkits, frameworks, best practices, and other materials to support more effective data sharing and data-driven decision-making.
The Lab will foster a community of data stewards, chief data officers, and other decision-makers within the public and private sectors to share knowledge, undertake collaborative work, and spur responsible data sharing.
Using the framework of The 100 Questions Initiative, the Lab will help convene governments and other stakeholders to identify key questions that can be answered by opening up data and implement proof-of-concept initiatives that demonstrate how to harness the power of open data to solve key societal challenges.
Why
Governments play a critical role in providing data that is vital to addressing today’s most pressing problems and improving people’s lives. It is essential that governments at all levels work collaboratively to share data across the public and private sectors in a responsible manner.
Similarly, governments at all levels can benefit from functional access to private-sector data to address important public policy challenges. It is essential to create an ecology in which governments can engage with industry to identify data that may be useful in addressing important public policy issues.
Our work seeks to address a variety of barriers currently standing in the way of streamlining access to data across a continuum of openness, including the absence of an enabling and scalable policy and legislative agenda, a lack of internal capacity, and limited access to external expertise and resources.
From the blog
Year in Review
Paving the Path: Advancing Responsible Data Access and Re-Use in 2024 Our Year in Review
As 2024 comes to a close, The GovLab’s Data Program reflects on a year of continued efforts to advance data-driven problem-solving and...
By Hannah Chafetz, Sara...New Report!
Trust but Verify: A Guide to Conducting Due Diligence When Leveraging Non-Traditional Data in the Public Interest
In an increasingly data-driven world, organizations across sectors are recognizing the potential of non-traditional data—data...
By Sara Marcucci, Andrew...New Publications
Innovating with Non-Traditional Data: Recent Use Cases for Unlocking Public Value
Non-Traditional Data (NTD): “data that is digitally captured (e.g. mobile phone records), mediated (e.g. social media), or...
By Stefaan Verhulst, Adam Zable...
