Even as ever greater amounts of data are generated and stored, the ability to actually re-use this data in a productive and responsible manner to spur positive social change remains stunted.
Open data has sought to address this issue.
- In the first wave of open data, the institution of FOI laws made national government data available on request to an audience (largely) composed of journalists, lawyers, and activists.
- The second wave of open data, enabled by the advent of open source and the web 2.0 era, called upon governments to make their data open by default to civic technologists, government agencies, and corporations.
These first two waves achieved many successes, much of the data generated today remains locked away, hidden in silos. Much of the available data focuses on national and supra-national levels, despite growing data held in silos at the subnational, local level.
Today, we are seeing the genesis of a Third Wave of Open Data that can unlock these silos and unleash the public good potential of data for the digital era. The Third Wave takes a much more purpose-directed approach than prior waves; it seeks not simply to open data, but to do so in a way that focuses on impactful reuse, especially through inter-sectoral collaborations and partnerships. The Third Wave pays at least as much attention to the demand as to the supply side of the data equation, and it is concerned not simply with data itself but with the broader technical, social, political and economic context within which data is produced and consumed.
Read more about the Third Wave and what the Open Data Policy Lab and partners are doing to maximize its impact.
Download PDFSummer of Open Data
The Summer of Open Data was a three-month project spearheaded by the Open Data Policy Lab (an initiative of The GovLab with support from Microsoft) in partnership with the Digital Trade & Data Governance Hub, Open Data Institute, the Open Data Charter, and BrightHive. From July through September 2020, we spoke with data experts in local and regional governments, national statistical agencies, international bodies, and private companies to advance our understanding of The Third Wave of Open Data.
The 10 Summer of Open Data panel videos and summaries are available below.
Summer of Open Data
Panel #1: Kick-Off
What Are The Contours of The Third Wave of Open Data?
Today, The Open Data Policy Lab is delighted to release the kick-off panel of our Summer of Open Data including three of the...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #2
Data Re-Use from Local Government to the Corporate Sector
Panelists, clockwise from top left: Stefaan Verhulst, The Govlab; Paul Ko, LinkedIn; Denise Linn Reidl, City of South Bend, Indiana; Justine...
By Mary Ann Badavi, Andrew...Summer of Open Data
#3: Keynote
Conversation with Taiwan's Audrey Tang
The Summer of Open Data is a three-month project spearheaded by the Open Data Policy Lab (an initiative of The...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #4
Data Responsibility and New Forms of Collaboration
The Summer of Open Data is a three-month project spearheaded by the Open Data Policy Lab (an initiative of The GovLab with support from...
By Mary Ann BadaviSummer of Open Data
Panel #5
Data Reuse, Service Delivery, and Horizontal Silos
Panelists, clockwise from top left: Arturo Muente Kunigami (Inter-American Development Bank); Malarvizhi Veerappan (World Bank); Jaimie Boyd...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #6
Subnational Data, Sustainability, and Skills Development
Panelists, clockwise from top left: Stefaan Verhulst (The GovLab); Rhiannan Price (Maxar Technologies); Stephen Chacha (Tanzania Data Lab);...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #7
The Impact of COVID-19 on States, Localities, and Business
Clockwise from the top left: Stefaan Verhulst (The GovLab); Rudi Borrmann (Open Government Partnership); Kara Selke (StreetLight Data); and...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #8
Focus on Public Communication, Legal Mandates, and Data Ethics
The Summer of Open Data is a three-month project spearheaded by the Open Data Policy Lab (an initiative of The GovLab with support from...
By Andrew Young, Andrew...Summer of Open Data
Panel #9
Incentives for Data Reuse, Frameworks for Collaboration, and Centering Data Responsibility
The Summer of Open Data is a three-month project spearheaded by the Open Data Policy Lab (an initiative of The GovLab with support from...
By Andrew YoungSummer of Open Data
Panel #10
Defining the Value Proposition, Building Common Infrastructure, and Avoiding Missed Use
Panelists, clockwise from top left: Andrew Young (The GovLab); Daniel Jarratt (Infinite Campus); Vanessa Brown (National Student...
By Andrew Young
Summer of Open Data
Accelerating Data Collaboration
Jump Starting the Third Wave of Open Data
Despite the proliferation of data, its potential has yet to be realized in policy- and decision-making. Many of the most useful datasets...
By The GovlabSummer of Open Data
Panel #1: Kick-Off
What Are The Contours of The Third Wave of Open Data?
Today, The Open Data Policy Lab is delighted to release the kick-off panel of our Summer of Open Data including three of the...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #2
Data Re-Use from Local Government to the Corporate Sector
Panelists, clockwise from top left: Stefaan Verhulst, The Govlab; Paul Ko, LinkedIn; Denise Linn Reidl, City of South Bend, Indiana; Justine...
By Mary Ann Badavi, Andrew...Summer of Open Data
#3: Keynote
Conversation with Taiwan's Audrey Tang
The Summer of Open Data is a three-month project spearheaded by the Open Data Policy Lab (an initiative of The...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #4
Data Responsibility and New Forms of Collaboration
The Summer of Open Data is a three-month project spearheaded by the Open Data Policy Lab (an initiative of The GovLab with support from...
By Mary Ann BadaviSummer of Open Data
Panel #5
Data Reuse, Service Delivery, and Horizontal Silos
Panelists, clockwise from top left: Arturo Muente Kunigami (Inter-American Development Bank); Malarvizhi Veerappan (World Bank); Jaimie Boyd...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #6
Subnational Data, Sustainability, and Skills Development
Panelists, clockwise from top left: Stefaan Verhulst (The GovLab); Rhiannan Price (Maxar Technologies); Stephen Chacha (Tanzania Data Lab);...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #7
The Impact of COVID-19 on States, Localities, and Business
Clockwise from the top left: Stefaan Verhulst (The GovLab); Rudi Borrmann (Open Government Partnership); Kara Selke (StreetLight Data); and...
By Andrew ZahuranecSummer of Open Data
Panel #8
Focus on Public Communication, Legal Mandates, and Data Ethics
The Summer of Open Data is a three-month project spearheaded by the Open Data Policy Lab (an initiative of The GovLab with support from...
By Andrew Young, Andrew...Summer of Open Data
Panel #9
Incentives for Data Reuse, Frameworks for Collaboration, and Centering Data Responsibility
The Summer of Open Data is a three-month project spearheaded by the Open Data Policy Lab (an initiative of The GovLab with support from...
By Andrew YoungSummer of Open Data
Panel #10
Defining the Value Proposition, Building Common Infrastructure, and Avoiding Missed Use
Panelists, clockwise from top left: Andrew Young (The GovLab); Daniel Jarratt (Infinite Campus); Vanessa Brown (National Student...
By Andrew Young