Mission
To make data open and freely available, while protecting the rights of people and communities. To see this shift help solve some of the most pressing challenges of our time, creating more just societies and innovative economies.
Vision
We want a world in which governments collect, share and use well-governed data, to respond effectively and accountably to our most pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. We want this to happen by default unless it would demonstrably infringe human rights.
Specifically, we want:
- public officials to balance the tradeoffs between advancing transparency and accountability using data and protecting the rights of people and communities
- citizens to be able to easily see and influence what their public officials do, and to trust their institutions
- people to be able to use openly available data and accountable automated tools to access equitable public services
How we work
In our efforts to encourage a shift towards governments being “open by default”, we have learned that publishing data to solve specific policy problems is more effective than doing so in isolation. “Publish with purpose” creates more incentives and momentum than “publish and they will come”.
To this end, we focus on encouraging governments to take small steps that yield quick wins. We support reformers in government and their partners to prioritise opening up and using quality data to help address globally relevant problems and to develop a trustworthy data governance framework to achieve this goal.
There are two main strands to our work – articulating global norms and helping governments translate them into concrete reforms which work for their context. What we learn from this implementation is fed back into our advocacy for a global standard.
- Articulating norms
We work with our network of government adopters and international bodies to show how good data governance can address global policy goals, and help build field partnerships to ground open data norms in culture and practice.
We prioritise collaboration with organisations working on other data rights – like privacy – to ensure our calls for reform are mutually reinforcing. Through these partnerships, we help governments to strike a balance between advancing transparency and accountability using data and protecting human rights.
- Demonstrating impact
Alongside this, we lobby and support governments to implement reforms based on open data rights principles that yield tangible benefits to citizens (see audiences below).
We also partner with field experts to develop practical guidance on how to implement rounded open data policies and practices, that explicitly recognise the importance of data rights and risk mitigation, and connect governments with experts in governing data inclusively and accountably.
By focusing on delivering social and political benefits, we create a positive feedback loop which gathers lessons from effective policy solutions, builds stronger institutional support globally, and broadens the coalition for purpose-driven, balanced access to and use of data.
Key targets
Partnership and collaboration are central to our work. As a small yet agile team, we work with data experts and sector organisations to support governments to implement principles and deliver systemic change.
Our key stakeholders include:
- Reformist governments – they make key decisions over how to collect, share, and use the information that drives policy solutions. They also regulate companies to ensure they do not abuse our data rights, and in some cases, make data openly available. This mix of responsibilities makes them the ultimate targets of our advocacy calls.
By showing how an open approach to data rights can address the wider challenges and opportunities they face, we create incentives for policy-makers to invest in this area as a tool for good government.
We specifically target reformist governments which aim to demonstrate how an open and human rights-based approach to data governance can help address critical issues like climate change, gender inequality and transparency in political campaigning. - Field experts – they bring specialized knowledge about what data they need to help them tackle clearly defined problems and opportunities. We partner with leading experts in several fields at global and local levels, to create thematic guidance which helps governments govern the data they release well, and provide use cases to demonstrate the impact of doing so.
- Data practitioners – an extensive group of organisations endorse the ODC principles, and we increasingly collaborate with diverse data communities, including from, privacy, security, access to information, and artificial intelligence groups. We connect data experts with our partners to help them address the problems they care about with smart, standardised use of open data.
The Team
Natalia has been the Executive Director of the Open Data Charter since 2021, after first working as our Deputy Director for 3 years. Natalia is the former Open Government Director for the Undersecretary of Public Innovation and Open Government of Argentina where she lead the co-creation of the 3rd Open Government National Action Plan. She was also Open Government coordinator for the Digital Division of the Government of Chile and for the City of Buenos Aires. She is part of the Open Data Leaders Network and the Academic Committee of the International Open Data Conference. From October 2022, she will be part of the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee.
Nati leads ODC’s team, engaging with experts from governments, civil society organizations, academics and the private sector. She oversees the strategic delivery and execution of projects in collaboration with the ODC network.
Project Manager, Mercedes de los Santos has spearheaded projects in the civil society sector in the Buenos Aires City Government and Buenos Aires City Legislature in the last five years. As Director of Citizenship and Government Institutions at Directorio Legislativo, she worked with Latin American governments and civil society organizations to make governments and legislatures in the region more open, participatory and inclusive. She earned her degree in Political Science from the University of Buenos Aires Argentina and 2021 started the Postgraduate Program on Project Manager at the School of Innovation of ITBA.
Mercedes supports ODC by coordinating the implementation of core projects. She is also developing and implementing an engagement strategy for the governments and organizations that have adopted the ODC; providing guidance for potential adopters and liaising with the Working Group chairs to support the delivery of their action plans.
Research Manager, Renato Berrino Malaccorto has worked as an Open Government Project Coordinator at the Government of the City of Buenos Aires for four years. He worked as a Public Innovation Consultant for the Ibero-American Capital Cities Union (UCCI) and as a legal advisor for the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP). He is a lawyer, with an orientation in International Public Law and Human Rights, graduated with honors from the University of Buenos Aires’ (UBA) Law School. He holds a Master’s Degree in Management and Public Administration at Cádiz University and he is a fellow of the Ibero-American University Postgraduate Association (AUIP).
Renato supports ODC by coordinating and conducting policy and data research, with a special focus on data rights and its intersection with human rights perspectives. He will also provide guidance on ODC’s project delivery and strategy, informing the team of the latest developments in open data and ODC’s core themes.
Communications Lead, Cat has led successful fundraising, partnerships and communications campaigns in the social development sector since 2012. In 2016, she managed the communications team for the Singapore Committee for UN Women, an independent non-governmental organisation supporting UN Women’s initiatives, before taking a sabbatical from advocacy work. In 2019, she was introduced to the use of open data in governance, while managing communications for the British High Commission, Singapore. Cat delivers the ODC’s advocacy and communications strategy, working closely with the team to address emerging issues that will impact our work. Cat’s role with the ODC combines two things that she loves: communities and data.
Senior Advisor, Peck brings a combined experience in research and business development to ODC. His past work includes the creation of an applied research lab and the development of an advisory service on smart cities at Open North (Canada), where he also led business and strategy development. He has extensive experience with qualitative research methods to map and assess open data ecosystems. As a researcher, he has published academically on civic engagement, open data, and smart cities. Peck supports ODC in strategy, fundraising, and organizational development.
Our Governance Structure
The ODC is overseen by a governance structure designed to reflect our position as a trusted space that guides, connects and enables governments and organisations to deliver impact from open data. These structures support the delivery of our mission and include a multi-stakeholder Advisory Board, with responsibilities for running the initiative and providing oversight for the performance of the ODC Network Team.
From its inception, the ODC has collaborated with governments and expert organisations working to open up data, based on a shared set of principles. This is reflected in the governance structure that includes highly committed governments, multilaterals and civil society organizations representatives in our Advisory Board helping guide and shape the work we do at the global and local level.
Our Advisory Board
The work of the ODC team is overseen by our advisory board.
Dr. Catherine Woteki (Board Chair) is Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University and Visiting Distinguished Institute Professor in the Biocomplexity Institute of the University of Virginia. She currently is a member of President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology as well as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the American Society for Nutrition Foundation.
Nikesh Balani works for Open Knowledge Nepal, a civic tech organisation working in the field of open data – focused on developing quality data sources and solutions for civic tech projects. His work includes using open data standards while creating digital solutions, engaging local communities for using open data to make data driven decisions & working with authoritative bodies to build capacity on local levels. He also manages the international open data network at Open Knowledge Foundation.
Katherine Townsend is a passionate advocate for information equity and has devoted her career to government transparency, collaboration across global partners, and improving technical capacity in the social sector. Currently serving as Director of Policy for the World Wide Web Foundation, Katherine previously served as COO of data.org, and innovation and engagement advisor for USAID and Department of State under the Obama Administration, and continues to support transparency globally with Open Data Collaboratives.
Patricio Lloret is currently serving as Undersecretary of Public Management at the Presidency of Ecuador. He holds a Master in Public Policy, MSc, at University College London (UCL) and a Master in Business Administration, MBA, at INCAE Business School, with a minor in sustainable development and industry and technology. He has more than 10 years of experience in senior roles at the public sector and currently leads the implementation of Open Government in Ecuador as well as the strengthening of the national Open Data Portal.
Muchiri Nyaggah is the Executive Director of the Local Development Research Institute (LDRI), an action-oriented think tank supporting efforts of African Union member states to end extreme poverty, end hunger and reduce inequalities. Muchiri is also a Senior Fellow at the Results for Development Institute where he provides guidance on data for decision-making projects. His work contributes to the strengthening of efforts to leverage data and data-informed strategies to solve real-world problems.
Richard Stirling is the co-founder and CEO of Oxford Insights. Involved in open data for the last 8 years, he designed and lead the UK’s open data programme. As innovation director at the Open Data Institute, he has worked with the World Bank, IDRC, and countries around the world on open data implementation.
Fabrizio Scrollini is the Executive Director of the Open Data Latin American Initiative (ILDA). Fabrizio works with governments, regulators and civil society at both international and regional levels on transparency, access to public information, open data projects and public sector reform.
aimee whitcroft is Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Open Data Lead and is an international advocate for what she calls #openX – open data, open government, civic tech, open access, open source and so on. She mixes these with her passion for privacy advocacy, data governance and strategy. She’s also an InternetNZ Councillor and is involved in national and international openX initiatives.
Sander van der Waal is Research Director at Waag and is responsible for its research agenda, working in close collaboration with the four heads of the research groups and leads of the 14 constituent labs. Earlier, Sander was lead of the Future Internet Lab at Waag, working to ensure that human values are core to how technology and data are designed and deployed in society. Sander has an educational background in computer science and philosophy, and has solid expertise and experience in open source software development, open data and knowledge, and data infrastructures.
Enrique Zapata – Inactive – is Main Lead for Data Intelligence and New Technologies at the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). We previously led Mexico’s National Anticorruption Digital Platform, a first of its kind initiative to order, standardize and use key data sources and artificial intelligence to build integrity and fight corruption.
Former Board Members
- Allison O’Beirne, analyst with the Open Government Team in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
- Thom Townsend, Senior Policy Advisor at the Cabinet Office of UK.
- Nosa Ero-Brown, Director of Ontario’s Open Government Office.
- José M. Alonso, Director of Digital citizenship at the World Wide Web Foundation.
- Craig Fagan, Policy Director at the World Wide Web Foundation.
- Sumandro Chattapadhyay, a Research Director at the CIS.
- Fernando Perini, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
- Helen Darbishire, Executive Director of Access Info Europe.
- Gonzalo Iglesias, an independent consultan in open data and innovation.
- Martin Tisné, Managing Director at Luminate Group.
Implementation Working Group
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- Implementation Working Group – a trusted space to support public officials and experts working to deliver the ODC Principles by facilitating the sharing of practical knowledge, drawing on the experience of people actually working on making open data happen. To maximise the utility of its monthly meetings, the IWG focuses on a spotlight topic of significant nuanced debate each month to exchange knowledge and experience, ask questions and gather insights.
If you represent a government, civil society organization, private sector or multilateral working on open data and wish to participate in ODC’s working groups, please send an email to info@opendatacharter.net.
Watch recordings of our meetings on our YouTube Channel.
Fiscal Host
The ODC is a Resident Organization at Civic House, a collaborative space focused on empowering civic innovation organizations, that believes in the power of technology to deliver ground-breaking citizen action solutions. The operational guidelines of this collaboration are stated in our letter of agreement (available in English and Spanish).
