Paper short abstract:

Can open data be part of the solution towards greater accountability in development activities?

Paper long abstract:

There was little talk of open data or transparency when the MDGs were adopted in 2000. But since then, the agenda has moved forward. In 2013, the United Nations called for a data revolution in development. In 2015, access to information and data were enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals. In the past few years, such calls for more data and greater transparency on development activities have multiplied. More specifically, initiatives around open data (aid, contracting, government). It translated into new commitments made by a growing number of actors, from donors (like the UN, WB, US, UK or EU) to partner country governments (from Afghanistan to Uganda and Bangladesh). All have pledged to make be more open and transparent, to provide more and better data on development in an effort towards greater transparency on development. It is assumed that open data has enormous potential for social transformation, innovation and economic growth, however, there has been little empirical study and thus evidence of the impact of open data in its various forms (Young and Verhulst, 2016).

Question: What are the motivations for these actors to commit to greater transparency? What is the expected impact in terms of accountability and development effectiveness?

1. The state of aid transparency: shared ambitions and responsibilities

2. Turning data into information: progress, gaps and challenges

3. Implementation at the national level: preliminary insights from fieldwork conducted in Benin and Tanzania