ODC Strategy (2024-2026)

1. INTRODUCTION

The strategy we present is meant to guide our actions and efforts between 2024 to
2026, leading into our 10th Anniversary. The Open Data Charter is ever-grateful for the
support and trust of our open data and open governance community, as we continue
in our role as a steadfast advocate of open data, that can envision a path towards a
fairer and more equitable future for all people on this planet.
The questions surrounding open data appear to have evolved. Discussions are no
longer just about data openness, or how all data—both private and public data is
created, stored, shared, and used. This later stage we find ourselves in (or Third Wave
of Open Data as The Gov Lab once put it), evolves with purpose, and pays attention to
the demand as much as the supply side, including the contexts in which it is
produced and consumed, as well as its quality, quantity, the standards used and how
ethically it is governed. Human rights have always intersected with data rights, but
with the proliferation of new and fast-moving applications of open data, such as in
artificial intelligence and machine learning, the old questions simply disguise
themselves anew. Our strategy is centered on going back to the basics of data.
While much of the talk on progress with regard to data openness as reported by the
OECD’s Open Useful and Re-usable (OUR) data Index as well as by the Open Data
Maturity assessment report is noted among countries from the ‘Global North’, there is
still so much awareness and engagement needed, in order to enable similar progress
from the Global South. The Global Data Barometer, which surveyed 109 countries
including more countries from the Global South, reported there are relatively low
levels of data use, with 20 countries reporting no notable data use against the
example use-cases provided. There is still a lot of work in open data that can be
done, like in open environmental data and in Climate Action—which remains critical.
Open Data needs its time in the limelight again. For the next three years we are
focused on playing a supporting role in our part in the data ecosystem, while
keeping sight of the people and the communities that open data caters to and serves.
We hope to have deeper conversations with our stakeholders who operate within the
local, regional, national and the global contexts to translate open data accessibility
and usability, towards purpose, policy and practice.
During the period this strategy covers, we will focus on making our internal
organizational processes more robust, as we continue to work with governments in
the following thematic priorities: climate change, combating corruption, the
promotion of gender equality, inclusion and diversity, through our focus on care work
in the past couple of years, also in new areas, including data rights and artificial
intelligence, and understanding open data’s role and impact in this area,
We hope to continue being a convener of governments, civil society organizations
and other institutions on a global level. We hope to also expand our community of
Adopters and Endorsers, to include more voices from the underrepresented
communities, while adding value to their work via horizontal collaboration. We are
deeply committed to promoting a more sustainable, equitable and transparent world
and are determined to continue being a pioneer in the open data space and
promoting an equitable society in which information is available to everyone and
where transparency is the norm.
2. MISSION
To make data openly 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.

3. 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 through data and protecting the rights of people and
communities
● Citizens to be able to easily see and influence what their governments do,
and to trust their institutions
● People to be able to use openly-available data and accountable automated
tools to access equitable public services

4. VALUES
1) Commitment to Justice: We advocate for a world where everyone has equal
opportunities and is treated fairly.
2) Environmental Responsibility: We work to preserve life on the planet,
adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
3) Integrity and Transparency: We promote accountability and fight corruption in
all its forms.
 4) Gender Equality: We defend gender equality at all levels and in all sectors,
and work to help make it a reality through data.
5) Data Rights: We advocate for governments to recognize access to information
and data as a fundamental human right and to act accordingly.

5. OUR HISTORY
The Open Data Charter was launched in 2015 at the periphery of the United Nations
General Assembly. There was a global consultation led by key representatives from
governments including the UK, Canada, and Mexico, as well as civil society
organizations such as the Web Foundation, Open Knowledge Foundation and Open
Data Institute, and multilateral or development institutions like IDRC, the World Bank
and the Omidyar Network. The representatives set out to draft The Charter, choosing
six key principles for open data, including, but not limited to, how it should be open
by default, timely, and interoperable.
Since then, 99 government adopters and 77 civil society organizations and
companies have joined the movement. Adopted by national and local governments,
and endorsed by regional and global movements such as the African Open Data
Network, the Global Fiscal Transparency Initiative, Iran Open Data and Accion
Colectiva (Argentina), the ODC is increasingly shaping open data policies around the
world, from Uzbekistan to Ecuador, and from the Principality of Asturias to Ontario or
even Legislatures like Córdoba or Jalisco.
While this represents the breadth of ODC’s network of government adopters, the
principles themselves have spread far beyond and have been integral to the
conversation about open data at all levels. Our movement has reached a tipping
point. The rise of tech platforms, artificial intelligence and machine learning have all
exacerbated the need to balance openness and privacy, while also tackling other key
topics like data ethics and sovereignty.
We promote policies and practices that enable governments and community society
organizations (CSOs) to collect, share, and use well-governed data, to respond
effectively and accountability to the following focus areas: climate, anti-corruption,
gender equity, data rights, as well as newer areas such as, artificial intelligence.
Open data stands as a fundamental pillar to promote transparency, encourage
innovation, boost citizen participation and catalyze economic development. The
essence of open data lies in the possibility that governments, civil society
organizations, the private sector and citizens in general can share and access data
openly, free of charge, and in reusable formats.
This transparency in data access has a substantial impact, contributing to more
informed decision-making and greater accountability. Open data also becomes part
of the engine that drives the creation of public policies informed by evidence and
more solid and informed participation processes. Additionally, they encourage the
creation of innovative solutions that effectively address the problems and needs of
society as a whole.
Rightly, the focus of the wider open data movement has broadened to encompass
digital rights, responsibilities, and regulations. The ODC works to support this by
enabling the responsible release of open data as an engine for improvement and
reflecting on the challenges, lessons, and tradeoffs this entails to the wider
community. Looking ahead, our mandate continues as a standard bearer for open
data and its power to bring positive change to the world. In a context where privacy
and other concerns are rightly also paramount, the importance of open data has not
faded. In this context, we focus our work on helping governments with their open
data policy implementation, and building bridges with civil society organizations to
strengthen their connection and collaboration. We have also created a safe space for
our adopters and everyone who wants to share their experiences and learn from each
other via our Implementation Working Group.
As of August 2021, the ODC entered a new phase with Ania Calderón, the founding
Executive Director, leaving and Deputy Director, Natalia Carfi taking up the leadership
position. Since then, the work of the ODC has shifted, taking a deeper dive into our
core themes and adding a Research Area with a more ambitious vision on data
governance and how the digital Rights agenda impacts open data work and vice
versa. In August 2022, the ODC hired its first Research Manager, and at the same
time, created two branches of work: Research and Project implementation.
The changes made were not only made within the day-to-day operational structure
of the ODC, we also started an internal reorganization of the workflow, creating a new
documents management system, expanding the use of the platforms like Slack and
tools from Gdrive and the like.
In 2023, the ODC Board, decided to change its Board governance framework to
create the role of the Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair position was meant to add stability to
the Board as the person appointed, will move to the Chair position once the
governing term is over.

6. HOW WE WORK
In our efforts to encourage a shift towards governments being “open by default”, we
have learned that publishing data to help solve specific challenges/questions is more
effective than doing so in isolation. “Publish with purpose” creates more incentives
and momentum than “publish and they will come”.

Government Reforms
We focus on encouraging governments to take small steps that yield quick wins. We
support reformers in government and their partners to prioritize the opening up and
use of quality data to 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 that work for their context. What
we learn from this implementation is fed back into our advocacy for a global
standard.
Articulating policies for global data governance
As an international non-profit organization, the ODC works with institutional and
independent funding. At least one government representative is included in the
Board to support the ODC’s objective of embedding open data policies within public
agencies, and the organization acts as a bridge for international civil society and
government perspectives and visions on open data. Governments adopt the Open
Data Charter principles to be part of a network of reformers, however the organization
is neither stewarded nor governed by governments.
We work with our network of government adopters and international bodies to
demonstrate how good data governance can address global policy goals and help
build field partnerships to ground open data norms in culture and practice.
We prioritize collaboration with organizations working on other data rights to ensure
our calls for reform are mutually reinforcing. Through these partnerships, we help
governments strike a balance between advancing transparency and accountability
through data and protecting human rights.

Demonstrating impact
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 comprehensive open data policies and practices that explicitly recognize
the importance of data rights and risk mitigation. Additionally, we connect
governments with experts in governing data inclusively and accountably.
By focusing on delivering social and political benefits, we create a positive feedback
loop that 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.

7. ODC’s THEORY OF CHANGE

8. DELIVERING REFORM THROUGH ACTIONS
Across our four priority areas, we support reforms driven by our open data principles.
We achieve this by researching and articulating norms, developing and supporting
coalitions, and collaborating on local approaches that translate the principles into
action - our network and partnerships are vital to this work. As a small team, we
would not be able to carry out our high-level work without our network and
partnerships. Our theory of change is built on the idea that norms get stronger as they
are implemented and stress-tested through practice.Taking these ideas into action,
we have created what now are signature tools, the Open Up Guides, created a
methodology of implementation and expanded the themes that they cover. These
tools convey thematic high-value datasets, standards and publication examples that
can help any government get started with an open data policy.

Our work takes concrete steps to address specific issues from grounding data rights
in internationally-recognized good practice to local efforts developing data to support
gender and pay equity. What we achieve through these partnerships is subsequently
communicated to other stakeholders for examination, adaptation, and adoption in
diverse circumstances.
9. KEY STAKEHOLDERS
Partnership and collaboration are central to our work. As a small, agile team, we
collaborate with data experts and sector organizations to support governments in
implementing principles and delivering systemic change.
Our key stakeholders include:
Reformist governments make key decisions about how to collect, share, and use the
information that drives policy solutions. They also regulate companies to ensure they
do not abuse data rights, and in some cases, make data openly available. This mix of
responsibilities makes them the ultimate targets of our advocacy calls.
Demonstrating how an open approach to data rights can tackle broader challenges
and opportunities encourages policymakers to view it as a valuable tool for
promoting good governance.
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 bring specialized knowledge about what data they need to 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 choose and govern the data they release effectively and provides use
cases to demonstrate the impact of doing so.
Data practitioners are an extensive group of organizations that endorse the ODC
principles, and we increasingly collaborate with diverse data communities, including
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 an intelligent, standardized use of open data.
10. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
ODC´s strategy
We want to continue to promote openness of government data while ensuring that
the data is collected and governed that takes into account the Right to privacy and
the Right to access information. This is achieved through collaborating with
governments and civil society organizations in the implementation of laws,
regulations and open data policies that protect personal data rights.
We also want to continue being trusted partner to governments and CSOs in policy
advice and open data through:

● Recognize the value that open data adds to the anti-corruption, gender
equity, land, and climate action agendas by the application of our Open Up
guides, tools and research.
● Expand our work into emerging topics such as artificial intelligence or
digital rights through collaboration and research.
● Maximize the impact of open data in every area of our work by establishing
strategic alliances with other organizations, academic institutions, and
governments.
● Share knowledge and best practices for open data by participation in
global conferences, forums, and platforms.
● Demonstrate social and economic value to encourage the reuse of open
data across events or contests to unlock its potential.

● Promoting data sharing and facilitating seamless data flows into our overall
strategy will drive collaboration, enhance organizational capabilities, and
underline the importance of open data rights to achieving our goals.
● Amplify our community via new Adopter and Endorsers and cement our
Implementation Working Group as a safe space to discuss data related
policies, regulations and projects.

As part of the development of our activities and in order to have a global presence,
we want to participate in more international forums and alliances, including but not
limited to:

Open Government

o Open Government Partnership (OGP) Summits

o Summit for Democracy
o Paris Peace Forum
o United Nations General Assembly
Open Data

o United Nations (UN) World Data Forum

o Abrelatam/Condatos
o International Open Data Conference

Our thematic plans

Anti-corruption
Corruption remains a global challenge rooted in complex systems.
Since 2015, the push for open data on government budgets, procurement, and
contracts has developed through a range of important global commitments,
including commitments from Members of the Open Government Partnership, our
participation in United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) or the
Inter-American Program of open data to combat corruption (PIDA).
This progress has been supported by our Open Up Guide to fight corruption . We use
our guide and additional resources to showcase the institutional capabilities and data
governance frameworks needed to support a functioning democracy in the digital
age.
We collaborate with governments and civil society organizations in the fight against
corruption by implementing the Guide and other tools1 to identify priority datasets,
open standards and use cases for open data that can be open. Governments, civil
society organizations, and other stakeholders can use these resources to address
corruption at all levels and respond to increasingly complex corruption networks.
Fighting corruption is essential in any society, as corruption undermines justice,
weakens trust in institutions and negatively affects economic and social
development.
We also encourage public officials and institutions to be accountable for their actions
and decisions through data-driven participation spaces, where citizens, civil society
organizations and others can ask questions, review processes, highlight priorities and
help shape policies thanks to being informed via open data .
To support democracy, transparency and the fight against corruption, the ODC is
working on the following strategic initiatives.

● Strengthen our alliance with the Organization of American States (OAS) and
implement the Inter-American Open Data Program to combat corruption
(PIDA) in specific countries in America's region.
● Work on institutional collaboration agreements to implement and develop
open data initiatives for anti-corruption efforts in Africa and Asia.
● Update the Guide to Using Data to Fight Corruption based on the results
and lessons learned from its recent application to the anti-corruption
agenda.

1
https://opendatacharter.org/area/anti-corruption/
 ● Collaborate with OGP and the World Bank to promote the OD4AC
Commitment Creator and Tactics Playbook, supporting the co-creation of a
clear anti-corruption policy objective with clear and measurable
commitments.
● Strengthen our existing transparency and anti-corruption collaborations
with organizations and forums to promote the use of open data policies in
addressing corruption.
● Explore the creation of new guides on topics such as open justice data or
open legislative data, in alignment with updated adoption framework.
● Advocate for implementation of and compliance with anti-corruption laws
at the national and international level.
● Provide training and resources to governments and organizations on
preventing corruption and promoting transparency using open data.
● Participate in the following forums and alliances: like International
Anti-corruption Conference (AICC), Conference of the States Parties to the
United Nations Convention against Corruption- CoSP or United Nations
Convention against Corruption civil society coalition (UNCAC Coalition)

Climate
Public awareness about climate change is increasing, but more coordinated action
from governments, societies and businesses is still required. Addressing climate
change is a global effort aimed at mitigating the effects of global warming and
adapting to its inevitable consequences.
The ODC helps civil society organizations, citizens, the private sector and government
agencies obtain relevant climate data through our Open UpGuide for Climate Action,
providing clarity and direction for governments seeking to improve their publication
of open climate-related data.
We will help drive the use of open data to support effective climate policies, initially
targeting international and regional agreements in order to add value to the
transparency of the policies implementation via open data. We will try to advocate for
open environmental data in forums like We will focus on international agreements
and forums such as: United Nation environment programme (UNEP) Digital Convoy,
C20 Climate Action Working Groups or COP.
We hope to relaunch and update the Open Guide to Climate Action and
implementation activities. The Open Data strategies for Climate Action Reporting
research project will guide this process, taking lessons from recent open data
initiatives to demonstrate how smart approaches to climate data can advance the
collective agenda and specially SDG 13.
In the next three years, our objectives are to:

● Conduct advocacy and research activities to understand and demonstrate

how leadership, issues of trust, transparency, standards, collaboration, and
equity play out in open data and climate policies.
 ● Develop thematic recommendations for governments, the private sector,
and CSOs to help them use open data to deliver better climate policies in
light of the above.
● Develop a participation and promotion strategy for international forums
such as the Paris Agreement, COP, or the C20 climate change working
groups, to encourage the release of quality climate data, comply with
international obligations, and develop adaptation and recovery plans.
● Continue working with selected governments to identify use cases and
potential impact stories that demonstrate how open data can help with
environmental crises.
● Promote public awareness about the risks of climate change and the
importance of climate action around the open data community to
strengthen the role of open data for collective action.
● Deepen our collaboration with governments and other CSOs to better
connect National Determined Contributions, the UNFCCC reporting
mechanisms and open data. Collaborate with governments, companies and
communities to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation
policies and practices.

Gender equity
Although progress has been made over the last few decades, gender inequalities
persist in many places. Stimulating the public and private sector efforts necessary to
close gender equity gaps in the political, economic, social and cultural sectors
through the publication and use of accessible, comparable, and timely data on
various dimensions of gender equity will be one of our focuses for the coming years.
It is a fundamental commitment to collaborate in the construction of a more just and
equitable society, where all individuals, regardless of their gender, have the same
opportunities and rights.
Our strategic objective for gender equity involves designing, disseminating, and
measuring policies, as well as obtaining, analyzing, and presenting data to assess
their effectiveness. The goal is to address gender inequities in all areas of life and
help create a more inclusive, fair and equitable society for all people. This requires
continued commitment at government and community levels to promote change
and gender equality.
We will continue to analyze how current approaches to data can perpetuate
inequities and support our partners in developing fairer principles, practices and uses.
Our projects span different communities and interest groups, focusing on developing
data about the context in which people live and make decisions.
We will:

● Collaborate with international mechanisms and organizations, such as the

Generation Equality Forum, Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), UN
Women, Care Economy Alliance, etc., to promote data collection and
 dissemination practices that highlight and correct gender-related power
imbalances.
● Strengthen our partnership with organizations such as the Center for Global
Development, as part of the OGP's Feminist Open Government Initiative
(FOGO).
● Work to understand how the publication and use of data on various
dimensions of the gender pay gap could stimulate public and private
sector efforts to close it.
● Promote the creation of citizen indicators and the publication of data that
explain public policies in this regard, based on our work in Ciudad
Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Ciudad de México (Mexico).
● Disseminate how promoting leadership, trust, transparency, standards,
collaboration, and equity could support the efforts of governments in the
global world to achieve more just, inclusive and equitable societies.

Data rights

Data rights seeks to foster innovation by making data available for use in the design
of public policies, which can drive economic growth and value creation. At the same
time, transparency is promoted by allowing citizens to access relevant information,
which can increase accountability and trust in institutions.
We want to ensure data rights are regulated in a balanced manner, that data
availability and access still protects the privacy and security of personal information.
This can only be achieved through policies and data governance regulations that
enable individuals and organizations to access, and share effectively, while ensuring
that personal data is protected and individual rights are respected.

We will collaborate with the implementation of open data rights and principles by
working with governments and organizations to help them ‘publish with purpose’ and
develop a participatory approach within their data policies.
We also want to showcase how data can support existing policies and identifying
practical policy measures to help protect against future crises.
We will:

● Collaborate with the privacy community to ensure access to information

and that data privacy laws are effectively taken into account worldwide.
● Contribute the dissemination of information about access to information,
open data and privacy in a digital world.
● Advocate for laws and regulations that protect people's data rights and
promote transparency in data collection and use.
 ● Participate in international forums and discussions to highlight the public
value of open data in important forums as well as new spaces:
o UN Digital CompactRightsCon
o International Telecommunication Union
o Internet Governance Forum
o RightsCon
o Privacy Camp.

Artificial intelligence
Governments, researchers, and civil society working on development challenges in
the Global South continue to grapple with issues related to data access and
availability. Disciplines with a broad range of cutting-edge approaches and analytics,
such as artificial intelligence (AI), show promise for improving the effectiveness of
development efforts, but still rely on high-quality data as critical inputs. Open data
remains as crucial as ever for these emerging topics.
The field of AI is generating considerable optimism due to its potential to positively
influence sustainable development. This potential includes improving agricultural
practices and productivity through aerial and remote sensing, monitoring disease
outbreaks, and planning and managing energy grids. AI projects and investments for
development are already underway, encompassing a wide range of initiatives that
leverage AI/ML (machine learning), from projects like the Masakhane project, which
focuses on language preservation through NLP (natural language processing), to the
screening of chronic diseases, and forest monitoring and management.
However, AI also poses challenges to human rights, the environment, climate, gender
equality, and data rights. There are ongoing discussions on how to strive for the
ethical advancement of AI, the necessary safeguards, and the implementation of
regulations that prioritize individuals.
Our efforts will concentrate on examining various facets and directions within the field
of AI. We aim to understand how open data can enhance conversations around
ethical considerations through partnerships with governments and organizations.
This involves choosing the right technologies and seamlessly integrating our teams
with AI experts, all while adhering to ethical and legal standards.
Being part of these discussions is critical for anyone working in or around digital rights
and that is why ODC will:

● Promote research and continuous development of data in the field of AI to

enhance its capacity, efficiency, and applications in various sectors.

● Participate in international discussions at events like RightsCon, the UN

Digital Compact and Internet Global Forum to highlight the value that open
data can bring to AI.

● Collaborate with other civil society organizations to share perspectives and

research findings to advocate together for development of AI.
11. Key performance indicators (KPIs)
We detail the general and specific KPIs for each topic addressed by the
organization below. Indicators related to specific actions to address and measure
these will be drilled down in our yearly work plans.

a) General

● New blog posts about data rights published and read by 10%. more
medium members than our current average.
● Reports / tools presented at 25 events.
● Reports and tools reused by governmental Secretaries of Ministries at any
level of governments (subnational or national) .
● % of projects in regions other than Latin America.
● % of successful funding proposals (overall).
● % of funding coming from new funders.

b) Climate

● Number of awareness campaigns carried out.

● Number of open data climate policies influenced or implemented.

c) Anti-corruption

● Number of events and workshops on transparency and anti-corruption.

● Number of collaborations established with government institutions.

d) Gender equity

● Amount of implementations of the Care Open Up Guide

e) Data rights

● Number of data protection laws and regulations influenced.

● Number of events and workshops around AI we participate in

Our work would have not been possible without the support from the Inter-american
Development Bank, GIZ, CAF, Luminate, OSCE, IRDC, World Bank, NDI, Accountability
Lab and all of those that support our vision and mission