The World Bank data catalog is an ongoing effort to provide a “one-stop shop” for all Bank data related to development. That aspiration took a big step forward this week as we completed the addition of datasets from the World Bank’s ENERGYDATA.INFO platform. ENERGYDATA.INFO continues to provide public access to hundreds of datasets from over a dozen organizations on topics such as solar and wind measurement data, electricity transmission networks and energy access. Users may now search for and download those same datasets from the Bank-wide catalog.
This integration is similar to previous efforts to provide greater data access. The World Bank’s finances platform, microdata platform, and open data catalog have all been added to the data catalog. For data users and Bank staff alike, there is a clear benefit in being able to search and access all available data from a single online location. The data catalog also provides a consistent approach to data licensing, so users can understand which datasets are open data, which are subject to third-party terms, and which may carry other restrictions.
There are also several benefits for Bank staff. For example, the data catalog’s support for metadata standards means that datasets are available in the newly released Google dataset search tool, which allows users to search the internet for datasets the same way they already do for websites and other information. And the common platforms help users see what data have been made available from different units and global practices throughout the World Bank, including geospatial data and household survey data. Bank staff can also use the data catalog to deposit datasets developed under individual projects, both for reuse by others and for archive purposes, including datasets classified as Public or Official Use Only under the Bank’s Access to Information policy.
For Bank staff in the Energy & Extractives global practice, the energy data integration means they will henceforth be using the Bank’s standard platform for dataset management. ENERGYDATA.INFO will continue providing access to Bank’s public energy related data and host datasets from its partner organizations. Updates and additions to the data catalog will be synchronized daily using the data catalog’s application programming interface (API).
“The World Bank’s data catalog gives our team a solid data curation and management platform to serve both our internal needs and those of our partners,” said Tigran Parvanyan, Energy Specialist and project lead for ENERGYDATA.INFO. “This is a tool we can use to implement an ‘open by default’ approach that will revolutionize how we leverage and disseminate data to deliver cutting-edge products, services, and analysis. For example, we’ve already developed the Global Wind Atlas to help users with energy planning; the data catalog and ENERGYDATA.INFO make the underlying raw data available for many additional purposes which we can only begin to imagine.”
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