The World Bank opened its data to the public on April 20, 2010, providing free and open access to a comprehensive set of data about development in countries around the globe. Central and local governments around the world are increasingly ‘opening' a range of data, for free, including as part of continuing global efforts to improve public services, create economic growth and enhance transparency. Open government data allows the development of computer and mobile applications that use data to improve services, and enables citizens to freely access governmental data for any purpose, including commercial goals. Broader access to data also allows policy makers, researchers, and civil society to track the impact of policies, develop new solutions, and measure improvements.
The Bank has also been working with governments to support their efforts to open their data to their citizens and businesses. To accelerate this effort, the World Bank has joined forces with the Open Data Institute and the Open Knowledge Foundation in a 3-year program to create a global partnership with other like-minded institutions around the world, designed to help policy makers and citizens in developing countries understand and exploit the benefits of open data for accelerating development. To learn more, see the press release.
Links to various resources
Conference: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/5389255/okcon/videos/30340282
Open Government Data Toolkit: http://data.worldbank.org/open-government-data-toolkit
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