The GovLab Index: Open Data (Updated)

Please find below the latest installment in The GovLab Index series, inspired by Harper’s Index. “The GovLab Index: Open Data” provides an update on our previous Open Data installment, and highlights global trends in Open Data and the release of public sector information.
Previous installments of the Index include Prizes and Challenges, Measuring Impact with Evidence, The Data Universe, Participation and Civic Engagement and Trust in Institutions. Please share any additional statistics and research findings on the intersection of technology in governance with us by emailing shruti at thegovlab.org.
Value and Impact

• Potential open data impact for the G20 countries according to an Omidyar Network study in 2014: US$2.6 trillion per annum or 1.1% of GDP
• Value in additional GDP that could be achieved by 2020 in European regions and all 28 member states through big and open data: 206 billion euros (+1.9% GDP)
• Sectors with the largest potential gains from open data in the EU28: Public administration, Real estate, Health and social work
• Potential global value of open data estimated by McKinsey: $3 trillion annually
  • Potential yearly value for the United States: $1.1 trillion
  • Europe: $900 billion
  • Rest of the world: $1.7 trillion
• Value of releasing UK’s geospatial data as open data: 13 million pounds per year by 2016
• Estimated worth of business reuse of public sector data in Denmark in 2010: more than €80 million a year
• Estimated worth of business reuse of public sector data across the European Union in 2010: €27 billion a year
• Total direct and indirect economic gains from easier public sector information re-use across the whole European Union economy, as of May 2013: €140 billion annually
• Economic value of publishing data on adult cardiac surgery in the U.K., as of May 2013: £400 million
• Economic value of time saved for users of live data from the Transport for London apps, as of May 2013: between £15 million and £58 million
• Estimated increase in GDP in England and Wales in 2008-2009 due to the adoption of geospatial information by local public services providers: +£320m
• Average decrease in borrowing costs in sovereign bond markets for emerging market economies when implementing transparent practices (measured by accuracy and frequency according to IMF policies, across 23 countries from 1999-2002): 11%
• Value supported by open weather data in applications in the secondary insurance market: $1.5 billion
  • Value from accurate weather predictions: $30 billion in US savings annually
• Estimated value of GPS data to the US economy: $90 billion annually

Public Views on and Use of Open Government Data in the US

• Percentage of Americans who have “used the internet to find data or information pertaining to government”: 65%
• How many Americans think the federal government shares data very or somewhat effectively with the public: 44%
• How many Americans “could think of an example where local government did not provide enough useful information about data and information to the public”: 19%
• Percentage of Americans who have “used government sources to find information about student or teacher performance”: 20%
  • Those who have used government sources “to look for information on the performance of hospitals or health care providers”: 17%
  • To find out about contracts between governmental agencies and external firms: 7%

Efforts and Involvement

• Number of U.S. based companies identified by the GovLab that use government data in innovative ways: 500+
• Number of Mexican companies and NGOs being identified by the GovLab and the Federal Government of Mexico that use open government data: 100
• Number of open data initiatives worldwide in 2009: 2
  • Number of open data initiatives worldwide in 2013: over 300
• Number of open government data portals worldwide in 2015: nearly 400
• Number of cities globally that participated in 2015 International Open Data Hackathon Day: 222, up from 102 in 2013
• Number of countries with Open Data sites in 2015 according to data.gov: 45
  • Number of U.S. cities with Open Data Sites in 2015: 46
  • U.S. states with open data initiatives in 2015: 39
• Membership growth in the Open Government Partnership from launch in 2011 until 2015: from 8 to 65 countries
• Number of time series indicators (GDP, foreign direct investment, life expectancy, internet users, etc.) in the World Bank Open Data Catalog: over 8,000
• Number of countries surveyed by the Open Data Barometer in 2015: 86, up from 77 in 2013
• How many of the 86 countries in the Barometer publish data on government spending in 2015: 8%
  • On government contracts: 6%
  • On ownership of companies: 3%
  • On performance of health services: 7%
  • On performance of education services: 12%
• How many of the 1,290 datasets surveyed for the Barometer met the criteria of being truly open: 10%, up from 7% in 2013
• How many of 77 countries surveyed by the Open Data Barometer have some form of Open Government Data Initiative in 2013: over 55%
  • How many Open Government Data initiatives have dedicated resources with senior level political backing: over 25%
• How many countries are listed in the Global Open Data Index in 2015: 97, up from 60 in 2013
  • How many of the 970 key datasets in the Index are open in 2015: 106, up from 87 in 2013
  • Top three countries in the Global Open Data Index ranking in 2014: United Kingdom, Denmark, France
    • Ranking of the US in 2014: 8th, down from 2nd in 2013
• The different levels of Open Data Certificates a data user or publisher can achieve “along the way to world-class open data”: 4 levels, Raw, Pilot, Standard and Expert
• The number of data ecosystems categories identified by the OECD: 3, data producers, infomediaries, and users
• Number of stories about the impact of open data crowdsourced by the Sunlight Foundation in May 2015: over 140

Examining Datasets

• How many datasets have been made open by governments worldwide: more than 1 million
• Number of datasets on the U.S. site data.gov in May 2015: 132,088
• How many released key datasets are truly open for re-use and can be used to hold government accountable, stimulate enterprise, and promote better social policy: fewer than 1 in 10
• Percentage of datasets published in both machine-readable forms and under open licenses: less than 7%
• Number of datasets on the Australian government’s open data website that were found to be unusable: one-third
• Out of 23 countries surveyed by Capgemini, those who share comprehensive data that includes both breadth and granularity: 22%
  • Those who lacked enhanced search capabilities: over 60%
  • Countries who share data that is not regularly updated: 96%
  • Those who are not utilizing user participation capabilities: 87%
  • Average score of evidence of impact in 43 countries with some form of open data policy: 1.7 out of 10
  • Percentage of impact questions for which no evidence could be found: 45%

Sources:

• Alonso, Jose. Announcing the Global Open Data Initiative. World Wide Web Foundation. June 11, 2013.
• Big and open data in Europe: A growth engine or a missed opportunity? demos Europa and Warsaw Institute for Economic Studies. 2014.
• Carpenter, John and Phil Watts. Assessing the Value of OS OpenData™ to the Economy of Great Britain – Synopsis. Ordnance Survey, ConsultingWhere Limited and ACIL Tasman. 2013.
• Commission on the Weather and Climate Enterprise. American Meteorological Society. Accessed May 2015.
• Coyne, Allie. Govt finds one third of open data was ‘junk’. ITnews. Nov 12, 2013.
• Data. The World Bank. Accessed May 2015.
• Glennerster, Rachel and Yongseok Shin. Does Transparency Pay? International Monetary Fund, Vol. 55, No. 1. 2008.
• Global Open Data Index. Open Knowledge Foundation. Accessed May 2015.
• How to Kick-Start Innovation with Free Data. Scientific American. March 23, 2013.
• Horrigan, John B. and Lee Rainie. Americans’ Views on Open Government Data. Pew Research Center. April 21, 2015.
• Lippert, Catherine. Topic Report No. 20 Public Sector Information Reuse in Denmark 2010. European Public Sector Information Platform. 2010.
• Market Assessment of Public Sector Information. Deloitte, U.K. Department for Business innovation & Skills. May 2013.
• Open Data Barometer: 2013 Global Report. ODI, OpenData Barometer, World Wide Web Foundation. 2013.
• OpenData Barometer Second Edition (January 2015). World Wide Web Foundation. January 2015.
• Open Data Certificate. Open Data Institute. Accessed December 2013.
• Open Data Sites. data.gov. Accessed December 12, 2013.
• Open data: Unlocking innovation and performance with liquid information. McKinsey & Company. October 2013.
• Open for Business: How Open Data Can Help Achieve the G20 Growth Target. Omidyar Network. June 2014.
• Shakespeare, Stephan. Shakespeare Review: An Independent Review of Public Sector Information. May 2013.
• Stimulus Funds, Transparency, and Public Trust. United Nations e-Government Survey 2010. 2010.
• The Open Data Economy: Unlocking Economic Value  by Opening Government and Public Data. Capgemini Consulting. 2013.
• The Value of Geospatial Information to Local Public Service Delivery in England and Wales. Local Government Group, ConsultingWhere and ACIL Talisman. 2010.
• Ubaldi, Barbara. Open Government: Data Towards Empirical Analysis of Open Government Data Initiatives. OECD Working Papers on Public Governance No. 22, OECD Publishing. 2013.
• Understanding the Impact of Releasing and Re-Using Open Government Data. European Public Sector Information Platform. August 2013.