Addressing global challenges through open data

The ability to collect, analyse and share data plays a crucial role in the context of the global challenges we face as a society today. From pollution and climate change, through poverty and pandemics, to sustainable mobility and lack of access to basic services. Global problems require solutions that can be adapted on a large scale. This is where open data can play a key role, as it allows governments, organisations and citizens to work together in a transparent way, and facilitates the process of achieving effective, innovative, adaptable and sustainable solutions.

The World Bank as a pioneer in the comprehensive use of open data

One of the most relevant examples of good practices that we can find when it comes to expressing the potential of open data to tackle major global challenges is, without a doubt, the case of the World Bank, a benchmark in the use of open data for more than a decade now as a fundamental tool for sustainable development.

Since the launch of its open data portal in 2010, the institution has undergone a complete transformation process in terms of data access and use. This portal, totally innovative at the time, quickly became a reference model by offering free and open access to a wide range of data and indicators covering more than 250 economies. Moreover, its platform is constantly being updated and bears little resemblance to the initial version at present, as it is continuously improving and providing new datasets and complementary and specialised tools with the aim of making data always accessible and useful for decision making. Examples of such tools include:

• The Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP): designed to monitor and analyse global poverty and inequality. With data from more than 140 countries, this platform allows users to access up-to-date statistics and better understand the dynamics of collective well-being. It also facilitates data visualisation through interactive graphs and maps, helping users to gain a clear and quick understanding of the situation in different regions and over time.
• The Microdata Library: provides access to household and enterprise level survey and census data in several countries. The library has more than 3,000 datasets from studies and surveys conducted by the Bank itself, as well as by other international organisations and national statistical agencies. The data is freely available and fully accessible for downloading and analysis.
• The World Development Indicators (WDI): are an essential tool for tracking progress on the global development agenda. This database contains a vast collection of economic, social and environmental development indicators, covering more than 200 countries and territories. It has data covering areas such as poverty, education, health, environmental sustainability, infrastructure and trade. The WDIs provide us with a reliable frame of reference for analysing global and regional development trends.

Figure 1. Screenshots of the web portals Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP), Microdata Library and World Development Indicators (WDI).

Data as a transformative element for change

A major milestone in the World Bank's use of data was the publication of the World Development Report 2021, entitled "data for better lives". This report has become a flagship publication that explores the transformative potential of data to address humanity's grand challenges, improve the results of development efforts and promote inclusive and equitable growth. Through the report, the institution advocates a new social agenda for data, including robust, ethical and responsible governance of data, maximising its value in order to generate significant economic and social benefit.

The report examines how data can be integrated into public policy and development programmes to address global challenges in areas such as education, health, infrastructure and climate change. But it also marked a turning point in reinforcing the World Bank's commitment to data as a driver of change in tackling major challenges, and has since adopted a new roadmap with a more innovative, transformative and action-oriented approach to data use. Since then, they have been moving from theory to practice through their own projects, where data becomes a fundamental tool throughout the strategic cycle, as in the following examples:

• Open Data and Disaster Risk Reduction: the report "Digital Public Goods for Disaster Risk Reduction in a Changing Climate" highlights how open access to geospatial and meteorological data facilitates more effective decision-making and strategic planning. Reference is also made to tools such as OpenStreetMap that allow communities to map vulnerable areas in real time. This democratisation of data strengthens emergency response and builds the resilience of communities at risk from floods, droughts and hurricanes.
• Open data in the face of agri-food challenges: the report "What's cooking?" shows how open data is revolutionising global agri-food systems, making them more inclusive, efficient and sustainable. In agriculture, access to open data on weather patterns, soil quality and market prices empowers smallholder farmers to make informed decisions. In addition, platforms that provide open geospatial data serve to promote precision agriculture, enabling the optimisation of key resources such as water and fertilisers, while reducing costs and minimising environmental impact.
• Optimising urban transport systems: in Tanzania, the World Bank has supported a project that uses open data to improve the public transport system. The rapid urbanisation of Dar es Salaam has led to considerable traffic congestion in several areas, affecting both urban mobility and air quality. This initiative addresses traffic congestion through a real-time information system that improves mobility and reduces environmental impact. This approach, based on open data, not only increases transport efficiency, but also contributes to a better quality of life for city dwellers.

Leading by example

Finally, and within this same comprehensive vision, it is worth noting how this international organization closes the circle of open data through its use as a tool for transparency and communication of its own activities.That is why among the outstanding data tools in its catalogue we can find some of them:

• Its project and operations portal: a tool that provides detailed access to the development projects that the institution funds and implements around the world. This portal acts as a window into all its global initiatives, providing information on objectives, funding, expected results and progress for the Bank's thousands of projects.
• The Finances One platform: on which they centralise all their financial data of public interest and those corresponding to the project portfolio of all the group's entities. It aims to simplify the presentation of financial information, facilitating its analysis and sharing by customers and partners.

The future impact of open data on major global challenges

As we have also seen above, opening up data offers immense potential to advance the sustainable development agenda and thus be able to address global challenges more effectively. The World Bank has been demonstrating how this practice can evolve and adapt to current challenges. Its leadership in this area has served as a model for other institutions, showing the positive impact that open data can have on sustainable development and in tackling the major challenges affecting the lives of millions of people around the world.

However, there is still a long way to go, as transparency and access to information policies need to be further improved so that data can reach the benefit of society as a whole in a more equitable way. In addition, another key challenge is to strengthen the capacities needed to maximise the use and impact of this data, particularly in developing countries. This implies not only going beyond facilitating access, but also working on data literacy and supporting the creation of the right tools to enable information to be used effectively.

The use of open data is enabling more and more actors to participate in the creation of innovative solutions and bring about real change. All this gives rise to a new and expanding area of work that, in the right hands and with the right support, can play a crucial role in creating a safer, fairer and more sustainable future for all. We hope that many organisations will follow the World Bank's example and also adopt a holistic approach to using data to address humanity's grand challenges.

Content prepared by Carlos Iglesias, Open data Researcher and consultant, World Wide Web Foundation. The contents and views reflected in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author.