This is an archived project from the Open Knowledge Foundation and it is no longer active. For any questions please contact admin at okfn.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Global Open Data Index?

The Global Open Data Index is Open Knowledge annual benchmark for open government data publication. It measures the openness of 15 datasets and compares them against to the Open Definition. Read more about it on the methodology page

What period does GODI refer to?

In the past, GODI used to collect the data between August and September and review the results between October to November. This year, we started the data collection later between November 2016 to January 2017 and considered the data between February-March 2017. This means that the data refers to the periods of 2016 until March 2017.

What is Open Data according to the Open Definition?

The Open Definition stipulates that data is open if anyone is free to access, use, modify, and share it — subject, at most, to measures that preserve provenance and openness. Read the full text of the Open Definition

Why do you have a dialogue phase?

In the past years, we have published the Index as a timely limited snapshot of open data and added an errata section to record mistakes in the evaluation. Last year, we reached out to governments to comment on our review before the official launch. This year, we decided to use the launch to initiate a public dialogue phase and reach more government. We also hope that an open dialogue allows data publishers and users to exchange viewpoints and learn from one another, and enables the publication of more meaningful open data.

How can I contest an entry in GODI?

It is very simple! Go to the relevant entry page you want to discuss and hit the button ‘ discuss findings’. This will open a new discussion thread on our OKI discuss forum. In a case someone already started a thread on the forum, the application will direct you to the right thread. Just write why you think the entry is faulty. Remember to be constructive!

Notice that we will not accept new submission for the GODI survey site! We are also not going to answer any privately sent emails requesting the OKI staff to change results. We believe that these discussions should be led in the open and be transparent to the entire open data community, and not only OKI staff.

I submitted a comment in the forum before the Index was launched. Will it have any impact on the assessment?

Yes! We have stopped looking at any submission that was submitted after the 15th of March. We will review all of these comments as part of the dialogue phase.

What happens if I comment on the Index results after the 2nd of June?

Our resources are limited, and we can not maintain a longer review process. If you still wish to challenge the results after the 2nd of June, please engage with us and our community on the discuss forum.

I don’t feel comfortable posting on the forum, can I send you an email?

We understand why governments want to speak about the results in an email, but we do not have the capacity to answer every request individually. Also, we believe that the discussion about the result should be in the open so that the whole open data community can learn from your viewpoints. Governments that already started to discuss the results include India, Mexico, UK, and Belgium.

What is the difference between the ranks in GODI and the Open Data Barometer?

GODI and the Open Data Barometer (ODB) are complementary to one another. GODI only looks at open data publication, while the ODB examines context, publication and impact. Also, the GODI methodology changed throughout the years, and the results are not comparable over time, while ODB has a consistent methodology making the result comparable. Lastly, GODI is looking for very specific datasets while the ODB is more general about the types of datasets in each category.

Why do you have fewer places in the Index this year?

GODI uses a snowball sample by crowdsourcing submissions. How many places we assess depends on how many submissions we receive from users. Therefore our country sample may change from year to year. We also use local wrangles that try to solicit submissions in different regions. You can read more about it in the methodology section.

Why are there two different scores in the Index for each place?

These scores measure different things. On our places page, we show a score to rank the places according to their openness. This score adds all points together that a place receives in each data category. The final score is used to compare the openness across places. Also, we show another score on each place page. This score shows how many of the 15 data categories are fully open in a place like Great Britain, India, or elsewhere.

Where can I learn more about the Index results?

The Index has several pages to show which place ranks highest, or how open data is provided in a particular place. Also, we provide context and analysis: If you are interested how different regions in the world perform, visit our findings page. On the findings page, we also answer questions such as “What is the state of open licensing in the world?”; “How do I distinguish an open spending dataset from an open procurement dataset?” or “What are the challenges of open data across data categories?”. If you only want to understand how to correctly read the Index results check this blogpost.

How can I get involved in next year’s Index? Follow the OK discuss forum to get updates about the next GODI!

Can I run a local instance of the Open Data Survey?

Sure! The survey is easy to replicate and customise. See more information about it on the survey page.

Can I download the data?

For sure! See the Download page

Can I reuse the data?

Absolutely, the content on this website is licensed under Creative Commons 4.0