OPEN DATA FOR DEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICA

AND THE CARIBBEAN

PROPOSAL

To be presented to the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Proponents:

Avina Foundation- Regional Headquarters - Panama / Panama

University of West Indies Mona Business School
Organization of American States
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America

12 February, 2014

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Summary:

Open data, which refers to releasing freely accessible, standardized and easily readable data, promises
to make governments more transparent, accountable and efficient. It can also foster greater civic
participation and promote new business opportunities. Governments, entrepreneurs and civil society
organizations in Latin America are interested in exploring the potential of open data. As a result,
several governments have set up open data portals releasing budget, education and other public
datasets on the Internet. Social and economic entrepreneurs across Latin America and the Caribbean
can now create web and mobile applications using this data, thus potentially leading to more efficient
delivery of public services to citizens.
Despite the promise of addressing development problems through open data reforms, several
challenges have arisen in attempting to harness their potential. In 2013, attendees at the first Latin
America and the Caribbean Open Data Conference in Montevideo explored the opportunities and
challenges for open data in the region. An emerging community of governments, civil society,
academics and entrepreneurs came together to discuss the use of open data in the areas of urban
governance, health, education, budget, parliamentary transparency, agriculture, and the environment.
The consensus from the event is that while examples of successful open data initiatives are emerging,
these tend to be scattered, often leading to duplication and wasted resources. Moreover, previous open
data studies have highlighted the lack of focus on the unintended consequences of implementing open
data initiatives, such as personal privacy breaches and greater social exclusion. The overarching
objective of this initiative is to strengthen the accountability and legitimacy of public institutions,
improve public services, and fuel economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean through
research and innovation on open data initiatives.
To address these issues, this project will support two initiatives: the Latin American Open Data
Institute (Instituto Latinoamericano de Datos Abiertos - ILDA) and the Caribbean Open
Institute. These initiatives, which will act as innovation and research hubs, will explore the
opportunities and challenges of using open data to prevent and solve development problems. Working
in coordination with governments, the private sector and civil society, these initiatives will explore
measures to catalyze demand for, and usage of, open data to achieve development goals across the
region. As a result, it is anticipated that policies and practices related to open data in Latin America
and the Caribbean will be better informed, thus enabling them to achieve their stated intent to
strengthen the accountability and legitimacy of public institutions, improve public services and fuel
economic growth.
The ILDA will be hosted by the Avina Foundation, in coordination with the Organization of American
States (OAS), and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The COI
will be hosted by the University of West Indies. There will be a coordination mechanism to share
knowledge and research on the demand and use of open data for development with governments in the
region, improving policy dialogue and consultation practices,

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Latin American Open Data Institute (ILDA)
Fundacin Avina- Regional Headquarters - Panama / Panama
Address: Calle Evelio Lara, Casa N131-B Ciudad del Saber, Clayton
Tel.:(507) 317-0657 Fax::(507) 317-0239
Coordinator - Marcio Vasconcelos Marcio.Vasconcelos@avina.net Coordenador de Programas
Rua bano Pereira, 44, sala 802, Centro, Curitiba-PR. Brasil. 80.410-240
Telf: +55(41) 332 44400 +55(41) 9876 1115
IDRC contribution: US$600,000
Parallel Funding: Omidyar Network: US$ 600,000 / Avina Foundation: US$300,000
Total: US$ 1,5 M
Organization of American States
Address: 200 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20006, United States
Component Leader: Maria Fernanda Trigo Director Department for Effective Public Management
Secretariat for Political Affairs
T. 202-370-4635
F. 202-458-6250
mtrigo@oas.org
www.oas.org
IDRC Contribution : US$200,000 In kind US$100,000 Total US$ 300,000
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America
Av. Dag Hammarskjld 3477, Vitacura, Santiago Chile
Mario Castillo - Division of Production, Productivity and Management
Phone (56 2) 210 2286
Email: Mario.castillo@cepal.org
IDRC Contribution US$100,000 ECLAC In kind US$ 50,000 Total US$ 150,000
Caribbean Open Institute
University of West Indies Mona Business School
Mona School of Business - Centre of Excellence
Maurice McNaughton - Director
<maurice.mcnaughton@uwimona.edu.jm>
The University of the West Indies
Mona, Jamaica
Tel: 977-6976 | Fax: 977-4622
IDRC contribution: US$300000

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 1) PROBLEM AND JUSTIFICATION: FROM PRINCIPLES TO PRACTICE

Two factors drive Latin American and Caribbean governments interest in open data: government
transparency and improvement of public services. After the democratization wave of the 1980s, most
governments in the region were under pressure from civil society to enact reforms that enhanced the
integrity and transparency of public institutions and officials. Furthermore governments are facing
significant pressures to improve public services, which have shown mixed results after a decade of good
economic performance. Innovation in the public sector is deemed crucial in areas such as transport, health
and social services . Open government data is now part of governments strategic tools to address the
aforementioned challenges.

Governments have now released over a million datasets building the basis for several stakeholders to use
and re-use information. Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Montevideo have set up collaborative space to
partner with civil society and civic entrepreneurs in the development of public services. Websites, such as
Quedu.br and Mejoratuescuela.org, are transforming the way citizens compare the quality of schools and
governments view their own educational system. Parliaments in Argentina and Guatemala are
implementing specific open data guidelines to increase transparency in the legislative process. Eight
countries in the region are already following basic standards for disclosing budgets built on open data on
agricultural subsidies, the Subsidios al Campo campaign shifted the public debate and ultimately resulted
in reforms that ensure that subsidies are flowing only to those that needed them. These new practices and
relationships configure an open data ecosystem (Harrison et al, 2012), re-shaping previous governance
arrangements and balance between state and society.

Thus this new scenario begs the question Can Open Data help to deliver Open Government and more
inclusive development? Weinstein and Goldstein (2012) argue that:

Open data benefits open government by focusing attention on the users needs, thereby
increasing public disclosures potential value to citizens and harnessing technology to
make the most of available information. But open data also benefits from open
government, which links public disclosure to core governance problems and promises that
the technical community behind open data might meaningfully deploy its expertise and
energy to strengthen accountability in democracies around the world.

Open data initiatives found substantial support in the Open Government Partnership (OGP)1 . The OGP is
a new high-level multilateral and multi-stakeholder forum launched in September 2011 which seeks to
encourage open government initiatives and has already secured commitments from sixty two
governments. The Americas have become an important force for in this partnership: sixteen Latin
American countries have prepared and presented their action plans for greater openness in government
and many have launched open data portals. The US, Mexico and Brazil were founding members of the OGP.
Brazil co-chaired the first steering committee and Mexico is likely to host the OGP Summit in 2015. Open
government has become a priority for governments reform in the region, as it is hoped that these
initiatives will not only increase government transparency and accountability, but also spur economic
activities in areas such as trade and agriculture.

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Nevertheless Open Government Plans are still work in progress (Dassen and Ramirez Alujas, 2012),some
countries are advancing in transparency and public services reforms linked to open government data
initiatives, while others are still not fully working in an open government framework. Initial steps such as
creating a digital portal and putting a few datasets on-line may be relatively simple and inexpensive.
However, populating portals with updated, relevant and timely data requires significant changes in
government processes.

Leading governments are keen to operate as a platform. In other words, offering data to the
communities of users and developers who collaborate to create innovations that can be incorporated into
government practices. These communities are formed by a new generation of tech-savvy non Government
Organizations (NGOs), committed civic or social entrepreneurs, and a growing number of well-intentioned
and highly skilled citizens. A breed of new organizations is emerging in Latin America and the Caribbean,
using open data and technology to address social challenges:

For instance:

ABRELATAM2 showed a great diversity in terms of organizations, motivations and issues

where open government data could be an enabler to promote social change.
In the Caribbean, the Code-for-the-Caribbean initiative, implemented in partnership with
the Ministry of Agriculture in Jamaica, was an instructive exploration of the new emerging,
open mechanisms of public sector/civil society innovation engagement.
Developing Latin America and Developing the Caribbean two regional hackhatons
initiatives are still in place developing more sustainable approaches to using open data.

However challenges persist: there is still a lack of structured spaces for exchanges on the matter, datasets
available lack of standards and there is a low involvement of international and national organizations that
could support these efforts. Data release alone is not useful in itself unless communities working on it
engage with it. In other words:

Creating a participatory innovation ecosystem is about a lot more than just publishing data sets. It requires
doing the hosting, convening, persuading, and demonstrating involved in inviting diverse people to
participate. The institutional players have to be prepared to collaborate with the innovators; those outside
government have to know how to collaborate; civil society activists have to ensure that innovators know the
problems that need solving; and research is needed to figure out what works. Noveck (2012)

Public information (open data) is the foundation of participatory open data eco-system, but is not enough
to create participation, it is key to understand the demand, and the growing importance of this activity
citizenship that is empowered by open data.

There are questions to answer that impact directly on information publication practices:

The active citizen Open Data Eco-system

How do citizens, civic entrepreneurs and civil society How co-production triggers innovation and
and government engage in co-production? more effective forms of public service delivery?

2 Website: www.abrelatam.org

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 What are the rules for broader collaboration? How standards can lead to greater reuse,
scalability and impact of civic initiatives?

Are marginalized groups represented as well? How do governments address the cognitive
divide in relation to data and spread the benefits
of open government to marginalized
communities?

What data does an active citizen need? How can government define priorities in their
open data efforts and reach greater impact?

2) THE EMERGING OPEN DATA COMMUNITY IN LATIN AMERICA AND

THE CARIBBEAN
The first Open Data Conference in Latin America and the Caribbean, showed the need to move towards a
more systemic and strategic approach towards open data. Participants identified areas such as Urban
Governance, Health and Education, Government Transparency and Agriculture and Environment. Also,
the Conference showed the need for a special strategy for the Caribbean due to specific regional
characteristics.

URBAN GOVERNANCE:

There are several cities in the region such as Buenos Aires, Lima, Montevideo and Sao Paulo developing
open data policies and using open government data to achieve social outcomes. For instance Mexico City
recently set up an innovation city lab3, to improve life of citizens in Mexico partnering with civil society
and civic developers. Buenos Aires, -a leading force in open data in the region- set-up a collaborative space
for innovation inside the public sector linking silos in public administration with policy problems and
community of users. Montevideo is partnering with civil society organizations to develop collaborative
practices and software development to improve public services, leading to co-creation and integration of
services. As more data becomes available, a quantified city could emerge, albeit challenge remains in
how to improve government- citizens communication to promote better and sustainable cities (Sasaki,
2012)

Research in this area should focus on understanding how cities are engaging with communities, business
and social organizations delivering new outcomes in terms of urban governance in key areas. Critical
areas are: transport, city services and participation.

PUBLIC SERVICES: HEALTH AND EDUCATION

3 http://www.labplc.mx/

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Latin American and Caribbean countries have significant amount of data in terms of public health systems,
albeit it remains a topic largely unexplored. Organized intermediaries such as users groups could benefit
significantly of more available and actionable information.

Education is also an area where open data could foster oversight and better results. Education systems in
the region produce significant data that could help parents to understand the educative system as well as
to choose and demand better schooling for their children. For instance Quedu.br, is a pioneer website
which helps people to understand Brazilian educative system, allowing comparison across states, regions
and schools, based on open data coming from national tests and other sources. With more data and
appropriate governance these websites could give the region much better insight about educative
services.

Research focus in this field should seek to understand the potential and actual use of open government
data by grassroots users to drive change in the identified areas of a health care or education system. It
should also engage public sector officials exploring which is the best way to advance an open data policy
in their specific sectors.

GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY:

Government transparency evolved steadily in the region with the enshrinement of access to information
rights (such as Brazil in 2010) as well as integrity regulation (such as the recent lobby law in Chile).
Furthermore open data portals are now making their way through the region albeit development is
patchy (Fumega and Scrollini, 2012). Successful campaigns are emerging in terms of parliamentary
monitoring process in Honduras, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Brazil, but it is still unclear how far they
can transform parliamentary-citizenry relationship. Research in this area should focus on providing
evidence about how public information is used to increase citizen participation, as well as to understand
how it affect political processes in several government branches.

AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT:

Agriculture is a crucial development field in the Americas in terms of economic importance and scene of
social struggles. The recently created global open data initiative for agriculture and nutrition (GODAN) is
also seeking to contribute towards research on the topic at a global level Subsidies, corruption in the field
and labor conditions are usually problematic. Research on this field should look at the political economy
of the sector, opportunities for enhanced service delivery to local farmers, as well as mapping some of the
key issues to understand in which activities open government and open government data could deliver
more opportunities.

3) GENERATING KNOWLEDGE AND EXPLORING OPEN DATA USE

This project will help to structure open data dialogues in the region, building on two regional hubs: the
Latin American Open Data Institute (Instituto Latinoamericana de Datos Abiertos - ILDA) and the
Caribbean Open Institute. These innovations, research and coordination hubs build on the alliances
developed during the recent IDRC supported activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Caribbean
Open Institute (#106099) and the Open Data for Development platform (OD4D) - project (#106286)

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created strategic alliances among key civil society organizations, governments and multilateral
organizations in both sub-regions.

These two projects have built an initial body of knowledge that provides the basis for establishing
knowledge hubs in open data initiatives in Latin America and in the Caribbean. These hubs will work in
coordination with the, working group on Open Data inside the Open Government Partnership, co-chaired
by the Government of Canada and the Web Foundation (project #107075). They will also work in
coordination with a regional agenda developed among governments of the region in the eLAC Regional
Action Plan.

THE LATIN AMERICA OPEN DATA INSTITUTE (ILDA)

ILDA is a light weight nodal initiative where several stakeholders can articulate exchanges about open
data. ILDA will be in charge of developing three phases of the project: mapping, strategic actions and
evaluation. ILDA will be hosted by Foundation Avina who will carry out most of strategic actions
developing several partnerships in the region. ILDA will have an advisory group composed of: Omidyar
Network, IDRC, Avina Foundation, OAS ,ECLAC, W3C, DATA Uruguay, Social Tic, Ciudadano Inteligente, COI
and WF. The advisory board will provide advice in terms of the general development of the project as well
as in the selection of strategic actions to carry forward. Avina will contribute financially and in kind
resources towards the management structure of ILDA, as well as towards strategic actions and
dissemination activities. Omidyar Network will contribute with financial resources towards ILDA in terms
of strategic actions and dissemination, as well as in kind support in mentoring activities. ECLAC will
provide in kind contributions in terms of policy advice and research The Latin American Open Data
Institute (ILDA) is still in early stages. Born from the first Regional Open Data Conference, it is a
partnership among the organization involved in setting up this regional forum. The partners have leading
and complementary positions which are crucial to explore the above mentioned questions.

Based on the commitment with the event and underlying agenda, the stakeholders intend to support and
strengthen ILDAs governance and its strategic development. In an unofficial manner, ILDA is already
working together with the presidency of Mexico in the design of the next conference. Also, ILDA (and the
Government of Mexico) are interested in becoming part of the steering committee of the Open
Government Partnerships Open Data Working Group.

Strategic actions (described below) will be based on a set of hypotheses linked to capacity building, open
government data standards and collaborative development:

Collaborative development - ILDA will engage with several stakeholders at a local and
national level to understand how governments and civil society can partner creating or
reshaping existing public services. It will build on the experience of Avina Foundation and
Omydiar Network, which have been main funders of collaborative innovation and open
data competitions in the region (including a regional civic innovation competition).
Development of standards - ILDA will partner with W3C to explore particular standards in
given ecosystems. W3C will build on previous work developed during the previous OD4D
projects W3C.br is leading communities developing technical standards for the disclosure
of data (W3C Open Data Community Group).

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 Capacity Building - ILDA will partner with DATA and Social TIC to carry forward strategic
actions to enhance capacity of traditional NGOs and excluded groups. DATA and Social Tic
have been working closely with NGOs, journalists, and unprivileged communities to
developed the analytical data skills (among others, they adapted the well-known OKFs
School of Data platform to Spanish).

Finally ILDA will work with the Web Foundation collaborating in global processes such as the Open Data
Working group in the context of OGP, advocating for open data release and standards. Furthermore ILDA
could also take part in the Open Data Research Network (ODR) contributing with case studies and
developing new conceptual frameworks. It will help to coordinate the policy dialogue in the region with
the support of ECLAC and the Organization of American States. OAS and UN-ECLAC have established
networks to discuss with governments across the region on issues related to technology and its
implications (including an official government-led working group inside the eLAC regional action plan).

THE CARIBBEAN OPEN INSTITUTE

The Caribbean Open Institute (COI) is defined as a coalition of organizations that catalyze open
development approaches to inclusion, participation and innovation. The COI founding members are MSB
UWI Mona, The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering UWI St. Augustine (T&T), Fundacin
Taigey (Dominican Republic), PANOS Caribbean (Jamaica), Slahsroots Caribbean Foundation .

The Caribbean Open Institute (COI) has emerged as an important catalyst in the development and
facilitation of Open Data initiatives in the region, and plays an important role in the advocacy and
engagement with regional governments and international partners. The new phase of work of the
Caribbean Open Institute (106099-004) generated several insights that provide underlying propositions
for a Theory of Change relating to Open Data initiatives in the Caribbean, considering its unique
attributes within the larger Americas region.

This project will build on the monitoring, evaluation and strategic planning activities carried on the COI
under IDRC project #106099 - 006 in seeking to develop the COIs institutional structure and governance
mechanisms to ensure visibility and capacity to support the scale-up and sustainability of the open data
initiatives across the Caribbean region The COI will develop similar activities to ILDA in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Open Institute precedes the work in Latin America. It emerged from activities inside the
project Caribbean Knowledge Economy: Coordinating Network (#106099) and it already engages with
the different dimensions of the open data initiatives.

Collaborative development - COI has hosted a number of editions of a multi-country

conference and code competition known as Developing the Caribbean - which is the
largest technological event in the Caribbean. It has also support to governmental open data
initiatives in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominican Republic.
Development of standards COI is working to establish a Caribbean Civic commons that
will build a number of platforms for Caribbean countries
Capacity Building - COI has provided open data training and mentorship to journalists to
cover issues of public interest.

COI will provide Caribbean governments, researchers, journalists, technologists and NGOs with access to a
larger community of knowledge, expertise and resources. COI has systematically engaged in policy
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debates in the region, including collaboration with the World Bank in country-level readiness
assessments. The COI has already developed a coherent strategic plan for the next two years. The research
activities proposed here are aligned with these plans. The common timeframe for this proposal will also
be a key opportunity to strengthen the collaboration and learning from experiences in the Caribbean and
Latin America.

4)RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

The overarching objective of this initiative is to strengthen the accountability and legitimacy of public
institutions, improve public services, and fuel economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean through
research and innovation on open data initiatives

This overarching objective will be achieved through 6 research objectives:

Improve understanding of the demand and use of open data for development in Latin
America;
Support the collaborative development of products and services between government,
civil society and entrepreneurs in these selected areas.
Promote the development and adoption of emerging open data standards that enable open
data initiatives to scale up;
Explore mechanisms for open data to address the needs of marginalized groups, focusing
particularly on youth, women and urban poor; and
Build the capacity of the Latin American Open Data Institute to act as knowledge sharing
platform fostering dialogue with governments that feeds to the initiative
share knowledge and research on the demand and use of open data for development with
governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, improving policy dialogue and
consultation practices

5) METHODOLOGY
The project will support research and innovation on open data initiatives, testing conceptual frameworks
and methods that explore the linkages between open data and developmental outcomes.

ILDA will develop a set of studies focusing on Latin American countries, while the COI will develop a set of
studies and initiatives with a focus on the Caribbean. In coordination with ILDA, OAS and UN-ECLAC will
be responsible for sharing knowledge and research on the demand and use of open data for development
among governments in the region. They will build on their role in well-established and complementary
government networks.

Based on language and institutional characteristics, the government networks in the Caribbean tend to be
different. COI is well positioned to work directly with CARICOM and other sub-regional mechanisms. At
the same time, OAS and UN-ECLAC will also work with COI in activities in the Caribbean whenever
appropriate, incorporating this knowledge into relevant debates.

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The research will be carried out in three phases: (i) mapping open data ecosystems, (ii) action research
and experimental projects related to the co-creation, standards and capacity building, and (iii)
participatory evaluation.

These phases are described below:

MAPPING OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA ECO-SYSTEMS

ECLAC lead the Open Data for Development platform (OD4D) - project (#106286), developing a wide
range of studies on open government data policies in several areas such as environment, cities, legal
frameworks and economics of open data. As a result ECLAC is uniquely placed to take advantage of the
previous accumulation process, to produce significant analysis on regulation in open government data.

Furthermore, ECLAC acts as technical secretariat of eLAC2015 Action Plan on Information Society for
Latin America and the Caribbean. Accordingly, building on a meeting among government officials that
happened during the first open data conference in Montevideo, a regional working group on Open Data
was established within the eLAC2015 mechanism to promote knowledge sharing among governments and
civil society.

In order to help design a work plan for the implementation of open government initiatives in region,
ECLAC will map the status and key governance issues on ongoing national open government data
programs. Also, ECLAC will compile and discuss policy issues on legal, administrative and technical
aspects of open data, and propose policy recommendations to support the implementation of national
open data programs.
This government-led working group will work in n close collaboration with other ILDA partners and the
OGP Open Data Working Group to explore the strategic institutional arrangements for open data
initiatives, best practices, methods for assuring usability and quality of data and recommendations for
open innovations practices. This regional workgroup among governments will be an important in order to
favor cooperation, exchange of best practices, capacity building and networking throughout the project.

Output 1: A work plan agreed among governments in the region within the Open Data
Working Group of eLAC2015 (coordinated by UN-ECLAC), in alignment with the Open Data
Working Group of the Open Government Partnership (responsible ECLAC)

In addition, the mapping phase of this project aims to provide an in-depth description of open data
ecosystems debated in the First Latin American Open Data Conference: public services, government
transparency, agriculture and environment and urban governance. These studies aims to provide an in-
depth description of open data ecosystems debated in the First Latin American Open Data Conference:
public services, government transparency, agriculture and environment and urban governance.

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Mapping will build on the Open Data Barometer focusing on the supply side. The Open Data Barometer
mapped out the supply of key datasets4 in many countries of the region. Using the open data barometer
as base-line, studies will identify key stakeholders in the open government data ecosystem, following a
template which will consider the following dimensions:

1) Base line: Which is the status of the topic/policy, particularly in terms of OGD implementation (see Open
Data Barometer sub-index)? The base line should establish clearly which is the policy in place, status of
implementation and available supply of information.

2) Stakeholders analysis: This section will explore key stakeholders in the open data environment in the
public, private and civil society. The study will provide a characterization of each stakeholder developing
an analysis of the role they play, the resources they have and the objectives the pursue

3) Possible initiatives: The studies will provide a set of possible initiatives which could be deployed in each
open data environment. Those initiatives could be based on local initiatives already deployed or
comparative evidence adapted to the local environment. Crucially studies need to identify potential for
support and development in the environment as well as possible models to carry them out.

The research will be based on Expert Surveys, Interviews and ODDC framework. The mapping will be
developed in the four areas listed above: Urban Governance, Public Services, Government Transparency
and Agriculture and Environment.. Annex 2 includes a potential list of mapping studies

Output 2: 8 studies mapping open data eco-systems in Latin America (AVINA/ILDA)

Output 3 : 2 studies mapping open data eco-systems in the Caribbean (COI).

These documents will serve as support for ongoing discussions and agenda setting in the region in each of
the thematic areas defined above. These will be key input to the second Open Data regional conference5
and satellite events.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Based on information gathered in the mapping phase the project will develop initiatives or experimental
designs around three strategic areas: co-creation, standard development and capacity building . Up to 20
studies will aim to support and learn from strategic initiatives that foster open data Eco-systems as well as
to learn from the critical issues they deal with.

Strategic initiatives are designed to test the following hypotheses:

4e.g. map data, public transport timetables, crime statistics, international trade data, health sector
performance, primary or secondary education, performance data, national environment statistics and
detailed census data, land ownership data, legislation, national election results, detailed government
budget, detailed government spend and company register
5

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1- Innovation: Collaborative development between government and civil society and
private sector triggers innovation and more effective forms of public service delivery

Collaborative development between several stakeholders is one of the key assumptions of a participatory
open data Eco-system. Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Montevideo have set up collaborative space to
partner with civil society and civic entrepreneurs in the development of public services. Multi-country
competitions such as Developing the Caribbean and Desarollando America Latina (Developing Latin
America) engage hundreds of developers every year to develop civic applications. Code for the Caribbean
establishes multidisciplinary teams to work on open data projects.

Studies will explore the effectiveness of at least four different approaches in order to inform new
initiatives. These set of studies seek to understand what services are needed in terms of infrastructure to
foster innovation, which is the governance of new created services and what degree of control the
government might or might not exercise on them. Furthermore, government involvement seems relevant
terms of scalability and reliability of services, but the key questions for public officials and innovators is
how. Activities will also explore enablers and barriers for government to engage in co-production
activities.

Output 4a. -at least 4 will support and research collaborative development of services and
innovation using open government data (IlDA/COI)

2 Standards: Establishing open standards can lead to greater reuse and scalability:
There are a number of emerging alliances which seek to establish parameters for scaling up innovation.
Open311 offers a standard for channels of communication for issues that concern public space and public
services. Open Parliaments offer guidelines for the disclosure of data in the legislative process. Mayors are
exploring the idea of an Open Cities Alliance to establish parameters for collaboration in Latin America. A
number of studies exploring in detail these emerging practices in these global and region communities,
and their pertinence to the region is key to strengthen replication and greater impact.

Development of Open Data standards is deemed as a critical part of an open data Eco-system. While there
is a general agreement about what open data means, standards are difficult to agree once they become
specific. Issues about state capacity, cost, and technology available become significantly relevant. Building
on the exploratory work done through the OD4D project and in the context of the working group created
in the OGP process, for Open Data, as well as other multi-stakeholder groups such as W3C Open Data
forums, these strategic actions seek to understand how standards in specific areas could lead to greater
reuse and scalability.

Output 4 b - at least 4 will support and research open data the production and development
of open data standards in specific topics

3 Inclusion: Data literacy is essential to spread the benefits of open government to

marginalized communities
As Gurnstein (2010) noted there is a real peril that the open data agenda could end up alienating
communities and the knowledge they produce due to lack of skills and engagement. Thus, strategies to
engage and build the commons around open data are essential to mitigate risks as well as to develop
interventions in which communities, experts and developers can design new tools and imaging better

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ways to use data. (Bates 2012). Some practitioners are arguing for the need of a popular data approach
which user driven and participatory by nature (Bhargava, 2013)6

Social Tic is an NGO based in Mexico who set up the Latin American version of School of Data, and is
currently developing training seminars on the topic targeting NGO, journalists and marginalized groups.
The Caribbean Open Institute (Panos Caribbean) has developed specific support to media professionals
interested in developing stories of public interest, particularly related to poor and marginalized
communities. A number of studies will explore the effectiveness of different approaches.

The main research question in this case is to understand under what conditions excluded groups such as
youth and women can take advantage of the new era of open government. Exploring the basic skills
needed to engage with open data, as well as the different approaches to local organizations this
component seeks to critically appraise available methodologies and test new ones in terms of capacity
building for online and offline communities.

Output 4 c - at least 4 will research, test and foster mechanisms to expand data literacy and
skills of excluded groups fostering and strengthening their participation in open
government ecosystems (IlDA/COI)

Output 4 d at least 4 will research, test and foster the above mentioned strategic areas in
the Caribbean (IlDA/COI)

PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION

Based on the interventions in the different areas, evaluation should focus on key indicators defined during
the mapping and adjusted during the intervention phase. Crucially the evaluation process should be
formative and shared in order to capture specific hard data as well as soft data. Due to the level of
maturity of the field it is highly likely that soft data will provide a better understanding of key variables
and its interdependencies. This phase is aligned with the evaluation phase of this project.

As the analysis of different cases will build on common indicators, it will be possible to draw a systematic
comparison, which will be the basis of peer-reviewed articles.

Output 5 Four peer-reviewed quality research articles on how the selected initiatives lead
to development outcomes (e.g. how open standards contribute to greater reuse and
scalability, how broader participation leads to more effective open data programs). The
lessons learned during the process will be shared with governments in the region. The
project will share knowledge and research on the demand and use of open data for
development among governments in the region. (ILDA)

Building on the learning from these strategic initiatives, the project will take advantage of established
networks to discuss with governments across the region on the potential implications. Building on the

6 for instance http://civic.mit.edu/blog/rahulb/towards-a-concept-of-popular-data

accessed 1st December 2013

14
results of the dialogue with the eLAC working group, The UN-ECLAC will evaluate the eLAC open data
work plan.

Output 1a: An evaluation on the work plan agreed among governments in the region within
the Open Data Working Group of eLAC2015 (coordinated by UN-ECLAC) (responsible ECLAC)

Also, OAS has long worked on e-government in the region through the involvement and support of the
successful RED GEALC network which plays an influential role in e-government policy development and
collaboration among governments. In the context of Open Government efforts Red Gealc also developed
the first Gob Camp in the region, experiencing with new participatory methodologies. Red Gealc is now
actively working with governments on open government plans and seeks to foster participatory practices
in the building of open government data plans.

The OAS will organize a series of at least 3 Gov Camps and provide technical support to countries
developing open data plans. Gov Camps will be key instances where knowledge generated on the strategic
initiatives explored in this research can be brought to government officials and civil society in the region.

The OAS will also focus on use its networks to provide information about the evolution of the research
agenda as well as will disseminate information to governments. In particular OAS will foster dialogue
through the E Government Leaders Network ofNetwork of Latin America and the Caribbean (RED Gealc)

Finally, the OAS will in partnership with other stakeholders deliver on line courses 7 aimed to educate
public servants about the synergies open government data and several governance areas could develop
aiming towards the outcomes of this project. Courses will also help other institutions and the general
public to understand key issues of open government.

Output 6 Report on regional dialogue and participation on Open Data based on 3 Gov Camps
developed through the course of the project (OAS)

Output 7) Engagement with public servants through on-line education course(OAS)

Furthermore in Latin America there is still not an obvious path towards setting up a nodal entity able to
convey all the open government data efforts in the region. This project aims to contribute towards
generating such a nodal entity or hub. ILDA could work as an incubator for a future Institute or more
stable alliance. In the Caribbean, The Caribbean Open Institute (COI) already plays this role.

Output 8 A proposed governance structure for a Nodal entity (hub) in Latin America will be
developed 8 (ILDA)

Output 9 A governance structure for a hub in the Caribbean (COI)

7 There is space for cooperation in this item with W3C on previous online courses developed by them.

8 The hub will build on previous efforts from the OD4D project and website. Further developments on this will be
carried out in the planning and implementation stage of this project

15
 6) . EXPECTED RESULTS AND DISSEMINATION

The principal outcome of this project will be the establishment of ILDA and COI as innovation and
research labs that will work to harness the potential of open data initiatives to address development
challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean. The following table presents the key expected results in
each component:
Catalyse mechanisms for collaboration and co-production of public services
Facilitate the adoption of technical standards in key areas, which should contribute to the
scaling up, sustainability and impact of open data initiatives in the region.
Build the capacities of data entrepreneurs and policy makers and facilitate their
engagement in key political and social debates
Government well-informed in key open government data policy issues, which contributes
to sustainability and development in the region.
Identification of key policy issues and propose regulation to promote clear regulation in
open data environments

The following table represents the outcomes expected in each area associated with a key policy discussion
associated

16
Crosscutting Collaborative Open Capacities Policy Discussion
Issues/ Development Government Data
Strategic Standards
areas

Urban Better Better and specific Excluded Strategic Discussion:

Governance collaboration/co- standards on Data groups How do cities are
production in the cities agreed empowered to using open data to
practices in cities publication use open data. foster inclusive
schemes and development?
licenses.

Health and Better Taking stock of Excluded Strategic Discussion:

Education collaboration/co- information groups Which are the
production available and empowered by possible benefits and
practices in place possible standards Open Data risks of open data in
for the governance and best practices. the health and
of health and education sector in
education services Latin America?

Government Enhanced Better and specific Organizations a Strategic Discussion:

Transparency accountability in standards agreed empowered to How Open
specific areas. in key areas Monitor Government
government areas. Government communities are
activities achieving more
government
transparency using
open data? Which
limits open
government
communities could be
empowered?

Agriculture Better collaboration Taking stock of Communities Strategic Discussion:

and practices in place information empowered to How does open data
Environment available and explore the help engage
possible standards topic with communities in this
and best practices. Open Data field?
tools

In terms of dissemination this project will contribute towards the next Open Government Data Conference
in Mexico, the Third Open Data Conference (yet to be determined) and several regional events in Latin
America such as the next Open Government Regional meeting (Costa Rica) and the next Open Government

17
Summit in Mexico (2014). Dissemination of results will be carried out in these events as well as through
institutional networks of Avina, ECLAC and OAS.

It is likely that the end of the project will coincide with the Open Government Partnership Summit in
Mexico. This will be an important moment to reflect on the contribution of open data to the open
government agenda, and an opportunity for the project to contribute concretely to open government
action plans.

7). RESEARCH SCHEDULE

Annex 1: provides description of objectives, expected results, outputs and time line

8) BUDGET
Annex 3 provides a budget description

9) MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The objectives of a Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) will be to:

provide evidence of impact

provide accountability to donors and partner
document the process and promote shared learnings
Inform management and strategic decisions.

The M & E is aimed to provide information to: partners, donors and eventually new partners and
members of the initiative.

ILDA and COI will be subject to a formative evaluation process which will include indicators in the
following dimensions: initiative management, strategic actions performance and policy development.

Initiative management: The operations and strategic management will be routinely evaluated through
meet ups every three months by member of the initiative. Evaluation will include:

Alignment of outputs with strategic direction of the initiative (E.g. Are we achieving what
we are set to achieve?)
Time frame (E.g. Are we delivering according to schedule?)
Timing and Synergies (E.g Are we fully exploring the potential of our alliance)
Efficiency (E.g.Are we using and combining our resources in an efficient way?)

Mapping Strategic and Evaluation phases: will be evaluated according to a set of criteria which will
include

18
 Quality of mapping studies
Selection criteria according to strategic focus
Impact of each strategic actions: E.g: number of users expected, synergies created etc.
Development of each strategic action: process, support activities
Participation and design of events
Outputs and Outcomes of policy dialogues

Qualitative and Quantitative evidence will be collected and a full M&E will be agreed with partners at the
beginning of the project.

10 ) INSTITUTIONS AND PERSONNEL

Avina Foundation (ILDA)

The main executing agency of the ILDA activities is Avina Foundation. Avina is a Latin American
foundation that identifies opportunities to achieve systemic change relevant for sustainable development,
by connecting and empowering people and institutions in shared agendas for action.

Institutional Responsibility:

Prior to Mr. Baracatts appointment as Avinas chief executive officer, he served as chief operating officer
and director of social innovation. He has been working on issues of sustainable development in Bolivia
since 1990, founding Environmental Protection of Tarija (PROMETA),
today a well-known non-governmental Bolivian conservation organization. Mr. Baracatt was also a civic
and university leader in Bolivia and a member of the boards of directors of several national and
international organizations.

Institutional Coordinator:
Mrcio Vasconcelos Pinto. Mestre em Administrao de Empresas e Especialista em Processos
Educacionais. Gestor da rea de "Tecnologias para Mudana Social" da Fundao Avina e Coordenador
Geral do Fundo Acelerador de Inovaes Cvicas. Co-autor do estudo "techyred

Lead Researcher for the OD4D

Fabrizio Scrollini is a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) where
he develops research on transparency, access to information and open government. Fabrizio has worked
closely with access to information authorities such as the Serbian Information Commissioner and the
Council for Transparency as a senior consultant and has experience in policy transfer exchanges in the
public sector. In his civil society role Fabrizio is the co-founder and Chairman of DATA, a CSO organization
based in Uruguay working in open data and development.

University of West Indies

The activities related to the Caribbean Open Institute will be executed by The University of West Indies

19
Institutional Responsibility and Research Coordinator Maurice McNaughton

Maurice McNaughton, PhD, is Director of the Centre of Excellence for IT-enabled Innovation at the Mona
School of Business & Management, University of the West Indies. His current research focus spans a range
of emerging Open ICTs including open source software, open data, mobile and cloud computing.

Dr McNaughton brings over 15 years of senior management and industry experience in the planning and
direction of enterprise-level Information Technology in organizations. He combines this strong practitioner
orientation with focused academic research to make a significant contribution to the development of new
knowledge and thinking about the strategic use of ICT as an enabler of business innovation in the
enterprise, both small and large, as well as a growth-enabler for small developing economies.
Organization of American States - OAS

The OAS wil be responsible for sharing knowledge and research on the demand and use of open data for
development with governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing particularly on improving
consultation practices in themes identified during the project.

Institutional Responsibility: Maria Fernanda Trigo, a Bolivian national, currently serves as Director of the
OAS Department for Effective Public Management where she has set as its mission to strengthen public
institutions in the Americas so they are more transparent, effective and have mechanisms for citizen
participation

Research Coordinator: Mike Mora is an Open Government specialist working on Effective Public
Management at the Secretary of Political Affairs.

United NationsEconomic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean UN-ECLAC

The UN-ECLAC will also be responsible to share knowledge and research on the demand and use of open
data for development with governments in Latin America and the Caribbean. It will focus particularly on
improving the regional policy dialogue among governments, establishing and updating a regional work
plan within the eLAC mechanism, and in coordination with the OGP OD Working group.

Institutional Responsibility: Mr. Mario Castillo will be responsible for directing, organizing and controlling
ECLACs project activities. Given his background, he will provide support for the project coordinator in
identifying stakeholders for the project as well general event coordination. (10% dedication throughout
project) Mr. Castillo has spent the last fifteen years working in projects related to economic development
and new technologies. He is currently the Chief of the Unit of Innovation and New Technologies in the
Division of Production, Productivity and Management at the United Nations Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Mrs. Valeria Jordn will be in charge of monitoring and evaluating the project throughout its duration and
the drafting the research document. Given her background and previous experience, she will also aid in
drafting the progress reports submitted to IDRC. (15% dedication throughout project) Mrs. Jordan serves
as an Economic Affairs Officer in the Division of Production, Productivity and Management at ECLAC in
Santiago de Chile. She holds a bachelors degree in economics from Universidad Gabriela Mistral of- Chile,
with a masters degree in Business Administration from Universidad del Desarrollo, also in Chile. She has
20
13 years of professional experience, with expertise on Telecommunications, ICT measurement and
development policies.

Mr. Jorge Patio will provide support in the technical aspects of the project and will be closely involved
with the coordination of the technical workshops and the drafting and revision of the investigation on the
implementation of open government data programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. (70% dedication
through project) Mr. Patio holds a degree in Economics from Instituto Tecnolgico y de Estudios
Superiores de Monterrey (I.T.E.S.M) with postgraduate studies at the Universitat de Barcelona. He currently
serves as Research Assistant at the Division of Production, Productivity and Management at ECLAC in
Santiago de Chile.

11 REFERENCES

Bates, J. (2012) This is what modern deregulation looks like : co-optation and contestation in the
shaping of the UKs Open Government Data Initiative. The Journal of Community Informatics, North
America, 8, apr. 2012. Available at: <http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/845>. Date
accessed: 29 Jul. 2013.

Davies T., Perini F and Alonso J. (2013) ODDC Conceptual Framework available at www.oddc.org

Dassen, Nicols, et al. Open Government and Targeted Transparency: Trends and Challenges for Latin
America and the Caribbean Title: Gobierno abierto y transparencia focalized: Tendencies y desafos para
Amrica Latina y el Caribe. No. 78278. Inter-American Development Bank, 2012.

Detar J Hackhatons don't solve problems http://civic.mit.edu/blog/cfd/hackathons-dont-solve-

problems

Davies, Tim. Open data, democracy and public sector reform: A look at open government data use from
data. gov. uk. Practical Participation, 2010.

Gurstein, M. (2011). Open data: Empowering the empowered or effective data use for everyone? First
Monday, 16(2).

Harrison, Teresa M., Theresa A. Pardo, and Meghan Cook. "Creating Open Government Ecosystems: A
Research and Development Agenda." Future Internet 4.4 (2012): 900-928.

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Keen, Justin, et al. "Big data+ politics= open data: The case of health care data in England." Policy &
Internet 5.2 (2013): 228-243.

Levy, S. (2001). Hackers: Heroes of the computer revolution (Vol. 4). New York: Penguin Books.

LEE P. Open Government From Principle to Prototype available at

http://thereboot.org/blog/2013/07/25/toward-the-next-phase-of-open-gov/

Michener, G. (2011). The Promise of Freedom of Information Laws. Journal of Democracy, 22(2).

Noveck 2012 Open Data The Democratic Imperative in Farrell E. Crooked Timber Open Data Seminar
2012

Prince, Alejandro, and Lucas Jolas. "Las fuentes conceptuales del Gobierno Abierto: Open Data." Telos:
Cuadernos de comunicacin e innovacin 94 (2013): 48-57.

Sasaki D.(2012) Quantifying our cities, Our selves The Next Web available at
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/op-ed-quantifying-our-cities-ourselves

Smith, M., & Elder, L. (2010). Open ICT ecosystems transforming the developing world. Information
Technologies and International Development, 6(1), 65-71.er

Scrollini, S. Fumega F. (2011)"Access to Information and Open Government Data in Latin America."
forthcoming, Routledge

Yu, H., & Robinson, D. G. (2012). The New Ambiguity of Open Government.

Weinstein, Jeremy, and Joshua Goldstein. "The Benefits of a Big Tent: Opening Up Government in
Developing Countries: A Response to Yu & Robinson's The New Ambiguity of" Open Government"." UCLA
L. Rev. Disc. 60 (2012): 38-50.

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 Annex 1 - Open Data for Development in Latin America
General objective: To strengthen the accountability and legitimacy of public institutions, improve public services, and fuel economic growth in Latin
America and the Caribbean through research and innovation on open data initiatives

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES PHASES OUTPUTS TIMELINE

(1) Mapping Output 1: A work plan agreed among governments in the region inside the regional open
eco-systems, data working group (coordinated by UN-ECLAC) and in alignment with the work plan of the
1) Improve understanding of the demand and use of
identifying Open Government Partnership Working Group (responsible ECLAC)
open data for development in Latin America;
opportunities
1-6
Output 2: 8 studies mapping open data eco -systems in Latin America (AVINA/ILDA)
and designing Output 3 : 2 studies mapping open data eco -systems in the Caribbean (COI).
experiments
(2) Support the collaborative development of Output 4a. -at least 4 will support and research collaborative development of services and
products and services between government, civil innovation using open government data (IlDA/COI) 7-18
society and entrepreneurs in these selected areas.
(3) Promote the development and adoption of Output 4 b - at least 4 will support and research open data the production and
emerging open data standards that enable open data development of open data standards in specific topics
initiatives to scale up; (2) Strategic
Initiatives Output 4 c - at least 4 will research, test and foster mechanisms to expand data literacy
and skills of excluded groups fostering and strengthening their participation in open 7-18
(4) Explore mechanisms for open data to address the government ecosystems (IlDA/COI)
needs of marginalized groups, focusing particularly on Output 4 d at least 4 will research, test and foster the above mentioned strategic areas in
youth, women and urban poor; the Caribbean (IlDA/COI)

Output 5 Four peer-reviewed quality research articles on how the selected initiatives lead
to development outcomes (e.g. how open standards contribute to greater reuse and 19-24
(5) Build the capacity of the Latin American Open Data scalability, how broader participation leads to more effective open data programs).
Institute to act as knowledge sharing platform
Output 1a: An updated work plan agreed among governments in the region inside the
fostering dialogue with governments that feeds to the
regional open data working group (coordinated by UN -ECLAC) 7-24
initiative
(3) Participatory .Output 6 Report on regional dialogue and participation on Open Data based on 3 Gov
(6) share knowledge and research on the demand and Evaluation Camps developed through the course of the project (OAS) 7-24
use of open data for development with governments Output 7 Engagement with public servants through on -line education course(OAS)
in Latin America and the Caribbean, improving policy Output 8 A proposed governance structure for a Nodal entity (hub) in Latin America will be
dialogue and consultation practices developed (ILDA)
7-30
Output 9 A governance structure for a hub in the Caribbean (COI)
20-30

23
ANNEX 2 LIST OF POTENTIAL OPEN DATA ECOSYSTEMS MAPPING
PHASE

DRAFT!

Mapping phase is a stage in the project which aims to provide in -depth description of an open data
policy in one of these areas: public services, government transparency, agriculture and environment
and urban governance. Studies should focus on: collaborative development (co-creation), capacities
and standards

On selection of mapping studies: Mapping studies will be related to the Open Data Barometer which
measures the status of open data in 8 Latin American countries using the barometer as base-line studies
should identify key stakeholders in the open government data ecosystem, following a template which
will consider the following dimensions:

Base line: Which is the status of the topic/policy; particularly in terms of OGD implementation (see
Open Data Barometer sub-index) The base line should establish clearly which is the policy in place,
status of implementation and available supply of information.

Stakeholders analysis: This section will explore key stakeholders in the open data environment in the
public, private and civil society. The study will provide a characterization of each stakeholder
providing an analysis of the role they play, the resources they have and the objectives the pursue

Possible initiatives: The studies will provide a set of possible initiatives which could be deployed in
each open data environment. Those initiatives could be based on local initiatives already deployed or
comparative evidence adapted to the local environment. Crucially studies need to identify potential for
support and development in the environment as well as possible models to carry them out.

Methodology: Expert Surveys, Interviews and Open Data Barometer toolkit

The following are examples of possible studies to carry out in each area. Four examples are provided in
each area, but only two will be carried out in the context of this project. Each study should broadly
follow the structure aforementioned.

24
1. GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY
1. 1 Parliamentary Standards

Focus: Standards

Countries: Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and Brazil

Parliamentary information is usually considered as key to understand how laws are created and to
promote citizen accountability. In the Latin American context there are several questions to answer:
Which would be an ideal standard/standards for Parliamentary information? Which is the current status
in key countries in the region? Which are the most promising uses of this information to empower
citizens? Which are the most likely strategies to help them succeed and the risk these initiatives face?

1.2 Transparency in Local Governments

Focus: standards and capacity building

Countries: Brazil, Uruguay, Peru and X?

Local Government are considered key in terms of service delivery. It is the closer government tier to
citizens hence it has great potential for impact. Transparency at a local level has been usually explored
by organizations such as Transparency International and Avina in the Latin American contexts. A recent
project in Sao Paulo studies how budget data could be used to foster social accountability. There are
question to be answered at this level in terms of capacity in the public sector and civil society, as well
as how the open data agenda can feed into previous advocacy and participation processes.

1.3. Security, Crime and Transparency

Focus: Standards and Capacity Building

Countries: Colombia, Brazil, Argentina Uruguay?

Security is becoming a crucial issue in Latin America. Increasingly governments are debating different
and tougher evidence against crime particularly in urban settings. Even private entrepreneurs are
providing smart solutions for crime reporting based on versions already developed in the United
States and the UK. In this context question arises around

Which are the key data and information that should be available in this field?
How does this data could help authorities and citizens? Which are the possible side effects of
publishing this data and using it? How does this data could assist better enforcement strategies?

25
1.4. Right to Information and Open Data

Focus: Standards

Countries: Regional Overview

Globally FOI communities and open data communities are on the same side pushing for openness, but
the relationship between both agendas is still uncertain. Which is the relationship between proactive
publication and open data? Is it feasible to governments to fulfill their proactive publication duties
through open data portals? And if they do would this mean that citizens are able to understand and use
this data?

2. PUBLIC SERVICES: HEALTH AND EDUCATION

2.1 Focus: Capacity Building and Standards

Countries: Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and x

Education is a top priority for several governments in Latin America. Some governments provide
extensive information about how primary and secondary education while other resist to do so. Pioneer
websites such as quedu.br aim to use data published to help people understand performance of their
schools. But in this context new problems arise such data availability, representation and use of this
data. What is the relationship data has in fostering voice, choice, representation or exit in these
systems? By choosing a set of 4 education systems across Latin America the study will aim to deal
with some of these questions

2.2 Users and health open data

Focus: Capacity Building, Standards and Co-Creation

Countries Chile, Colombia, Uruguay x

Open Data and Health poses multiple opportunities at a global and regional level. E-Government
agenda has advanced in several areas such as e- medical records but feedback loops from citizens
remains elusive. The health sector has multiple political economy challenges and open data could help
dealing with some of them. Countries such as Chile and Uruguay, with different models, provides
extensive information about their systems yet uses of data remains limited. How open data can help
users to provide valuable feedback? How exactly open data could provide choice in terms of treatments
and other resources? Which are the linkages between regulators, users and providers in this open data
environment? How can we foster capacity in users to use data and provide better feedback?

26
2.3 Health delivery, privacy and open data

Focus:standards

Countries?

Release of open data in the health sector provides significant opportunities for studies and analysis of
impact new techniques. Yet it is not clear whether Latin American health services are able take
advantage of this information, nor if the release of this data could breach personal privacy. By
understanding which data is available and who are the key stakeholders it is possible to develop this
field.

2.4 Open Data and Endemic diseases

Focus standards and capacity building

Countries: Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Peru

Endemic diseases such as dengue are common in Latin America. Data about epidemics is usually
available in closed formats but other data such as humidity, rainfalls and previous outbreaks could help
to develop predictive models about endemic diseases. This study should aim to identify the
information available to carry out such studies, possibilities of generating information through
alternative sources and viability of initiatives from academia and civil society.

3.OPEN DATA AND URBAN GOVERNANCE

3.1 City Services

Focus: Co-Creation

Cities: Buenos Aires, Mexico DF, Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro/Sao Paulo

The goal of this study will be to identify current successful models and initiatives in a set of cities in
terms of collaboration and co-creation in specific areas of public areas such as: public transport, city
management (garbage, lighting, incident report) and libraries. The study will analyze the different
models drawing attention to pros and cons from different models

3.2 Focus: Empowering voices at a local level

Countries: TBD

The goal of this study will be to identify possible use of data to inform local reality through local media
what kind of data is essential to publish at a city level? How local media can use open data to give
voice and amplify voice of local communities? How open data can be intertwined with local news
services?
27
4. AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT

4.1 Local Farmers and Open Data

Focus: standards and capacity building

The goal of this study is to understand which the link between open data and local farmers need. The
study will identify which information farmers need, information they already have and possible
enhancements new information could provide to local farmers. The study will identify the added value
this information could have and the several ways farmers could use to get it, including intermediaries
technologies and firms.

4.2 Environmental standards Extractive industries and Open Data

Focus: capacity building

Previous studies in the open data field suggest great potential to monitor extractive industries and
environmental damage. Nevertheless is it possible to fully monitor the development of an extractive
industry using the data available? If not which is the data missing and in which standards should be
provided? And crucially who could make use of this data and how effective this use could be?

28