Government data is important for data empowerment
At the core of the data empowerment discussion is data.
In our previous posts, we defined what we meant by data empowerment, provided three examples where we saw how data empowerment happens in practice, and outlined concrete steps to ensure that data empowers people. Implicit in these discussions is that data is available and accessible. But is it?
Globally, government data availability and accessibility is still a problem
Five years ago, for the State of Open Data report, I wrote that in South, East, and Southeast Asia, progress had been made in terms of data disclosure as several governments in the region, both at the national and sub-national levels, have initiated open data platforms as a means of data disclosure. Back then, I was optimistic that proactive disclosure would increasingly become the norm, despite the fact that I observed that while many of the key datasets required for holding governments accountable are available (i.e. regularly collected and stored as government data assets), these are not easily accessible by users because either these are not published proactively or requesting them from government agencies is extremely difficult.
However, the recently published Global Data Barometer, a successor to the Open Data Barometer, notes that across the globe, “the proportion of datasets published as open data (free of charge, in bulk and machine-readable forms, and openly licensed) has remained relatively stagnant over the last decade with 10.63% of the datasets surveyed meeting the open definition.” In their regional analysis for Asia, Chung and Yusuf observed that while in Southeast Asia, data capability (e.g. data assets, data institutions, civil service data competency, enabling laws, among others) is high, this does not necessarily translate to data availability.
The policy framework is wanting
In a review of legal guarantees to access to data and information in Southeast Asia, researchers found out that only three countries — Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand — have constitutional guarantees on the right to information, and only two countries have access to information laws. The Global Data Barometer reports that only India and South Korea have enabling open data laws requiring the publication of government data assets as open data.
This is the reason why observers of open data initiatives across the region commented that progress on data availability in the region stagnated, or even declined. Across the region, only a quarter of countries have active government-led open data initiatives. Countries like Cambodia and Nepal, for example, do not have government-led open data initiatives.In others, there are a few sporadic open data initiatives, like maintaining open data portals in Thailand, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
However, it must be noted that the quantity, quality, and variety of open data available for countries with active open data websites are deficient. For instance, climate data, which is critical for a region facing tremendous climate change challenges, is nowhere to be found in most government portals.
Recognition of people’s right to data remains elusive
Global Data Barometer scores across Asia are correlated with the Freedom House’s Global Freedom Index. Countries rated as not free or partly free also rank the lowest in the region regarding data availability, access, use, and impact.
Freedom of information and expression is central to the success of open data initiatives, as the ability to question, create, and assert is dependent on an enabling environment that guarantees people’s rights.
For example, former Philippine President Duterte in the Philippines was observed to have disregarded the rule of law and targeted dissenters. In his second term in office, Prime Minister Modi has used legislation and political machinery in India to silence dissenting voices and pursue charges against political opposition. It is expected that these two countries where the return of strongman politics is evident have seen stagnation, if not decline, in open data practice. When people who ask questions based on data are threatened, there is weak demand for public sector data, and government agencies are fearful of providing data even to discerning journalists.
Government data remains a critical resource for data empowerment
It is true that there are other sources of data out there. In one of our first few blog posts, we said that people produce 2.5 billion gigabytes of data per day — while searching for information, writing an email, shopping online or using social media. But government data remains an important raw material to ensure that people can hold public institutions accountable, including governments, corporations and even nonprofit organisations.
Access to government data in and of itself will not lead to data use, let alone data empowerment. Still, unless people have access to government data, they will not have the opportunity to engage, question, and make informed political decisions.
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