Applying M&E to the Open Data Movement | Development Gateway

"Since its very beginning, Development Gateway has been committed to open data initiatives, and without a doubt great strides have been made in open data acceptance and adoption. More and more development organizations, practitioners, and national governments have begun publishing all sorts of programmatic and financial information. The 'goal' of the Movement, in an international development context, is to provide a foundation for greater government accountability through transparency; this openness simultaneously encourages smarter and more efficient programmatic interventions by closing the feedback loop. Yet just under the surface of this movement, a lingering question remains – is the Open Data Movement making a difference? Many organizations are examining the impact of open data (see the Web Foundation and IDRC’s Open Data Research Project). However, we’re taking a different approach – with the above goal as a baseline, how has the Movement performed thus far, using M&E benchmarks? ..."