Donors create fund to support Open Data for Development | International Open Data Conference 2015

"Open Data offers an important opportunity to support development goals and spur new social innovation. Recognizing the need for open data work that enhances global cooperation, reduces duplication, and supports the scaling of development solutions that work, a group of Donors have joined together to support a program that funds innovative open data initiatives around the developing world. The initial donors comprise of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the World Bank (WB), and Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). The Fund, managed by IDRC, has firm commitments for a total value of $6.8M (CDN) for the next 2 years. The Fund builds on the OD4D program coordinated by IDRC, which is a platform for funding a diverse array of open data research and action. The OD4D program objectives for 2015-2016 are: To help developing country governments, entrepreneurs, and civil society create and implement national and global action plans to harness open data for development; To support developing country governments to plan, execute, and manage national open data initiatives; To increase re-use of open data in developing countries by supporting appropriate data standards, guidelines, solution-driven applications, and demand-side capacity, helping to bring about social and economic innovation; To better understand the relationship between open data initiatives and socioeconomic development, informing the quality and reach of future open data initiatives; and In addition, four main principles guide the network and its members: Research and learning, Empowerment of leadership from developing countries, Efficient coordination and, Creation, access and reuse of global public goods and assets ..."