Open data and transparency: a look back at 2013 | Global Development Professionals Network | Guardian Professional

"Web-based technology continued to offer increasing numbers of people the ability to share standardised data and statistics to demand better governance and strengthen accountability. 2013 seemed to herald the moment that the open data/transparency movement entered the mainstream. Yet for those who have long campaigned on the issue, the call was more than just a catchphrase, it was a unique opportunity. 'If we do get a global drive towards open data in relation to development or anything else, that would be really transformative and it's quite rare to see such bold statements at such an early stage of the process. I think it set the tone for a year in which transparency was front and centre of many people's agendas,' says David Hall Matthews, of Publish What You Fund. This year saw high level discussions translated into commitments at the policy level. David Cameron used the UK's presidency of the G8 to trigger international action on the three Ts (tax, trade and transparency) through the IF campaign. The pledge at Lough Erne, in Scotland, reaffirmed the commitment to the Busan open data standard as well as the specific undertaking that all G8 members would implement International Aid Transparency Index (IATI) standards by the end of 2015 ..."