Open Data Can Support Sustainable Development: World Bank Report

Open Data refers to data that is freely available online for anyone to use and republish for any purpose – without any restriction from copyrights, patents and other mechanisms of control. Data is one of the most valuable and least-utilized assets of modern governments. In that context, Open Data is a resource with high socio-economic value, which has been recognized globally as a key engine for achieving the post-2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A number of studies in recent years have shown the growth of Open Data applications worldwide, from water management social enterprises in India to agro-businesses in Ghana. More than 1,000 examples of such use cases from over 75 counties are included in the Open Data Impact Map, developed as part of the Open Data for Development (OD4D) network.

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Vikas is a staff writer for the Sustainable Development news and editorial section on Justmeans. He is an MBA with 20 years of managerial and entrepreneurial experience and global travel. He is the author of "The Power of Money" (Scholars, 2003), a book that presents a revolutionary monetary economic theory on poverty alleviation in the developing world. Vikas is also the official writer for an international social project for developing nations "Decisions for Life" run in collaboration between the ILO, the University of Amsterdam and the Indian Institute of Management.