Open Data Philosophy

History

The concept of open data has its roots in the open access and open source movements of the late 20th century. These movements sought to make knowledge and information freely available to the public, as a way to promote innovation, collaboration, and transparency.

In the early 2000s, the idea of open data began to gain traction as a way to make government data more accessible to the public. The U.S. government launched Data.gov, a website that makes federal government data available to the public, in 2009. Around the same time, the United Kingdom launched data.gov.uk, and other countries began to follow suit.

In 2012, the G8 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany, endorsed a charter on open data, which committed them to making government data openly available to the public. Since then, many countries, cities, and organizations have committed to open data principles and have made large amounts of data available to the public.

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the potential of open data to drive economic growth, improve public services, and promote transparency and accountability. Many private sector organizations have also begun to make their data open to the public, recognizing the potential benefits of open data for innovation and collaboration.

Overall, the history of open data is marked by a growing recognition of the potential of open data to drive innovation, economic growth and social good.

Core Ideas

Open data refers to data that is freely available for anyone to access, use, and share. The benefits of open data include:

• Transparency and accountability
• Innovation and economic growth
• Improved decision-making
• Increased efficiency
• Public empowerment