Which initiatives would be required to expand the pool of data from civil society and create an open data ecosystem? The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Data for Society project has explored the potential that open data from civil society has to offer. A new discussion paper summarizes the findings from numerous workshops and dialogues.
In the best-case scenario, a diverse data ecosystem is supported by a range of civil society stakeholders. That allows it to serve as a catalyst for social change while increasing transparency, social innovation and democratic participation.
In its exploratory project Open Data and Civil Society, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has organized several workshops and multiple discussions with civil society stakeholders since 2022 to examine the potential that open data from civil society has to offer. The new discussion paper “Open Data for All: The Role of Civil Society” summarizes the findings from these activities.
The Bertelsmann Stiftung already makes some of its data accessible as open data and would like to significantly expand its activities in this area in the coming year. We also want to pave the way for an open data ecosystem in civil society. We have identified five building blocks for achieving this goal:
Building Block 1: An open data portal for civil society
Building Block 2: Funding
Building Block 3: Capacity building
Building Block 4: Data provision and use
Building Block 5: Knowledge transfer and networking
Over the next few months, we at the Bertelsmann Stiftung will continue our efforts to grow a data ecosystem that benefits everyone. We want to do this together with many different partners from civil society – from within our network and beyond – who are also committed to opening up and making better use of data.
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