It is Open Data Day again! The tenth anniversary of the international Open Data Day takes place next Saturday 7th of March 2020.

Open Data Day is an annual celebration of open data all over the world. For the tenth time, groups from around the world will create local events on the day where they will use open data in their communities. It is an opportunity to show the benefits of open data and encourage the adoption of open data policies in government, business and civil society. As in past years Hivossupports local groups to run Open Data Day events via the mini-grants scheme.

Why does Hivos support this?

Since 2015 the Open Contracting program of Hivos and ARTICLE 19 work with civil society and media in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Indonesia, Philippines, Guatemala and Bolivia to push for changes in policies and practices to improve the transparency, accountability and efficiency of public contracting and increase people’s equity access to quality public goods and services, like quality healthcare and education, safe roads and clean drinking water.

Open Data Day is a great opportunity for new groups to get started working on fiscal transparency and open contracting. As in past years we received many great applications and we are thrilled to be able to support the following ten proposals in the ‘Tracking public money flows’:

Tracking public money flows

1. Spotlight for Transparency and Accountability Initiative in Nigeria will host an event to increasing understanding of and access to local budget data
2. EldoHub will hold a hackathon to develop tools and systems which can facilitate county governments’ involvement in Kenya’s transparency, accountability and public participation
3. FollowTheMoney Kaduna will use contracting data including responses to FOI letters and on the spot assessment of projects and infrastructures across communities in Kaduna state, Nigeria
4. The Alliance of Independent Journalists in Bandung, Indonesia will use open contracting data to encourage collaboration among civil society groups to access and monitor public budgets
5. Afroleadership in Cameroon will organise a training on the analysis of budget data by civil society using open data
6. The event run by Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST Malawi) will call for greater transparency and accountability in public budget management the through Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard
7. Diálogos will visualise the volume of public procurement of the main ministries of the Government of Guatemala
8. The Centre for Information, Peace and Security in Africa will work with journalists in Tanzania to promote openness in public contract in terms of transparency and integrity on public expenditures and value for public money
9. Bolivia’s CONSTRUIR Foundation will organise a data camp to advocate for more and better public contracting data
10. Ojoconmipisto in Guatemala will teach students and journalists how to investigate and tell stories from public budget and contracting data

Spread the word about Open Data Day via #OpenDataDay or #ODD2020. If you want to know more or have technical questions, get in touch with Open Knowledge Foundation.