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Call for Country Researchers: Open Data Barometer

José M. Alonso · June 21, 2013

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As part of the ODDC project we are working to explore common assessment methods for mapping the conditions for, supply of, and impacts of, open data across the world. As the first stage of that we’ve been consulting on a survey framework, and we’re delighted to now have the opportunity to put that survey in the field as a companion survey to the 81 Country 2013 Web Index in the form of the Open Data Barometer (ODB).

The Open Data Barometer is a companion study to the Web Index, focussing in depth on the conditions for, availability of, and impacts of open government data. It builds upon the open data components of the 2012 Web Index. The ODB will be completed through desk research carried out by researchers with in-depth knowledge of the countries they are researching. We are looking for researchers to carry out country research for the Barometer during July 2013. 

We are seeking researchers able to respond with respect to two or more of the following countries:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Republic of, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, United Republic of, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Researchers will be asked to carry out desk research for each country they are assigned, covering:

  • Government support for open data;
  • The availability of open data across 15 categories (using a 10-point checklist to assess data supply);
  • Evidence on use and impacts of open data;

The results of this research will be entered into an online survey tool (Indaba), and researchers may be asked to respond to questions from peer-review over the month following the submission of data. We estimate the time taken for research will be between 8 and 16 hours per-country researched.

Researchers will be paid $150 per country covered.

You can apply as a researcher by filling in this short surveyThe application deadline is 30th June 2013.

Researchers should have an understanding of open data, strong desk research and web search skills, and an understanding of the structure of government in those countries they are researching. Researchers should be proficient in the official language of any country they opt to research.

If you have questions about this call you can discuss them on the Open Data Research network Linked In group or contact the research coordinator.

Apply now

The Open Data Barometer is produced and co-funded by the World Wide Web Foundation and the Open Data Institute, and in association with the Common Assessment Methods component of the ‘Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries’ project (funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre under grant 107075).

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