Open data has proven useful in the global South where progress can often be inhibited by socioeconomic factors. In such places, open data enables governments, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and local public and private leaders to innovate and create. Events such as the International Open Data Conference (IODC) and organisations such as the Open Data for Development network (OD4D) provide a home for open data practitioners from the global South.
About this Smart City Report
This report examines the responses of 15 city officials during structured interviews Open North conducted in eight cities including:
- Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Accra, Ghana
- Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Montevideo, Uruguay
“I see smart city as the systematic integration of ICTs and technologies into cities, citizen-centric, with better quality services, and with more sustainable environment. Smart cities can be a part of the transition to a knowledge economy. Open data can be used to solve most of the problems.”
– Ghana Open Data Initiative Respondent
Open Data Networking Recommendations
The report concludes with recommendations for facilitating increased networking across the global South as a means to solve the intractable problems urban areas face.These recommendations include:
- Ensure sustainability in institutions and services that support open data activities
- Establish peer learning networks regionally and internationally across the global south
- Link open data across city priorities
Funded by the International Development Research Centre