Open Data

On June 18 and 19, The Asia Foundation’s Data for Development (D4D) program joined the  Digital Nepal Conclave 2022 For Digital Transformation held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The conclave is an initiative to incline all the concerned stakeholders toward a vision of Digital Nepal.   On the first day of the conclave, D4D Proje… Read more

Twenty-one unique data-driven solutions for a range of development challenges in the Philippines’ Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) were recognized during the BARMM Virtual Data Challenge 2020 Awards Ceremony held on April 7 via Zoom. The Bangsamoro Data Challenge invited Filipino data science enthusiasts to produce insights,… Read more

The international development community is adapting to the new challenges and opportunities presented by a growing digital ecosystem and digital data. As part of the Global Digital Development Forum virtual conference on May 6, The Asia Foundation hosted the “Not a Drop to Drink: Towards a Political Economy of Data in Asia” workshop. The Global Dig… Read more

The rapid growth, in our era, of data-driven decision-making offers both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses at every level in Nepal. As government agencies, research institutes, and the private sector apply new quantitative tools and the analytical power of computers to understand human systems and social phenomena of every kind, the opp… Read more

If you produce data, publish it. If you have data, use it. If you don’t have data, demand it. On March 3, Open Data Day Nepal 2018 with as theme ‘Open Data For Everyone’ was celebrated at Patan Durbar Square and Museum. The day was jointly organized under the banner of Open Nepal by Accountability Lab, Bikas Udhyami, Center for Data Journalism, Fre… Read more

On March 3, data enthusiasts and advocates convened in Nepal’s historic Durbar Square to mark Open Data Day. Celebrated in many cities across the globe, the day highlights the importance of freely accessible and usable data. Hundreds attended the public event in Kathmandu-from students to curious bystanders and representatives of the open data comm… Read more

On March 3, hundreds of groups from around the world will celebrate Open Data Day to showcase the value of open data for communities and to encourage the adoption of open data policies in government, business, and civil society. For Nepal, which is currently undergoing a process of decentralization to a new federal structure, there are high hopes f… Read more

“The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.” It’s a bold statement featured in a recent headline from The Economist that no doubt raises eyebrows, but also drives home the fact that in the past decade, big data has increased exponentially to become one of the most valuable commodities in the world. For international development,… Read more

In late December, The Asia Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Australian Data Archive, based at the Australian National University Centre for Social Research and Methods, to initiate collaboration and knowledge sharing of complex data sets. The MOU will allow the Australian Data Archive to host the Foundation’s extensive… Read more

The Asia Foundation today launched its new Data Portal at surveys.asiafoundation.org, a key element of the organization’s commitment to innovative and evidence-based development program. The new portal provides visualizations of the Foundation’s extensive survey collection across Asia and builds on its leadership in data transparency. Data is criti… Read more

In the last few months, a spate of coordinated bomb attacks in Thailand days after a constitutional referendum, new bloodshed in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, and violent protests in the lead-up to gubernatorial elections in Jakarta, have served as a somber reminder of the violence that simmers under the surface of an otherwise relatively stable and eco… Read more

After four months of much-awaited pronouncement, on July 29 Myanmar’s National League of Democracy-led government finally released its 12-Point Economic Policy outlining key priorities under the country’s new reform strategy. Among these were commitments to strengthen public financial management through more prudent and efficient public spending an… Read more

Severe floods in the Kashmir region of Northern India and Pakistan over the past few weeks have taken 450 lives so far, and uprooted thousands of residents on both sides of the highly politicized border. Heavy monsoon rains caused the Chenab and Jhelum rivers (tributaries of the Indus River system) to overflow their banks…