Building open & transparent land information systems through a global alliance

The Land Portal, Global Data Barometer, and Open Data Charter are working together at the nexus of open data and land governance. 

Over the last three years the Land Portal Foundation has collaborated with Global Data Barometer  and Open Data Charter to embed land issues within key open data activities. These partnerships aim to deliver tools needed to understand and strengthen national land information ecosystems, and ultimately enable a more open state wherein accessible information and responsible re-use of data can create positive change. 

In 2019 the Land Portal developed a methodology to assess country level land information ecosystems, assessing the availability and accessibility of data on: Land tenure; Land cover, use and management; Land disputes; Human settlements; Land markets and financing; and Land, climate change and environment. This method has been applied to develop in-depth State of Open Land Information (SOLI) reports on Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania and South Africa. 

In parallel, Land Portal has been engaging with the development of the Global Data Barometer, a new benchmark that provides insight into government data capability, data availability, and data use, across 100+ countries. A land module within the Global Data Barometer provides a baseline on the state of open land information worldwide, drawing on a network of 100+ country expert researchers to identify regional leaders and laggards in making land data available, and assessing the extent to which countries have the frameworks in place for responsible re-use of data. 

These two projects -- the land module and the SOLI reports -- will be mutually reinforcing, with the global study highlighting the comparative position of different countries, and supporting research into contextual best-fit strategies to open up land information in different countries and regions. The national SOLI process supports multi-stakeholder action to improve land information ecosystems. 

To support the development of country level strategies to open up land information Land Portal and the Open Data Charter have worked together to develop an Open Up Guide for Land Governance. It is a practical guide to help governments collect and release land-related data for improved citizen engagement, decision-making, and innovation. The Open Up Guide on Land Governance is a tool to enable stakeholders to develop a clear roadmap.  The Open Up Guide on Land Governance is built upon a consolidated research methodology of the Open Data Charter. Open Data Charter’s Open Up Guides provide a model for stakeholders to come together and agree on key thematic datasets and standards, the level of openness of these key datasets,key use cases for open data in a particular domain, and a common framework to collaboratively prioritize datasets.

An Open Up Guide is not just another toolkit or handbook - but instead is the result of a process of stakeholder engagement to find the alignment between different data needs, and to provide a framework that can support country-level advocacy and action planning.

This webinar presented  the land module in the Global Data Barometer, the Land Portal Foundation’s State of Land Information approach,  and the Open Up Guide on Land Governance. The event was an opportunity to explore and discuss how all of these elements fit together to create open and transparent land information ecosystems that contribute to open governance.

Time/Date:  Tuesday, May 17th, 3:00-4:30 PM CEST

Speakers

	Laura Meggiolaro, Team Leader, Land Portal Foundation (Moderator) Laura is a specialist in information and  knowledge management for development with a passion for Open Data. Over the last fifteen years she has been responsible for kicking off, implementing and leading a range of data, information and knowledge management initiatives focused on land rights.
	Nicolás Grossman, Researcher, Global Data Barometer Nicolás is a sociologist and journalist specializing in Open Data and GIS. For more than 6 years he has led the Open Data and Data Journalism strategy of Properati, one of the most well-recognized private-sector platforms using open data in Latin America.
	Jessica Hickle, Research Officer, Open Government Partnership (OGP) Jessica  is a Research Officer at the Open Government Partnership where she contributes to analysis on a variety of policy topics, including access to justice institutions, public accountability, and service delivery. She is interested in understanding when and how citizens hold government actors to account and has published research on patterns of rights litigation in Tanzania.
	Charl-Thom Bayer, Land Information Management and Advocacy Consultant, Land Portal Foundation Charl-Thom is a specialist in land governance and administration with a background in land surveying and information systems design. He has more than twenty years’ experience leading multinational teams and initiatives in pursuit of improved land governance and development.
	Nati Carfi, Executive Director, Open Data Charter (ODC) Nati leads ODC’s team, engaging with experts from governments, civil society organizations, academics and the private sector. She oversees the strategic delivery and execution of projects in collaboration with the ODC network.