Researching Private Sector demand for open data

Partner: FACTS Nepal

To better understand the potential importance of open data for Nepal’s private sector the D4D Program funded FACTS Nepal to undertake research into business’s data needs and willingness to share data.

Business plays a key role in national development – by driving innovation, creating employment and creating value. Access to information and robust, high-quality data is critical to entrepreneurs and companies. Open data in particular can help the private sector create new innovations and increase the efficiency of existing operations. In turn, the openness and accessibility of official information and data helps create a favourable environment for domestic and foreign investors in an increasingly integrated and competitive regional and global economy.

Despite the significant potential economic value documented in research and beginning to be realised in several countries, the use of open data and information by Nepal’s private sector appears to be limited. To date, very little detail is known about the demand, sharing and use of open data by Nepal’s private sector and there has been very little work conducted to support Nepal’s private sector to access, share and use open data and information.

To address this, FACTS Nepal with support of the D4D Program are conducting research into the demand, supply and use of data by Nepal’s private sector. This will create an evidence base to help initiate a discourse in Nepal among private sector, government and development partners on open data for the private sector. The goals the FACTs research are:

• To improve the understanding of the (open) data and information needs of business to enable their more efficient and profitable operations
• To improve understanding of the potential opportunities from open data and information to enable new data-driven innovations and services
• To improve understanding of the production and availability of data from the private sector and the potential opportunities for government from its use
• To encourage action towards more open data through increased government data openness and supportive policy