From Available to Actionable Data: An Exploration of Expert and Re-users Views of Open Data

The level of open data re-utilization was still low 10 years after the launch of the Basque Government’s open data platform, when, unexpectedly, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Suddenly, charts and infographics—fed on open data—were lingua franca; not only experts but also ordinary citizens were demanding understandable data to make decisions. The motto during the confinement was “let’s flatten the curve.” This article relies on participant observation of a three-day workshop, interviews with experts and open data re-users (N=15), and an analysis of urban projects that rely on open data (N=78). Data collection was conducted before the first wave and after the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, from November 27, 2019, to February 17, 2021, allowing researchers to make comparisons. We find that citizens are pushing for actionable open data; that is, data embedding the attributes that make them useful and usable. This includes integrating data literacy and citizens’ inputs and forming interdisciplinary teams of people inside and outside the government. This article proposes a definition for actionable data, which can be scalable to other realities.