Open Data to Monitor SDGs in the Lower Mekong Region - Result follow up

Open Data to Monitor the SDGs in the Lower Mekong Region, is a project spanning five countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) that are investigating the administrative and legal framework surrounding data to track and follow up 5 of the SDG goals in the Mekong region. The five SDGs monitored are: 6,7,13,14,15. Partnerships have been established and progress is at varied levels. Each country has its own platform and Open Development Cambodia is the most mature one although the open data movements in the countries in the lower Mekong region are in the early stage. There is also the regional platform Open Development Mekong (ODM) on which data sets from the five countries are collated. This does not preclude the individual platforms to have data beyond these 5 goals, but the ODM platform is developing a regional overview of the progress on these five goals in light of the shared resources such as the Mekong river in the region.

The Open Development Mekong partnerships are:

Open Development Vietnam

A key output in this collaboration is a community of open data advocates in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The Open Development Mekong initiative has created opportunities for data sharing in the region for the CSOs that are engaged in this space. In particular the opportunities include strengthening political will, where various laws in the countries are under scrutiny to contribute to a conducive environment for open data to thrive. On the heels of improving the laws are opportunities to initiate integrated open data portals within the countries where disparate efforts by different CSOs can benefit from a cohesive approach to Open Data. This is also creating opportunities for NGOs and governments to work together. In addition there this increasing investment in digital infrastructure and digital services.

The Open Development Mekong platform works to provide free and open access to public data. All data that can be published is published and methods to engage with the users are being enhanced. In creating an overview of the legal and administrative frameworks for the data related to the five goals, and the survey of existing actors creating data, the data that is available is being shared and visualized. Through this process, the results follow-up supporting this implementation has identified various risks and mitigation strategies associated with working with open data within each country as well as a collaborating region. The mitigation strategies will drive future work of the open data movement in the region.