Open Knowledge Foundation is a global non-profit organisation focused on realising open data’s value to society by helping civil society groups access and use data to take action on social problems. Open Knowledge Foundation does this in three ways:
1.) We show the value of open data for the work of civil society organizations
2.) We provide organisations with the tools and skills to effectively use open data
3.) We make government information systems responsive to civil society
Open Knowledge Foundation is a worldwide network of people passionate about openness, using advocacy, technology and training to unlock information and enable people to work with it to create and share knowledge.
Our mission
We want to see enlightened societies around the world, where everyone has access to key information and the ability to use it to understand and shape their lives; where powerful institutions are comprehensible and accountable; and where vital research information that can help us tackle challenges such as poverty and climate change is available to all.
We envision a world where:
- knowledge creates power for the many, not the few.
- data frees us to make informed choices about how we live, what we buy and who gets our vote.
- information and insights are accessible – and apparent – to everyone.
This is the world we choose. We want to see open knowledge being a mainstream concept, and as natural and important to our everyday lives and organisations as green is today.
To reach these goals, we need to raise the profile of open knowledge and raise awareness of how important it is. We need to change cultures, policies and business models at large organisations to make opening up information acceptable and desirable. We need to build capacity in understanding information, sharing, finding and using data, across the population and the world. We need to create and encourage collaborations across government, business and civil society to use data to rebalance power and tackle major challenges. We need tools (technical, legal, and educational) to make working with data easier and more effective.
Here’s how we do it at Open Knowledge Foundation:
- International network: We support, encourage and coordinate an international network of individuals passionate about openness and active in making, training and advocating
- Opening up information: We advocate for open release of key information, particularly at national or large scale, and we monitor the level of openness worldwide
- Impact through information: We help people learn about openness and gain data skills, and we partner with change-making organisations aligned with our key themes to help them use open data to accelerate their work, creating positive change towards our goals, stories and case studies
- Project stewardship: a home for projects and communities: helping nurture and support efforts to open up data and see it used for positive change
Legal notice
The Open Knowledge Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation. It is incorporated in England & Wales as a company limited by guarantee, with company number 05133759. VAT Registration № GB 984404989. Registered office address: Open Knowledge Foundation, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom.