Dear network, colleagues, partners, friends…
2020 has been an extraordinary and challenging year, one that has inspired an even stronger focus on our vision: a world where data works for everyone
The global pandemic has demonstrated the vital role that data can play in making decisions and finding solutions. With funding from Luminate, we’ve focused on creating practical guidance to help organisations respond quickly and ethically. Our manifesto sits at the core of everything we do and this year was no different; we applied these principles not only to our Covid-19 work, but also to the UK National Data Strategy
Being physically distant meant we redoubled our efforts to connect with people online, and this has enabled us to engage with a more international and diverse audience. At the ODI Summit 2020 – Data | Futures, we welcomed a record audience of 1,000 delegates from 72 countries.
Our OpenActive programme with Sport England now publishes over 200,000 physical activity sessions every month and has become more relevant than ever, helping people find and book online classes and outdoor socially-distanced activities.
We started a new programme dedicated to advancing data institutions, and over 1,000 people joined us at an online event exploring how we might develop data institutions fit for the 21st century.
As ever, the mission and work of the ODI is only possible with the support of our funders, partners and collaborators, and I thank them for their continued support in helping us to achieve so much this year. I look forward to building on our achievements in 2021 to help ensure that data is used in ways that lead to the best social and economic outcomes for everyone.
– Sir Nigel Shadbolt, Chairman and Co-Founder, Open Data Institute