I Data  Sharing  Principles  in  Developing  Countries  

The  Nairobi  Data  Sharing  Principles  were  developed  by  participants  of  the  CODATA  Workshop  on  
Open  Data  for  Science  and  Sustainability  in  Developing  Countries  held  on  6-­‐8  August  2014  at  UNESCO  
in  the  United  Nations  Offices  in  Nairobi,  Kenya.  

All  publicly  funded  data  and  information  have  public  good  characteristics;  they  cannot  be  depleted  
with  use  and  it  can  be  inefficient  to  restrict  access.    The  value  of  data  and  information  generally  
increases  with  their  reuse  by  others.    These  characteristics  are  particularly  strong  for  public  data  and  
information  generated  by  governments  and  by  activities  outside  government  that  are  publicly  
funded,  including  in  research.    This  is  because  both  the  data  or  information,  and  the  public-­‐sector  
activities  that  generated  them,  are  undertaken  with  public  money  and  in  the  public  interest.  

Data,  or  factual  information  that  has  been  created  or  collected  in  a  structured  database  or  
compilation  of  information,  are  particularly  valuable  to  share  (i.e.,  make  openly  available)  on  digital  
networks.    Since  the  advent  of  the  internet,  many  studies  have  shown  that  open  data  online  have  
economic,  social,  educational,  and  research  values  that  can  greatly  benefit  society  and  the  progress  
of  science  and  technology.    However,  data  and  information  strategies,  policies  and  management  
have  not  kept  pace  with  scientific  and  technological  changes.    The  practice  of  data  sharing  has  not  
kept  pace  with  the  technological  ability  to  do  so.  

Less  economically  developed  countries  and  those  with  emerging  economies  have  much  to  gain  from  
the  formation  of  open  data  policies  in  the  public  sector  and  devising  mechanisms  for  their  
implementation.    In  addition  to  the  general  values  that  are  inherent  from  open  access  and  reuse  of  
data,  schools,  universities,  research  organizations,  governments,  and  of  the  entire  societies  in  the  
developing  world  can  improve  governance  and  decision  making,  empower  and  educate  citizens,  
promote  capacity  building,  and  generally  increase  the  opportunities  for  innovation  and  the  return  on  
public  investments.    It  is  not  possible  for  nations  in  the  developing  world  to  reach  the  post-­‐2015  U.N.  
Sustainable  Development  Goals,  to  play  an  equal  role  in  international  cooperation  programs,  and  to  
close  the  digital  divide  without  such  data  and  information  policies.  Moreover,  governments,  
foundations,  and  in  some  cases  even  the  private  sector  should  open  their  data  as  much  as  possible  
for  the  public  welfare  of  users  in  developing  countries.    All  these  justifications  and  issues  will  be  
elaborated  in  greater  detail  in  accompanying  Guidelines.  

 
   Data  Sharing  Principles  in  Developing  Countries  

It  is  for  these  reasons  that  we,  the  participants  in  the  International  Workshop  on  Open  Data  for  
Science  and  Sustainability  in  Developing  Countries,  agree  on  the  following  ten  Data  Sharing  Principles  
in  Developing  Countries,  which  we  also  refer  to  as  “The  Nairobi  Data  Sharing  Principles”:  

1)   Data  should  be  open  and  unrestricted  

Data  generated  with  public  support,  including  those  of  private,  charitable  foundations,  should  be  
openly  accessible  and  subject  to  unrestricted  (re)use,  absent  specific,  justified  reasons  to  the  
contrary  (see  Principle  10).    Openness  is  especially  beneficial  for  development  purposes,  and  for  
educational  and  research  uses,  but  can  benefit  all  society  equally  and  have  a  multiplier  effect  on  the  
economy.  

2)   Data  should  be  free  to  the  end  users  

In  most  cases,  any  cost  for  access  is  an  insurmountable  barrier  to  users  in  the  developing  world.  
Therefore,  data  should  be  free  online  to  the  user.    In  some  special  cases,  access  to  data  may  be  no  
more  than  the  marginal  cost  of  fulfilling  a  user  request.    At  the  same  time,  it  is  recognized  that  
adequate  preparation  and  open  availability  of  data  require  sufficient  financial  support  (see  Principle  
7).  

3)   Data  should  be  informative  and  assessed  for  quality  

Data  should  be  of  known  quality  and  integrity,  and  should  be  organized  and  described  (with  
metadata)  in  datasets  sufficient  to  allow  them  to  be  understood  and  effectively  (re)used  by  others.  
Baseline  technical  and  management  standards  need  to  be  established,  especially  in  the  developing  
world  where  state-­‐of-­‐the  art  practices  are  not  yet  as  prevalent.    Adequate  preparation  and  the  use  of  
non-­‐proprietary  software  and  formats  are  especially  important  for  any  datasets  expected  to  have  
long-­‐term  value.  

4)   Data  sharing  should  be  timely  

Once  datasets  are  sufficiently  informative  and  quality  controlled,  they  should  be  released  as  quickly  
as  possible.    This  can  be  done  in  steps,  starting  with  the  metadata  to  avoid  duplication.  In  some  
cases,  such  as  public  emergencies  and  disasters,  open  release  of  relevant  data  should  be  an  
immediate  priority.    In  other  cases,  such  as  research,  data  should  be  openly  available  no  later  than  
upon  the  publication  or  patenting  of  results.  Users  in  developing  countries  have  the  most  to  gain  
from  such  policies.  

5)   Data  should  be  easy  to  find  and  access  

Upon  the  public  release  of  any  dataset,  the  provider  should  promote  ease  of  access  by  the  broadest  
user  base.    Diverse  means  of  publication  should  be  considered  in  recognition  of  potential  
connectivity  and  other  technological  challenges.  

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   Data  Sharing  Principles  in  Developing  Countries  

6)   Data  should  be  interoperable  

To  facilitate  reuse  and  combination  with  data  from  one  or  more  other  datasets  (e.g.,  in  geospatially  
referenced  research),  special  attention  should  be  given  to  making  data  technically,  semantically,  and  
legally  interoperable.    

7)   Data  should  be  sustainable  

The  life-­‐cycles  of  all  datasets  should  be  planned  at  the  outset  with  support  sufficient  to  successfully  
implement  the  first  six  Principles.  The  lower  availability  of  funding  in  developing  countries,  especially  
for  long-­‐term  preservation,  makes  this  a  key  priority  so  that  valuable  datasets  remain  intelligible  and  
are  not  lost  or  in  need  of  rescue.    Consistent  with  Principle  2,  cost  recovery  for  data  archiving  and  
availability  should  not  be  borne  by  the  immediate  users,  but  by  other  entities  in  the  data  lifecycle.    

8)   Data  contributors  should  be  given  credit  

A  significant  incentive  for  the  open  disclosure  and  publication  of  a  dataset  is  the  ability  to  properly  
cite  and  attribute  the  contributor(s),  whether  internal  or  external  to  an  organization.    Any  
subsequent  user  of  the  data  has  at  least  an  ethical  obligation—and  possibly  a  legal  one—to  cite  and  
attribute  the  source  of  the  data  whenever  they  are  reused,  and  not  to  misuse  the  data  in  any  way.    
Such  practices  can  also  improve  the  integrity  of  the  datasets  made  available  by  the  contributors,  in  
support  of  Principle  3.    Data  contributors  in  the  developing  world  require  greater  recognition  and  
rewards  for  such  disclosure,  and  this  should  become  common  practice.    

9)   Data  access  should  be  equitable  

Open  access  and  use  of  data  in  developing  countries,  especially  for  public  purposes,  should  be  
supported  by  the  governments  and  institutions  in  the  more  economically  developed  nations.    
Capacity  building  of  essential  experts  and  infrastructure  in  developing  countries  should  be  a  priority  
of  international  organizations.    Similarly,  experts  in  developing  countries  should  join  and  actively  
participate  in  the  relevant  regional  and  international  organizations  to  exchange  skills  and  knowledge.  

10)   Data  may  be  restricted  for  a  limited  time,  if  adequately  justified  

Restrictions  may  be  placed  on  access  to  and  uses  of  publicly  funded  data  and  datasets  for  specified  
periods  of  time.    Justified  restrictions  may  include  specific  protections  of  national  security,  personal  
privacy,  intellectual  property,  confidentiality,  and  other  values,  such  as  indigenous  peoples’  rights  or  
location  of  endangered  species.    Nevertheless,  the  default  rule  should  be  one  of  openness,  
consistent  with  Principle  1,  and  any  restrictions  should  be  minimized  to  the  extent  possible.  

8  August  2014,  Nairobi,  Kenya  

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