Empowering Development:

Why Open Access is Right for the World

BankCarlos Rossel, Publisher, The World BankStellenbosch University, South Africa

November 8, 2012

Traditional Approach to Development

1. The transfer of resources from rich countries in the North to poorer countries in the South, accompanied by reform prescriptions

2. The development institutions that channeled the transfers were opaque, with little transparency of what they financed and what results they achieved

3. The engagement in developing countries was with a narrow set of government elites with little interaction with citizens who are the ultimate beneficiaries of development assistanceOpen Data, Open Access, Open Aid, and Open Government

are transforming development

Sanjay Pradhan, World Bank: http://www.ted.com/talks/sanjay_pradhan_how_open_data_is_changing_international_aid.html

Traditional Approach to Publishing at the World Bank

• Commercial distribution model, working with a network of print and online distributors around the world

• Steep discounts to customers in developing countries• Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia were our second and third

largest markets measured in number of copies sold• Very good at reaching our readers in the North and in the

South• Sustainable business model, with 50% of revenue from the

sale of online databases and our eLibrary, and 50% from the sale of printed books

If it isn’t broken, why fix it?

World Bank Mission Statement

Our Dream is a World Free of Poverty

To fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results

To help people help themselves and their environment by providing

resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging

partnerships in the public and private sector

THE WORLD BANK OPEN AGENDA

Embracing Openness

Four Pillars of the World Bank’s Open Agenda

Open About What We Do

(Operations and Results)

“The World Bank’s Access to Information Policy is the gold standard for financial institutions…”

− Chad Dobson, Bank Information Center

1. Access to Information•Modeled on the US and Indian Freedom of Information acts•Moved from positive to negative list•Except for small list of exceptions, documents and reports are available•Millions pages viewed since July 2010

1. Access to Information2. Open Data

• Released over 8,000 economic and social indicators for some 200 countries over 50 years

• Apps for Development competition

• Access via an API in an international standard data format

• New portals and new databases on climate change, jobs, gender

• Operational data on more than 11,000 lending projects in over 100 countries

Open About What We

Know

(Data and Knowledge)

Open About What We Do

(Operations and Results)

Four Pillars of the World Bank’s Open Agenda

Mapping for Results Portal

“We need to do development differently”

Robert Zoellick, President, The World Bank Group

New Direction: Democratizing DevelopmentWe need to throw open the doors, recognizing that others can find and create their own solutions. And this open research revolution is underway. We need to recognize that development knowledge is no longer the sole province of the researcher, the scholar, or the ivory tower. The aim is to open the treasure chest of the World Bank’s data and knowledge to every village health care worker, every researcher, everyone. Georgetown University, September 2010

Old Age Security

Early Childhood EducationConflict & Failed States

Health

Gender Equity

Jobs

Climate ChangeInvestment Climate

Old Age Security

Early Childhood EducationConflict & Failed States

Health

Gender Equity

Jobs

Climate ChangeInvestment Climate

Dissemination of Print Books(T

hou

san

ds)

“Followers” on Social Media(T

hou

san

ds)

Dissemination of Print and Electronic

(Mill

ion

s)

Four Pillars of the World Bank’s Open Agenda

1. Access to Information2. Open Data3. Open Access Policy4. Creative Commons

Licensing

Open About What We

Know

(Data and Knowledge)

Open About What

We Do

(Operations and

Results)

=+ +

Strategic Review ofWorld Bank Publications

Create a cutting edge publishing model that fully embraces free and open access,

with a particular emphasis on electronic dissemination

or

258,117 Downloads (58% developed, 42% developing countries)Large increase in the number of downloads in October, doubling from September across all collections

Total Downloads

Top 30 Countries, by Downloads

The Currency of Open Access Publishing

Next Steps• Network with, and learn from, the OA community

• Partner with other institutions for repository

interoperability

South-South knowledge exchange

South-North knowledge exchange

• Develop Open Educational Resources

• Advocate for Open Access

• Where we can add value, help develop OA capacity

• It’s Mission Driven• It’s Cutting Edge• It makes us Relevant• It makes us Open and Transparent• It makes us Accountable• It makes us Results Driven• It Works

Why Open Access is Right for the World Bank

If you’re a mission-driven, non-profit institutionopen access is right for you too

Carlos Rossel, Publisher, The World Bankcrossel@worldbank.org