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Have you ever checked the weather before leaving the house? Or looked up information about a city before visiting? Behind these everyday actions is data, the fundamental pieces of information we use every day to make better decisions.
Data is the representation of facts, observations, or measurements. It becomes open data when it is published with specific technical characteristics, follows established standards, and has legal permissions that allow anyone to freely use, reuse, and distribute it.
In this era of technological advancement, driven by artificial intelligence, deep learning, and cloud computing, the power of data has grown exponentially, solidifying its role as a strategic asset of fundamental importance in every field. While data has always been valuable, today it is crucial to understand why it matters for individuals, companies, and entire societies. Data is important not because it’s fashionable or trendy, but because it serves as a compass for informed and effective decision-making. In this sense, the availability of reliable data is essential for generating quality knowledge.
How We Open the Door to Data: The New IDB Catalog
Knowledge is at the heart of the IDB’s mission, and our Institutional Strategy recognizes that generating, sharing, and using knowledge is one of the greatest values we can add for our countries. For a decade, the IDB has recognized datasets as important knowledge products for driving economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. For this reason, we collect data through our projects and initiatives, perform data analysis, and share useful, reusable data through our Open Data Catalog. Through this work, we hope to inform decision-making, help strengthen public policies, and contribute to sustainable development in our region.
Data only has an impact when it is used. Therefore, for data to foster the production of knowledge and solutions, it must be within everyone’s reach. Guided by that vision, we modernized and relaunched our Open Data Catalog, which now makes datasets available in a way that is easy to explore, understand, and reuse.
Here are some highlights of the new catalog and why they matter:
- Four content types, four ways to start
- Datasets: Structured data files that can be downloaded immediately.
- Research Data: Datasets linked to IDB publications, useful for reproducing or expanding on research findings.
- Indicators: Calculated data offering a quick snapshot of key metrics.
- Data Portals: Thematic sites with visualizations and context.
- Intuitive search and comprehensive filters
The catalog offers an intuitive search bar that scans not only titles but also descriptions, tags, and the departments responsible for the datasets. You can also leverage specific filters to browse by topics of interest, countries, years, or particular data types. For example, if you want macroeconomic data, you can search for the Latin Macro Watch dataset, prepared by the Bank’s research department, and filter by data type, included countries, topics, and more.
- Data and metadata to drive action
Every resource in the catalog is designed with your use case in mind. That’s why you will find complete metadata that is easy to download in various formats, making it simpler to document your research or project. For instance, for the dataset of social and environmental claims managed by MICI, you can find information that includes keywords, countries, descriptions, and much more.
When data is directly related to a specific research paper, you will find the link on the same resource page, making it easy to trace the original evidence and ensuring transparency. You can see this in the example of the Agricultural Productivity Indices Dataset:
- Data always accessible via an API
For developers, we also offer an API that allows you to access data and metadata. On each profile, the “Show” button immediately reveals the technical information needed to connect your applications or systems directly with our data. This means you can automate queries, integrate resources into existing applications, and ensure your analyses stay up-to-date without extra effort.
The data is waiting for you
Open data isn’t just numbers or files stored on a digital platform; it is a powerful resource capable of helping you generate knowledge, build practical solutions, and make informed decisions. By sharing it, we open up possibilities for innovation, research, and the creation of evidence-based public policy.
We invite you to explore the Open Data Catalog, experiment with its comprehensive filters, download specific resources, or connect directly via the API. Every query, download, or analysis you perform is a step forward in building more informed, participatory, and open societies.
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