My academic and professional background is in the study and monitoring of open data, in both academic and governmental contexts. I recently had the opportunity to participate in the Open Data Editor (ODE) instructor training pilot programme. This experience has enabled me to organise and train teams at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), where I work as a librarian with a focus on democratising access to information.
The training session was attended by a diverse audience, including students, teachers, civil servants and citizens. We covered a range of topics that are essential for understanding and applying open data, including:
Open Data and the FAIR and CARE principles;
The utilisation of Government Open Data in decision-making processes within academic and administrative contexts;
File formats that are recommended for data sharing and reuse;
The National Data Infrastructure and the Brazilian Open Data Portal;
The use of Open Data Editor (ODE) is recommended for the simplification of open data analysis.
During the in-person training, there were intensive debates focusing on the challenges of data collection, preparation, availability, and reuse. The objective was well-defined: to ensure adherence to the Brazilian Access to Information Law, promoting both active and passive transparency.
Challenges encountered
The challenges faced by the Accessibility Secretariat: The Accessibility Secretariat of the UFC, for example, has encountered challenges in consolidating data on students, teachers and civil servants with disabilities from a single source. The organisation of this data is crucial for monitoring and creating effective public policies at the university.
The challenges faced by the Library Team: The Library Team then emphasised the difficulties involved in determining which types of data would be of interest to citizens with regard to the services offered. Examples include the amounts of fines collected for book loans and the opening of data on the General Book Collection, Material Circulation (loans, returns and renewals), Trained Users, Institutional Repository, among others.
A Brief Overview of the Benefits of ODE
The Open Data Editor (ODE) has proven to be a very useful tool in the university’s administrative routines for analysing spreadsheets and CSV files. The initial in-person ODE training programme coincided with a pivotal moment for UFC: the recent approval of its institutional Open Data Plan (PDA). In addition, all sectors of the university were in the process of preparing their internal databases for publication via CKAN and availability on the Brazilian Open Data Portal. The UFC Ombudsman’s Office has expressed its support for this initiative, not only by endorsing the course but also by actively promoting it among the institution’s data stakeholders.
Conclusion and Next Steps
Given the significant internal demand and the success of the in-person training, UFC will continue to invest in disseminating knowledge about open data and the use of the Open Data Editor tool. New training courses will be offered at the institution through the Learn platform. Commencing in August 2025, an online version of the in-person course will be made available, thereby expanding the reach and impact of the initiative.
Testimonial
Understanding the importance of data for the daily life of institutions and how it can make processes more efficient shows us a world of possibilities. I particularly enjoy understanding reality through data, as it translates facts. Through the course, I was able to understand more about the relevance of data for scientific production, and how care with data is essential for its reuse.”
Vitória Régia Moreira, a civil servant working at the Federal University of Ceará
About the Open Data Editor
The Open Data Editor (ODE) is Open Knowledge’s new open source desktop application for nonprofits, data journalists, activists, and public servants, aiming at helping them detect errors in their datasets. It’s a free, open-source tool designed for people working with tabular data (Excel, Google Sheets, CSV) who don’t know how to code or don’t have the programming skills to automatise the data exploration process.
Simple, lightweight, privacy-friendly, and built for real-world challenges like offline work and low-resource settings, ODE is part of Open Knowledge’s initiative The Tech We Want — our ambitious effort to reimagine how technology is built and used.
And there’s more! ODE comes with a free online course that can help you improve the quality of your datasets, therefore making your life/work easier.
All of Open Knowledge’s work with the Open Data Editor is made possible thanks to a charitable grant from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Learn more about its funding programmes here.
