---
id: "coronavirus-smarter-crowdsourcing:strategies/Promote-and-use-open-source-and-simple-tools-for-d"
type: "GovLab policy strategy"
title: "Promote and use open source and simple tools for data sharing between and among stakeholders."
url: "https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/strategies/promote-and-use-open-source-and-simple-tools-for-d"
summary: "Promote and use open source and simple tools for data sharing between and among stakeholders."
source: "The GovLab (coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org)"
licence: "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)"
---

# Promote and use open source and simple tools for data sharing between and among stakeholders.

Promote and use open source and simple tools for data sharing between and among stakeholders.

- Timeframe: 3-6 Months (medium)
- Audience: Private Sector, Academia, Civil Society, Healthcare Providers, Government Workers, Organized Civil Society, Nonprofits
- Type: Policy/Legislative/Regulatory, Data, Technology/Innovation, Capacity Building
- Recommendation: [Improve Information Infrastructure](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/recommendations/improve-information-infrastructure)
- Part of: [Smarter Crowdsourcing in the Age of Coronavirus](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/)

## Actions governments should take

1. Review policies that govern and restrict the storage and sharing of health information.
2. Set up an online, open repository for national surveillance data that provides timely reports in machine-readable format.
3. Offer informal peer learning opportunities where governments or representative associations coordinate informal forums or opportunities for individuals designing, implementing, and managing public health monitoring and surveillance programs to share ideas, challenges and best practices. These opportunities should be extended to include researchers, epidemiologists, or non-governmental actors.
4. Offer formal peer learning opportunities where governments or representative associations coordinate formal and structured forums or opportunities for those designing, implementing, and managing public health monitoring and surveillance programs to share ideas, challenges and best practices.
5. Publish open datasets to encourage participation of multiple research groups; use scientific peer-review as a system of checks and balances ensuring research quality.
6. Establish a code of conduct for research using public surveillance datasets.
7. Establish a single organization with the responsibility to oversee and advise on ways to improve data sharing and incorporate new technologies and approaches as they emerge.
8. Capitalize on existing databases or registers maintained by specific government agencies (such as social security, post service, or census data) to bolster existing public health monitoring and surveillance data systems.
9. Integrate these databases into the public health monitoring and surveillance data systems or contact tracing platform to increase ability for contact tracers to reach individuals confirmed as COVID-19 positive or identified as contacts of COVID-19 positive cases.
10. [Develop and use a data governance playbook for epidemic response and building broad commitment to it (see GovLab Zika/MBD Report)](https://zika.smartercrowdsourcing.org/en/files/smarter-crowdsouring-for-zika-and-other-mosquito-borne-diseases.pdf)

## Examples from around the world

1. The European Bioinformatics Institute launched the [Covid-19 Data Portal](https://www.covid19dataportal.org/) in collaboration with multiple European partners. The portal is funded by the European Union to allow researchers and healthcare professionals to [submit, share, and access publicly available data on COVID-19](https://coronavirusexplained.ukri.org/en/article/vdt0011/) in order to assist in developing diagnostic tools, treatment and a vaccine.