WHAT WE DO
Helping build the data foundations for trustworthy and effective AI.
AI has become part of everyday life globally. But public agencies are lagging behind in using AI to benefit citizens. Reliable AI in public services needs high-quality data that can be trusted, infrastructure that keeps it usable and shareable, and institutions with the skills and mandate to run both.
AI is only as good as the data it runs on. In the public sector, data is often not ready for the job being asked of it.
Data Foundations for AI helps governments build and deploy trustworthy and effective AI to improve public services and address critical development challenges, whether that means people using AI directly to navigate a service, or a government using AI to inform decisions across the services it delivers.
THE DATA FOUNDATIONS
By data foundations, we mean the institutional, technical and governance conditions that enable data to be managed, shared and used effectively.
This includes how data is collected, governed, documented and shared; the people, institutions, and rules that shape it; and the emerging data infrastructure needed for AI, such as metadata, AI-ready data formats, and benchmarks.
Our approach works across three connected areas to help build the data foundations needed for AI to deliver better public services and improve people's lives.
Policy- National diagnostics and cross-government coordination
- Data policy and governance reform
- Global policy observatory and trends analysis
Infrastructure- Localised AI-ready data frameworks
- Metadata, documentation and provenance
- Technical advisory and reusable tools
Skills- Bespoke online and in-person training programmes
- Peer learning, including South-South cooperation
- Training-of-trainers for scale and lasting impact
LATEST NEWS & UPDATES
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LATEST NEWS & UPDATES —
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![Digital mainlands from space. Cities and countries connected by plexus light lines. Virtual continents. Creative technology, ultra wide background. Concept of transfering information. 3d rendering]()
New global effort launches to build the data foundations AI needs to improve public services
PRESS RELEASE
New York, September 17, 2026
Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Nigel Shadbolt, co-founders of the Open Data Institute, and Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO, United Nations Foundation, mark the launch of Data Foundations for AI in New York. -
![A person wearing colorful clothing working in a small farm or garden with young green plants, under a dramatic sunset sky, with houses and palm trees in the background.]()
Sierra Leone: AI and agriculture data for food security
IN ACTION
Food insecurity remains a persistent challenge in Sierra Leone. Working alongside government partners, we are strengthening agricultural data governance and building the skills needed for more effective, AI-driven, agriculture and food security decision-making.
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![the Supreme Court of Chile or Palacio de los Tribunales de Justicia de Chile on Montt Varas Square in Santiago, Chile, South America. Photo: Jobi Pro / Adobe Stock]()
Preparing Chile for the 2026 Data and AI Laws
IN ACTION
As the country prepares for its Personal Data Protection Law (No. 21.719) to come into full effect, alongside an AI Bill, we’re working with government and civil society partners, to identify the data infrastructure, standards and institutional coordination needed so that these emerging laws can translate into a regulatory framework for responsible and effective AI use.
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
Data Foundations for AI is a global effort delivered by the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and the Open Data Institute. It is hosted by the United Nations Foundation, reflecting its long-standing support of the Global Partnership and its commitment to this new effort with the Open Data Institute.
The Global Partnership works through a network of more than 700 partners across low- and middle-income countries, getting governance arrangements agreed inside governments, brokering data sharing between departments and with the private sector, and putting citizens into decisions about data held about them.
The Open Data Institute works with governments, businesses and civil society to strengthen data infrastructure and help build the technical foundations that make data for AI work. It is headquartered in London with an international reach.
Working together, this effort can bridge a gap that no single organization can address alone: connecting deep technical solutions with the institutions, incentives, relationships and political realities that determine whether they are adopted and sustained.