Open Data Institute

What Open Data Institute does

The Open Data Institute (ODI) is a UK-registered non-profit company limited by guarantee, founded in 2012 by Sir Nigel Shadbolt and Tim Berners-Lee, that builds data infrastructure, knowledge and strategy for governments, businesses and civil society. Its core capabilities span interdisciplinary research, policy advocacy, training, consultancy and a portfolio of proprietary tools and frameworks, including the Data Ethics Canvas, the Data Skills Framework, the Secondary Use of Health Data interactive tool, and stewardship of Solid, a decentralised personal-data framework. Technology delivery combines a self-serve learning platform at learning.theodi.org, interactive web tooling, consortium-led research prototypes such as NDL-Lite (aggregating 38GB and over 100,000 datasets from six UK public-sector sources), and multi-party programmes like IDEA (Interchange for Data and Enterprise AI) co-developed with SAP.

The ODI operates a hybrid revenue model: an annual subscription membership with free and discounted courses, fee-for-service consultancy and off-the-shelf products, interactive training courses, and commercial partnerships with named enterprises including Arup, BBC, Microsoft, Refinitiv, Sopra Steria and Roche. It also receives philanthropic and public-sector grants (cumulative disclosed funding of roughly $32M across the EU, Innovate UK, Omidyar Network and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation) and runs a dormant trading subsidiary, Open Data Institute Trading Ltd, to isolate commercial contracts. Its customer base is anchored by UK and European governments (Defra, Greater London Authority, Royal Borough of Greenwich, NHS Scotland) alongside enterprise advisory work in healthcare, banking and now agri-food.

The organisation is small (11–50 employees) but punches above its weight through network effects, with 60,000 people trained, 300 early-stage organisations supported and impact spanning at least 74 countries. Its 2023–2028 strategy emphasises AI-ready data governance and decentralised infrastructure, positioning the ODI as a neutral policy and standards convenor rather than a software vendor.

Name

Open Data Institute

Legal name

Open Data Institute

Website

https://theodi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Open Data Institute is a UK non-profit, founded in 2012 by Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Nigel Shadbolt, that provides research, training, consultancy and proprietary data-governance frameworks to governments, businesses and civil society worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Data & Data Governance Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

International Standards Development & Standardization Bodies (BPADANAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

Keywords

• Open data advocacy
• Data governance consulting
• Data training courses
• Data policy research
• Data ethics frameworks

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Program: Annual membership providing access to an active network of organizations and individuals transforming their data strategies. Members receive free and discounted courses, free tools, priority booking for webinars, and updates on data policy and innovations.
2. Training and Learning Services: Interactive courses delivered through webinars and online platforms with expert trainers, providing opportunities to develop data skills with support and resources.
3. Consultancy and Products: Off-the-shelf products and consultancy services designed to help organizations make the most of data and upgrade their data practices.
4. Commercial Partnerships: Partnerships with commercial organizations including Arup, BBC, Microsoft, Refinitiv, Sopra Steria, and Roche to improve data governance practices in various sectors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The ODI provides training, consultancy services, tools and guides that enable organisations to become more confident and capable in their stewardship and use of data. It also conducts inter-disciplinary research, advocates for data policy, stewards the Solid decentralised data framework, and runs a global membership network of businesses, governments and civil society.

Product overview

The Open Data Institute is a non-profit company that provides a portfolio of data-focused offerings including: training and learning courses through its online learning platform, consultancy services and off-the-shelf products, a membership program, research and policy work, and various tools and frameworks. Key products include Solid (a decentralized data framework it stewards), the Data Ethics Canvas, Data Skills Framework, and the Secondary Use of Health Data interactive tool. The organization also conducts research prototypes like NDL-Lite and runs programs like IDEA (with SAP). Its offerings are organized around building data infrastructure, knowledge, and strategies that create trust in data, serving businesses, governments, and civil society.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Solid: A decentralised data framework that the ODI now stewards, enabling users to store and control their personal data

Products and services

• Solid decentralised data framework A decentralised data framework, stewarded by the ODI, that gives individuals ownership over their personal data by enabling them to store and control data in self-managed secure environments rather than relying on centralised platforms.
• Data Ethics Canvas A practical tool for anyone who collects, shares or uses data to identify and manage ethical issues at the start of and throughout data projects.
• Data Skills Framework A framework that shows how technical data skills can be balanced with other skills to support successful data innovation, helping organisations inform data literacy programmes, identify skill gaps and prioritise learning investments.
• ODI Learning Courses Interactive webinars and online courses delivered through learning.theodi.org that develop data skills (including data ethics) with expert trainers, available individually or with free/discounted access for ODI members.
• ODI Membership Programme An annual membership providing organisations and individuals with access to a global network of data experts, free and discounted courses, free tools, priority booking for webinars, and updates on data policy and innovations.
• ODI Consultancy and Products Bespoke consultancy engagements and off-the-shelf products designed to help organisations make the most of data and upgrade their data practices.
• Research and Policy Work Inter-disciplinary research, development and policy advocacy that advances trust in data and informs emerging data policy and digital technology issues.
• Open Cities Workshops One-day workshops (run virtually or in-person) designed to support city authorities to explore where data lives, identify gaps in data or data flow, and address specific challenges.
• Secondary Use of Health Data Interactive Tool An interactive digital tool that maps the policy landscape for secondary use of health data across European countries, enabling users to benchmark policy readiness and identify good practices (recognised with a 2022 DataComms Awards Silver Medal).
• Data and Public Services Toolkit A set of tools used by city teams to drive change, communicate insights and embed learning, supporting Open Cities workshops and data-enabled public services.
• NDL-Lite (National Data Library Prototype) A prototype aggregating public-sector data from multiple sources into a centralised resource to assess data readiness for AI use and test the UK's proposed National Data Library.
• IDEA (Interchange for Data and Enterprise AI) Programme A global multi-stakeholder programme developed with SAP to define standards for AI-ready enterprise data across ERP ecosystems, targeting governance, interoperability and the gap between transactional ERP systems and modern AI workload requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60,000 people trained through courses in banking, government and media sectors
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SAPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026SAP and ODI launched IDEA (Interchange for Data and Enterprise AI), a global multi-stakeholder program to define standards for AI-ready enterprise data across ERP ecosystems. The initiative targets governance, interoperability, and the gap between existing ERP systems designed for transactional integrity and the data requirements of modern AI workloads. Partners plan to develop reference architectures and patterns that help enterprises expose data to AI systems.
• ArupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Part of consortium with WRAP, AHDB, and HESTIA to design, develop, and test Data Sharing Infrastructure (DSI) and governance for the UK's agri-food supply chain under the Food Infrastructure & Governance (FIG) project commissioned by Defra and FDTP.
• WRAPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Part of consortium to design DSI for UK agri-food sector, aiming to improve environmental impact measurement, reduce administrative burdens on farmers, and accelerate digital innovation through tools like digital product passports.
• AHDBcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Part of consortium for agri-food sector DSI, working with Arup, WRAP, and HESTIA on data sharing infrastructure for UK food supply chain.
• HESTIAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Part of consortium to design DSI for UK agri-food sector under the FIG project commissioned by Defra and FDTP.
• RochecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership to map the policy landscape for secondary use of health data across Europe, developing frameworks and interactive tools for health data governance. The collaboration produced reports, country profiles, and a data governance playbook for healthcare leaders.
• ArupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial partner in the ODI Partnership Programme, sharing a common vision of a collaborative, open and trustworthy future.
• BBCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial partner in the ODI Partnership Programme.
• MicrosoftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial partner in the ODI Partnership Programme.
• RefinitivcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial partner in the ODI Partnership Programme.
• Sopra SteriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial partner in the ODI Partnership Programme.
• Defra and Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned the Food Infrastructure & Governance (FIG) project with consortium partners to establish evidence base for DSI that delivers public benefit and contributes to UK's net zero ambitions.
• CuebiqminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner commissioned to explore mobility data sharing initiatives during the Covid-19 pandemic, producing case studies and synthesis reports.
• The GovLabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner with Cuebiq on Covid-19 mobility data research, jointly producing the synthesis report and case studies.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The GovLab: NYU-affiliated research lab focused on governance, data, and public-sector innovation. Directly comparable as a research-and-policy outfit working on data governance and institutional data practice, similar to ODI's mission.
• Open Data Charter: International non-profit coordinating open data standards and government adoption. Closely comparable mandate to ODI's open data and data stewardship work, including shared policy advocacy networks.
• World Wide Web Foundation: Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadbolt's earlier non-profit advancing an open, accessible web. Shares leadership pedigree with ODI and overlapping mission around digital rights, open data, and internet governance.
• Data & Society: US-based research institute studying the social implications of data and automation. Directly comparable as an interdisciplinary research and policy outfit producing frameworks on data ethics and governance.

Broad incumbents

• Nesta: UK innovation foundation running applied research, pilots, and policy work on data, AI, and public services. Comparable as a larger UK-based innovation and consultancy organization that overlaps with ODI's research and policy remit.
• The Alan Turing Institute: UK's national institute for data science and AI, partnering with ODI on NHS Scotland data study groups. A larger, broader incumbent in the same data/AI research space that competes for government mindshare and grant funding.

Emerging players

• Connected by Data: Smaller UK non-profit working on civic engagement with data and data institutions. Shares ODI's mission around public-interest data governance but with a narrower advocacy focus.
• Inrupt: Commercial company founded by Tim Berners-Lee to commercialize Solid. Comparable because it operates in the same Solid ecosystem that ODI stewards, and the two organizations have an overlapping technical and standards agenda.
• Future of Privacy Forum: US-based think tank focused on data privacy and emerging technology governance. Comparable as a policy-and-research outfit producing frameworks on ethical data use, similar to ODI's Data Ethics Canvas work.

Regional players

• Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI): UK government advisory body on data ethics and AI, now part of DSIT. Comparable as a data-policy and ethics advisory body operating in the same UK policy ecosystem that ODI engages with.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-open-data-institute
• Xx.com/UKODI

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Data Institute