Making Data on the OpenAQ Platform More Accessible through Improved Documentation

Christine Hagerbaumer

Funding Area: Capacity building / Construcción de capacidad

Problem Statement: Air pollution is the #1 environmental cause of early death and harms people’s health at all stages of life. The health burden is not borne equally: air is more polluted in Low and Middle-Income Economies (LMIEs), reducing life expectancy by seven years in the most polluted areas. OpenAQ fills a critical role in tackling this major problem by providing free, universal access to air quality data so that researchers and changemakers have the data they need to solve air inequality. As an aggregator of air quality data, OpenAQ harmonizes a diverse set of data from around the world into a single platform with a common format. However, the volume of the data we aggregate and the complex nature of atmospheric chemistry can present a challenge for new users to be able to successfully access and use data on the OpenAQ platform to achieve their goals. We seek to improve our technical documentation and develop new user guides about the platform to ensure we are truly accessible and can serve a wider variety of users, especially users located in LMIEs and users with less technical expertise. This proposed project is a key component of a series of improvements that will support our long-term sustainability and resilience.

Proposed Activities: OpenAQ will improve our existing technical documentation by developing a “cookbook” style narrative that provides examples of common patterns to access data on OpenAQ via our REST API, direct file access bucket and Explorer web application. This “cookbook” will serve as an essential companion to our existing technical reference documentation, providing best practices for how to access and use data on the OpenAQ platform. We will begin drafting the materials December 1, 2023; complete a first draft by the end of the 1st quarter of 2024; disseminate and solicit feedback during the 2nd quarter of 2024; and finalize by the end of the 3rd quarter of 2024. Community feedback is an integral part of our organization: we conduct an annual survey of users, use the services of UX/UI designers to secure user input on tool design, and are currently developing a pre- and post-survey methodology to apply in future trainings. To develop this documentation, we need both “hard” (technical) and “soft” (interpersonal) skills, which we have on staff (see Team Skills). A small grant from the Open Infrastructure Fund would provide OpenAQ the resources required to focus on this important improvement, which will lead to greater adoption of our open infrastructure.

Openness: OpenAQ is the world’s largest free and open-source air quality data platform. We currently ingest data from over 150 countries and harmonize the data into a single open and free API and platform. We make the data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. The source code for the OpenAQ platform is fully open-source on GitHub. We will vet the improvements with new and potential users. OpenAQ primarily communicates to the air quality community through our Slack channel, Twitter and LinkedIn. Community members hail from all over the world and have a broad reach when they amplify the information we share. We also present at international conferences and plan at least one trip each year to develop in-person connections in LMIEs (in 2023 we traveled to Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya). In addition we will share the project through our Community Ambassador Program, a leadership training program designed for emerging air quality leaders in LMIEs. OpenAQ develops our technology with the following core values: (1) Open: Anyone can access the data for free. (2) Open-Source: We believe in transparency. You can see the underlying code. (3) Comprehensive: We continually seek new sources of data around the globe to build a complete map. (4) Accessible: We build tools for a variety of users. (5) Trustworthy: The data on our platform comes directly from the source. (5) Resilient: We work toward a reliable data platform that provides the information users need.

Challenges: We do not anticipate any challenges in completing this work.

Neglectedness: We have not previously applied for funding for this specific activity because we have not identified funders that are interested in supporting this type of work. Although improved documentation and educational materials is a critical need, it’s not flashy.

Success: We often receive common queries on how to use the platform (via email, Slack and Twitter), particularly from users with less technical experience in using APIs. We will measure our success by tracking whether we get fewer queries related to questions answered in the improved documentation and whether, overall, we need to provide less one-on-one support.

Total Budget: 5000

Affiliations: OpenAQ

LMIE Carveout: OpenAQ is a U.S.-based environmental tech nonprofit, but our platform hosts data from LMIEs, and we have many users, relationships and partnerships in LMIEs. Our current strategic direction focuses us on expanding data coverage in LMIEs, advocating for publicly accessible data where people are most vulnerable to air pollution (typically LMIEs), empowering emerging air quality leaders in LMIEs, and equipping users of all abilities with tools to access, understand and use our data platform (which tends to be a greater need in LMIEs). As one example of the breadth of our services, we have nearly as many LinkedIn followers from the greater Delhi area as the NYC metro area.

Team Skills: OpenAQ is a small team of four consisting of two technical staff members, a Strategic Partnerships Director and an Executive Director. The Director of Technology will develop the technical documentation with support from the Strategic Partnerships Director, who will provide context from relationships with community-based organizations in LMIEs as well as knowledge around atmospheric chemistry. The Strategic Partnerships Director will also facilitate user validation of the documentation to ensure it provides the needed information to our target audiences. The Executive Director will review the materials. The Director of Technology has a deep background in open data and worked in a variety of sectors; his international experience includes crisis response to Syria. The Strategic Partnerships Director is a citizen of The Philippines, has a PhD in Environmental Science, and has over 10 years of experience in indoor and outdoor pollution.

Submission Number: 95