Max Roser on building the world's first great source of COVID-19 data at Our World in Data

Abstract

Our World in Data (OWID) is a non-profit organization founded by Max Roser which aims to make research and data on the world’s largest problems available to the public. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, OWID rapidly became a widely-used source of information about the virus, its spread, and vaccination efforts. This was despite OWID having a small staff, limited funding, and no previous expertise in infectious diseases. The success of OWID was attributed to the team’s willingness to focus on data that was poorly presented by other organizations, along with the team’s ability to rapidly adapt to the needs of its users. The article discusses the challenges of obtaining and presenting accurate data in a timely manner, particularly during a crisis. It also examines the difficulties of building and maintaining data-driven websites, and highlights the importance of funding research to improve the availability and reliability of data. – AI-generated abstract