Overview

certificates.theodi.org is an online service from the Open Data Institute that helps organisations assess and evidence the quality of their data and the practices that support its trustworthy publication and sharing across data ecosystems.

The platform is designed to support multiple certificate types for different data-sharing contexts (open and shared). Today it supports the Open Data Certificate, which assesses the legal, practical, technical and social aspects of publishing open data against best-practice guidance. You can find out more about what you need to get an Open Data Certificate on our what you need page and the badge levels on our badge levels page.

More about the what, how and why of certificates.theodi.org can be found on our FAQ page.

How to get certificates

There are two main ways to earn a certificate:

Single datasets

To certify an individual dataset, start the questionnaire:

Start certificate

Multiple datasets / portals

If you’d like to integrate certificates into a data portal or automate assessments at scale, please contact us at [email protected].

Publisher benefits

Independent mark of quality

Demonstrate trustworthy data management and publication with an ODI Certificate you can reference and display.

Guidance against best practice

Be guided through an assessment aligned to recognised standards and practical good practice.

Actionable improvement report

Receive a clear set of recommendations to progress to higher levels of assurance.

Build trust with users and partners

Provide the information data users need to rely on your data within open and shared data ecosystems.

Data user benefits

Transparency and dependability

See how data is governed, updated and supported, including licensing and documentation commitments.

Alignment with best practices

Higher certificate levels signal stronger processes that support sustainable reuse.

Independent assessment

Certificates are platform-agnostic and focus on the practices that enable trusted data sharing and reuse.

Data platform technologists

ODI Certificates can be integrated with data platforms to validate metadata completeness and key publication practices, helping publishers identify gaps and raise quality across portfolios.

See an example certificate

Related links