As a mission-driven organisation, the Open Data Institute (ODI) is fortunate to be in the position to partner with similar organisations looking to do good in the world. One such partner is Global Fishing Watch, which, in 2024, approached us to work together on embedding data ethics across their organisation.
Global Fishing Watch is a global not-for-profit whose mission is to shed light on human activity at sea with an aim to protect our global ocean commons and the people and communities who rely on it. They develop innovative products and services that rely on satellite data, GPS tracking data and machine learning, and share what they learn with the public and trusted partners. Acting as an ‘eye in the sky’ puts Global Fishing Watch in a position of great responsibility. They must think not only about the benefits of their work but also about any potential harm their tools and insights could cause to people and communities. Since launching in 2015, they have been keenly aware of the importance of this responsibility. In 2023, after receiving an Audacious grant, they employed the ODI to assess their data ethics maturity and co-develop a thoughtful, organisation-wide approach to data ethics.
At the ODI, we specialise in working closely with organisations to evaluate their data practices and foster responsible data stewardship to ensure ethical and transparent management of data. At Global Fishing Watch, we found an organisation full of passionate and intelligent people who care deeply about data ethics. Many decisions in producing and sharing data had been curated with ethical practices in mind, but like many rapidly growing organisations, data ethics was applied in an ad-hoc way.
After reviewing Global Fishing Watch’s current practices, we focused on two main projects. The first was working with Global Fishing Watch’s leadership and Data Ethics Squad to create a formal set of data ethics principles. This document is unique to Global Fishing Watch and puts transparency at the heart of their work, reflecting their mission to make human activity at sea visible.
The principles have two main purposes:
- To give stakeholders clear guidance on what Global Fishing Watch stands for and what they can expect.
- To provide staff with a reference when making difficult ethical decisions.
Many organisations that work with data and AI face situations where it is impossible to please everyone. A clear statement of ethics helps staff make consistent decisions across projects, while staying true to the organisation’s values and goals.
By publishing these principles, Global Fishing Watch shows leadership and builds trust. It is a strong example of how taking a clear ethical stance can support partnerships with governments, private organisations, and the public.
The second area of work the ODI carried out in collaboration with the data ethics leads at Global Fishing Watch focused on creating a framework to put data ethics into practice. This involved developing and introducing data ethics review tools and processes and creating a manual to make the approach accessible to all staff.
For an organisation with as many employees and varied projects spanning across technology, research and product, this is a significant undertaking. We began with a few pilot projects to test our approach and later expanded it by developing a repeatable process for the Tech and Innovation Team. This initial process can now be scaled and adapted as data ethics is introduced across the whole organisation.
Several key components are fundamental to the layout of the framework: First, it had to balance the ambitions of a values-driven team with what was realistic in terms of resources. To bridge this tension, the ODI developed a simple screening tool to assess projects early and establish the appropriate level of ethics review. It’s now being integrated into planning and gives a clear overview of data ethics risks for managers and leaders. Second, we defined clear roles and responsibilities to make sure data ethics reviews are carried out and risks are managed through the right channels. For projects with higher levels of risk, Global Fishing Watch is now using a consistent Consequence Scanning approach, facilitated by the ODI’s Consequence and Risk Evaluation (CARE) tool while low-risk projects are managed on a project basis. Third, every data ethics review is now recorded in a database, and any mitigation actions have clearly assigned owners. Lastly, we helped Global Fishing Watch build internal data ethics expertise. Staff can access ODI self-paced data ethics courses on demand, and three team members are now certified Data Ethics Professionals serving as internal experts.
We look forward to continuing to partner with Global Fishing Watch as they lead the way in data ethics for open ocean governance. Together, we aim to embed ethical practices across all decision-making, supporting the many stakeholders who use Global Fishing Watch’s tools and products to make a positive impact. At the ODI, we are proud to work with an organisation whose values so closely match our own and look forward to this journey ahead.
