StatSilk develops tools for creating dashboards incorporating user-friendly, interactive data visualizations and maps. The dashboards can be both web-based (cross-platform, mobile compatible) and run as a desktop application.
When released in 2008, our flagship product StatPlanet was the world's first web-based visualization application integrating interactive maps and graphs in a single dashboard. In 2011, it won first prize in the World Bank's Apps for Development Competition by automatically visualizing the entire World Bank database of 8000+ indicators - and helped "bring World Bank education data into the modern age". Since then it has been used by many organizations - including over 20 UN agencies - and by millions of people (including children!) across the globe. We have worked with organizations of all sizes to develop an increasingly powerful and versatile product that can meet the needs of clients across many different sectors.
StatSilk embraces the Principles for Digital Development, and has released a number of open source products over the years. StatSilk has also helped many organizations disseminate and better communicate open data, and has out-of-the-box support for the ISO data and meta-data standard SDMX. A completely open source HTML5 version of StatPlanet is available on GitHub, which builds on several open source JavaScript libraries. It includes an open source data manager, hosted on Source Forge since 2009, which has also been used independently of StatPlanet for automated consolidation of global data.
Services
We have over 10 years of experience developing interactive dashboards and providing data visualization and analysis services for UN organizations, government agencies, research institutions and multinational corporations across the globe. We understand the diverse needs of our clients and can adapt the software to your needs. We also run workshops on data visualization, data literacy and data analysis, and offer data integration, data analysis, dashboard development and software customization services.
Userbase
StatSilk's userbase spans a broad range of industries and companies of all sizes, from small NGOs to some of the world’s largest companies. It empowers organizations to better communicate and disseminate their data, and empowers users of data by providing them with the tools to better explore and analyse the data according to their needs. Originally launched as a not-for-profit initiative, StatSilk’s business model now balances commercial aspirations with a philosophy that supports open data and data visualization for international development.
Our users include multinational companies such as Accenture, Cisco, Dell, eBay, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Samsung; intergovernmental organizations such as OECD, European Commission, the World Bank and over 20 UN organizations; government agencies in over 35 countries, such as the USA Department of Homeland Security; and many of the world's leading universities such as Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Stanford and Yale.
History
StatSilk is based in Sydney, Australia, and was founded by Frank van Cappelle in 2011. The StatPlanet software has a longer history and has been under development since 2006. In 2007 it was first presented to a wider audience, at eLearning Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, and at the Pedagogical Faultlines Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands. From 2008 to 2010 it was established in Paris as a research project at the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) to improve the accessibility of research findings. The software was used to visualize and monitor education quality indicators as part of the SACMEQ inter-governmental research programme. UN agencies, international non-governmental organizations, NASA, the World Bank, and universities were amongst the first users of the software, while Siemens sponsored the first additions to the software, expanding the repertoire of visualization options.
Training sessions and workshops have been conducted internationally by GIS and StatPlanet experts from Australia, India and the UK.
Press
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StatSilk's StatPanet software has been featured in the New York Times, the Guardian, Google Magazine Think Quarterly, Australian newspaper The Age, Austrian newspaper Wirtschaftsblatt and Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad. |
Business model
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StatSilk employs a unique business model which seeks to promote the use of data visualization by non-profit and government organizations and organizations in low income countries. It also aims to promote the use of visualization for research and educational purposes. The business model is based on the following five pillars: |
- Visualize open data: Increasingly government institutions and organizations are releasing data free of charge. Through StatSilk’s StatWorld and the first-prize winning StatPlanet World Bank, interactive visualizations of thousands of indicators can be explored and analyzed. Lack of Internet connectivity does not need to be a barrier, as there are desktop and web versions.
- Enable anyone to freely and easily produce interactive data visualizations: Our dashboards empower users to easily create their own visualizations. StatPlanet Desktop and StatTrends Desktop can be freely used and redistributed for non-commercial purposes, such as research and education, without restriction.
- Support data visualization for international development: Data visualization can play an important role in international development by facilitating the monitoring and evaluation of key indicators and benchmarks. All StatSilk software, both desktop and web versions, are completely free for use by local non-profit organisations and government institutions in low income countries. StatPlanet versions for many of these countries are available for download. For maps of other countries, please see the free shapefile maps section.
- Support data visualization by non-profit entities: The desktop versions of StatPlanet and StatTrends are free for use by non-commercial entities, such as government agencies, educational institutions and charities, as well as for personal use. The web version of StatPlanet has a reduced license costs for non-commercial entities and is frequently given for free. StatTrends is free for both commercial and non-commercial use. See also the license terms.
- Support evidence-based decision making: Improvements to StatSilk software are made with evidence-based decision making in mind - building increasingly powerful tools to visually explore and analyze data according to your needs. Paid customizations to the software are included in the next software update so that everyone can benefit. User feedback is welcomed and many suggestions for improvement have been incorporated over the past few years. Customizations which are prioritized are those that are most likely to benefit current and future users.
Feel free to contact us for more information.
Business details
ABN (Australian Business Number): 56482517109
Location: 52B Premier Street, Neutral Bay, Sydney, NSW 2089, Australia