Breaking the Cycle of Lost Knowledge
Too many important recommendations disappear into PDFs. Too much money is spent recreating work that already exists. We're building something better.
The Problem We're Solving
Wasted Resources
Organisations repeatedly commission work on similar topics, duplicating effort and unnecessarily spending money.
Lost Recommendations
Important insights get buried in lengthy reports, forgotten when staff change, or lost when organisations close.
Our Solution
A shared, searchable repository where reports and recommendations live on, helping the sector build on past work instead of starting from scratch.
Easy Upload
Submit reports and evaluations with simple forms. Our AI automatically extracts key findings and recommendations.
Smart Search
Find relevant work through full-text search, filtering by categories, dates, organisations, and focus areas.
Track Progress
Connect related recommendations and track whether they've been actioned, creating accountability and momentum.
Our Vision
Who We Are
This project was made by Data For Action, and was supported by a collaboration with YMCA George Williams College & The Centre for Youth Impact.
Together, we're creating a lasting legacy for their reports and recommendations while building a resource that benefits the entire sector.
How Open Recommendations Works
Source Ownership
All sources added are in the public domain and are added in good faith as part of our desire to improve the collective knowledge of us all. If you are the owner of a source you can request to either take ownership of the record on here, allowing you editing rights, or alternatively you can ask us to remove this from Open Recommendations.
Contributing Sources
We welcome anyone to contribute a source so long as it is for the benefit of the collective knowledge of us all. We reserve the right to remove sources that don't meet our goals or promote a better more inclusive world.
Free to Use
We do not charge for the use of Open Recommendations. If you are a funder or someone in a position to help us with running costs then please get in touch.
Our Principles
Open by Default
We advocate for making resources, information, tools and data openly available by default, rather than keeping it hidden or restricted. We need to have a good reason NOT to make it open.
We believe in contributing to the commons, because we think transparency helps better decision making and improves what we (all) do. This tool is an example of that principle in action.
Reuse, Repurpose, Reimagine
We encourage the use of existing resources where possible, building upon them rather than creating new ones by default. For us this can mean using open-source software, repurposing existing data, or building upon existing ideas and projects.
We encourage others to reuse and repurpose our work through Creative Commons licences. This approach reduces waste, accelerates innovation, and creates more sustainable solutions.