Organizations on HDX

What is an Organization on HDX?

Data on HDX is published and shared by organizations. These can be formal entities, such as a UN agency, NGO, government body, research institute, or private sector partner, or an informal group, such as an Information Management Working Group. All organizations are vetted by the HDX team to ensure they are trusted sources of relevant data.

Features of Organizations

Organizations on HDX provide:

Data management	Upload, edit, and manage datasets with role-based permissions to control who can publish and modify content.
Organization page	Branded space with logo, description, and datasets (public, private, or metadata-only).
Team collaboration	Add team members with Administrator, Editor, or Member roles to manage data collectively.
Contact the data contributor	The 'Contact the contributor' feature on every dataset page allows registered users and HDX to send emails directly to the person who uploaded the dataset.
Internal group messaging	The 'Group message' feature enables members of the same organization to message each other from dataset pages (both public and private). You can send messages to all members or filter by role (for example, administrators or editors). Messages are internal and not visible to users outside your organization.
Performance tracking	Access statistics on dataset downloads, page views, and visitor metrics.
Private data sharing	Share datasets only with organization members.
Visibility and credibility	Build trust through a verified presence on HDX, making it easier for users to discover and assess your data. Request custom-branded pages with your colour scheme, topline figures, and optional data visualizations.

Understanding the Organization Page

Every organization on HDX has a dedicated page featuring its logo, description, and a list of the datasets it has published (public and metadata-only via HDX Connect). Users can subscribe to receive email alerts about dataset changes via 'Get Notified'.

Tabs provide access to different functions:

• Datasets: All public datasets published by the organization.
• Activity Stream: Recent updates or uploads.
• Stats: Downloads and page view metrics for the organization’s datasets.

More tabs are available when you are a member of an organization.

Why Organizations are required on HDX

HDX requires data to be published through organizations for two reasons:

1. Authorization and control: Only organization members with appropriate roles can upload, edit, or manage datasets, ensuring accountability and transparency.
2. Search and discovery: HDX follows a content hierarchy (Organization → Dataset → Resource) that helps users understand the source of the data, assess credibility, and explore related data published by the same organization.

Organizational structures

HDX supports different organizational structures:

• Centralized - Single page: Some groups, like IOM, choose to consolidate all data under one organization page. This simplifies management and provides a unified view of their contributions across countries or thematic areas.
• Decentralized - Multiple pages: Others, like UNICEF, maintain separate pages on HDX for each country office, enabling more localized data management and visibility.

The choice depends on your internal structure, workflows, and how you want to present your data. During the onboarding process, the HDX team can advise on the best setup.

Membership roles and permissions

HDX organizations have three different membership roles with varying levels of permissions to control their organization page on HDX.

Permission	Member	Editor	Administrator
View organization’s public and private dataset	☑️	☑️	☑️
Send group message to organization	☑️	☑️	☑️
Be the data maintainer		☑️	☑️
Add new dataset		☑️	☑️
Edit dataset		☑️	☑️
Delete dataset		☑️	☑️
Manage organization page			☑️
Invite users to organization			☑️
Change the role of a user			☑️
Remove a user from organization			☑️
Turn on/off “Request membership” option			☑️

The user who creates an organization is automatically assigned as an administrator. That person can invite other HDX users into their organization and assign them one of the three roles above, or registered users on HDX can request membership from the organization’s administrator(s). Organizations should have at least two administrators to ensure continuity in managing data and membership. It is good practice for the administrator(s) to review the member list regularly as all members are able to view private datasets and to grant users the minimum amount of permissions needed.

Request membership of an existing organization

You only need to request membership of an organization if you plan to share data on its behalf. Regular HDX users don't need organization membership to access data.

1

Log into your HDX account Only registered users can request to join an organization on HDX.

2

Click on your profile name on the top right of any page

3

Open ‘User Dashboard’

4

Scroll down and click on ‘My Organizations’

5

Click the ‘Request to join an org’ blue button

Alternatively you can request membership by logging into HDX, navigating to your organization’s page and clicking the Request Membership button. If the Request Membership button is not visible, the organization is a closed group and not accepting new members at this time.

What happens next:

• The request is reviewed by an administrator
• If your request is successful, the admin assigns your role based on responsibilities

Create a new organization on HDX

1

Log into your HDX account. Only registered users can request to create a new organization.

2

Open: https://data.humdata.org/org/request/new If you are not logged in, you will see an error page.

3

Fill in the new organization request form

Request to create a new organization form

• Organization name;
• Description of the organization including its focus, location and activities;

Request to create a new organization form

• Website link;
• Your role within the organization;
• Type of data your organization would like to share;
• Whether the data is already publicly available and where.

4

Click submit

The HDX onboarding team will review your request and then either approve it or ask for more information (such as a sample dataset) by email. Approved organizations will remain inactive until at least one dataset has been shared through HDX.

Custom-branded pages: HDX offers custom-branded organization pages that include your organization’s logo, color scheme, topline figures, an optional data visualization, and a list of all your shared datasets. To request customization, please email [e-mail].

Managing organization members

Administrators can manage members from the Members tab on the organization page.

How to invite a new user

1. Open the Members tab
2. In the right column, enter the email, name, or username under ‘Add / invite colleagues to this organization’
3. Select the role (Admin, Editor, Member)
4. Click submit

If they are already registered on HDX, they will be added immediately. If not, they will receive an email invitation.

How to remove a user

1. Open the Members tab
2. In the left column, click ‘Remove from this organization’ next to their name
3. Click confirm

Users who are data maintainers must have their datasets reassigned before removal. If you are the only admin for your organization and want to change the role or remove yourself from the organization, you will be asked to assign the admin role to at least one existing member of the organization.

How to change a user’s role

1. Open the Members tab
2. Click ‘Change role’ next to their name
3. Click submit

Users who are data maintainers cannot be changed to Member status until datasets are reassigned. Organizations must always have at least one Administrator.

Responding to membership requests

By default, organizations on HDX are open, which means any registered user can request to join. Requests are:

• Sent to all administrators via email
• Displayed as notifications on HDX

The first administrator to respond determines the outcome, approve or decline. Once a decision is made, other admins are not notified again. All members of your organization, regardless of role, can view your private datasets. Only approve requests from users you can verify, such as via staff directories or trusted contacts.

Making your organization a closed group

As administrator, if you prefer not to allow membership requests, you can make your organization a closed group.

1. Go to your organization’s page
2. Click the Edit button under the organization logo
3. Uncheck Allow Membership Requests
4. Save changes

Once disabled, the Request Membership button disappears and only admins can add new members.

Understanding how your data on HDX is used

HDX provides metrics that help you track the visibility, popularity and reach of your datasets on the platform. These insights are useful for internal reporting, demonstrating value to donors, or deciding which datasets to prioritize for updates.

WorldPop Stats page

Organization data performance can be accessed under the Stats tab.

• Total number of downloads for the organization's content
• Number of downloads by dataset (last 24 weeks)
• Downloads and total page views (last 24 weeks)
• Unique visitors who downloaded datasets from this org (last 30 days)
• Unique visitors to this organization's content (last 30 days)

HDX provides a downloadable file with monthly statistics for administrators of an organization.

1. Navigate to your organization’s page on HDX and log in
2. Click the Stats tab
3. Click the XLSX link (top right of the stats dashboard)

This file includes monthly stats on downloads and page views of your data for the current year and previous years, along with a README containing more detailed information. Data is updated on the first day of each month. The coverage period includes monthly data for the current year (January to December) as well as the previous four years. HDX sends emails with annual stats each January, and quarterly stats to the most popular organizations on HDX.