GitHub today launched the GitHub Innovation Graph, an open data and insights platform designed to provide technology researchers, policymakers and developers with reliable data on global software development and open source trends.

The graph platform consists of quarterly data on software development, broken down into each individual economy where at least 100 developers are building software. The data available in the platform's repository includes number of git pushes, repository volume, development capacity and the number of developer groups in a given economy – along with common programming languages, popular software licenses and the volume of collaboration on software projects based on git pushes and pull requests.

This data only represents public activity, and "private activity across GitHub is not reflected," Mike Linksvayer, VP of GitHub developer policy, told SDxCentral.

The GitHub Innovation Graph also provides graphic visualizations of each metric, which lets users examine individuals economies, economies from specific continents or how different economies collaborate with each other, Linksvayer said. The platform also provides visual representations of the way each metric has changed, based on Q1 2020 data.

"We’ve designed it to be highly interactive and encourage users to explore trends across different time periods, economies and more," he said.

According to Tattle Civic Tech research commissioned by GitHub, international development, public policy and economics researchers are interested in using GitHub data, but they run into barriers when attempting to obtain and meaningfully use that data. The company intends for its graph platform to significantly ease those barriers by offering convenient, aggregated data straight from its source.

But research isn't the only use case. Linksvayer also described the platform as a "data resource for community reuse, and we’re really excited to see what the community will build with it." Individuals can use the platform's data to show how developer activity relates to economic growth, draw lines between "developer-friendly policies and increased developer output," or to show how individual contributions fit into broader trends, he said.

GitHub also plans to release insight reports on topics particularly useful for the platform's core audience of policymakers, researchers and open source developers.

"Easily accessible data will make for more (and compelling) research, and ultimately more policies that foster developer opportunity – and more opportunity for anyone to be a developer," Linksvayer said.