SDGs — What's TReNDing

Seven Years into SDG Implementation, What Should Be Next for the Data for Development Agenda?

At the halfway mark to 2030, there remains a great deal of attention and effort to improve the data and methods underlying the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator framework. The impetus to fill data gaps for the SDG indicators draws principally from the assumption that countries are planning and developing their policies with the SDG goals and targets as their guiding framework. As we enter 2023, our Director Grant Cameron takes stock of whether the SDGs have significantly impacted global and national policymaking and where should resources be directed to improve data for the SDGs over the next seven years.

Insights, OpinionTReNDS StaffJanuary 12, 2023data, SDGs, monitoring, data revolution

Adopting an Inclusive Approach: A Data Use Case Study of Colombia's National Statistics Office

Earlier this year, SDSN TReNDS and Open Data Watch released the report, Overcoming Data Graveyards in Official Statistics: Catalyzing Uptake and Use, which aimed to provide conceptual clarity around the challenges of improving data use and a way forward for research by sourcing best practices from countries. This is the first post in a blog series that spotlights insights and best practices from the countries profiled.

The Potential for Data-Driven Policymaking in Africa: Success Stories Across the Continent

“Policymaking without data is a rudderless ship.” Indeed, data and statistics are fundamental to improving evidence-based decision-making. And while statistical capacity and the use of data for decision-making have improved across the globe, Africa still lags far behind other regions. This is especially true for civil registration and vital statistics (where only eight out of 50 African countries have a system to register deaths), climate data and environmental monitoring, and health data. In addition, even in African countries that have the data available, its use is often hindered by weak data literacy and data-driven policy design cultures. Fortunately, in recent years there have been some bright spots, including the rise of big data innovations and a number of regional and multi-stakeholder partnerships to tackle COVID-19 and other complex challenges. This African Statistics Day, we’ve highlighted a few of the noteworthy cases in which data-driven decision-making is improving development outcomes and decision-making on the continent.

Insights, OpinionGuest ContributorNovember 18, 2022data, population monitoring, SDGs, GIS, sdg6, World Water Week, remote sensing, satellite

The Role of Data Partnerships in Paving the Road Ahead for Secondary Cities

Local action is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. According to the UN, 3.5 billion people – nearly half of humanity - currently live in cities. And this number will only continue to increase over the next several decades. The latest UN-Habitat World Cities Report reports that the world will continue to urbanize over the next three decades - from 56 percent in 2021 to 68 percent in 2050 - an increase of 2.2 billion urban residents, living mostly in Africa and Asia. Cities are also becoming increasingly interconnected. As such, cities, particularly “Secondary Cities,” will play a critical role in advancing the sustainable development agenda in the years ahead.

Insights, OpinionGuest ContributorOctober 31, 2022data, population monitoring, SDGs, GIS, sdg6, World Water Week, remote sensing, satellite

An UNGA Data Snapshot: Data Financing, Digital Transformation, and Data Use Take Center Stage

This week marked the official end of the 77th UN General Assembly (UNGA), where leaders from across the globe convened in New York to confront the world’s biggest challenges, including the war in Ukraine, global supply chain and economic issues, rising interest rates and debt levels, climate change, and ending the COVID-19 pandemic. We provide a high-level snapshot of the data-related highlights from the week below.

Insights, OpinionGuest ContributorSeptember 29, 2022data, population monitoring, SDGs, GIS, sdg6, World Water Week, remote sensing, satellite

Innovating with GIS Technologies: Emerging Insights from Countries on Expanding Access to Clean Water

Since the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution, government agencies have used digital tools and technologies to support decision-making. More recently, tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which create, manage, analyze, and map all types of data, have become increasingly popular. And the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated their use, with recent innovative GIS applications ranging from the John Hopkins’ COVID-19 dashboard to the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO)’s spatio-temporal analysis of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Amazon region to the World Health Organization’s use of GIS tools for contract tracing in Zimbabwe. One area of sustainable development where GIS is receiving significant attention is around SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation). Nearly two billion people globally still lack access to safely managed drinking water, and recent data shows that the world is not on track to meet SDG 6 by 2030.

Insights, OpinionGuest ContributorAugust 29, 2022data, population monitoring, SDGs, GIS, sdg6, World Water Week, remote sensing, satellite

Getting Back on Track: Calls for More Localized Approaches and SDG Financing

This year’s session of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) culminated earlier this week, with 44 countries presenting their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and hundreds of country delegates, leaders, and key stakeholders convening to discuss progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We review some of the key highlights discussed, including the importance of data infrastructure and timely, disaggregated data, the need for greater investments and financing for countries, and the value of localized and customized approaches to achieve the SDGs.

Insights, OpinionAlyson MarksJuly 21, 2022data, HLPF, population monitoring, SDGs, data financing

Harnessing Citizen Science at the National-Level

While it may serve as a surprise to some, citizen science has been around for thousands of years. With the influx of new technologies in recent years, such as mobile applications and remote sensing, citizen science has grown in popularity as researchers, governments, and citizens are now able to more seamlessly collaborate. In particular, citizen science has become a critical tool for helping to measure progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as fill data gaps. TReNDS’ expert members’ research, work at the country-level, as well as recent discussions on citizen science have helped to highlight the use of citizen science to fill important data gaps, the value of multistakeholder partnerships to mobilize citizen science initiatives at the local level, as well as the importance of garnering national buy-in.

Insights, OpinionSDSN StaffJanuary 4, 2022Citizen Science, citizen-generated data, SDGs

Strengthening the Measurement of Marine Litter in Ghana

This new StoryMap highlights TReNDS’ work to strengthen the measurement of marine litter in Ghana using citizen science approaches.

Major Environmental Data Gaps Remain, But Progress is on the Horizon

Reading the news, it is easy to be overwhelmed with dire environmental statistics and data. Yet these numbers can disguise the serious gaps that remain in our understanding of the environment and the impact humanity is having on the natural world. Although in some respects, more data are being produced now about the environment than ever before, there is a clear need to leverage existing data to produce meaningful statistics, and a greater focus should be placed on expanding our environmental data collection and production efforts using new methods and data sources. Fortunately, some noteworthy advances have been made recently, and today, on the 51st anniversary of Earth Day, we should commit to continuing this progress.

Insights, OpinionHayden DahmmApril 22, 2021Earth Day, UNEnvironment, environmental data, SDGs, new technologies

TReNDS' Hayden Dahmm Featured on International Science Council & Nature Podcast

TReNDS' Manager, Hayden Dahmm, was recently featured on "Working Scientist," a podcast series co-hosted by Nature and the International Science Council on the topic of diversity in science. In the episode, Hayden discusses the importance of gridded population data, having accurate and timely data on persons with disabilities, and shares his perspective on how to make sustainable development practices more inclusive.

NewsGuest ContributorMarch 11, 2021SDGs, gridded population data, inclusivity, population monitoring

New Research from Australia Finds that the SDGs are Vital for COVID-19 Recovery Strategies

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a set of targets that can serve as a blueprint to ‘build back better’ after the pandemic. However, despite only 10 years remaining until the 2030 deadline, many countries still lack national targets and a clear understanding of their progress. This piece highlights new research that provides a data-driven assessment of the nexus between COVID-19 and the SDGs in Australia and explores how the SDGs can be used to guide Australia’s post-COVID-19 recovery.

InsightsTReNDS StaffDecember 3, 2020COVID-19, Australia, SDGs

Putting Data to Work for Real-World SDG Progress

Timely, high-quality data is critical to reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals — but harnessing it requires new ways of thinking, collaboration, and investment in national statistics systems. Learn more about what’s needed to catalyze data for real-world impact in this Nature article, featuring insights from TReNDS’ experts and partners.

Celebrating the Importance of Statistics on World Statistics Day

Statistics are fundamental to our daily lives – from predicting the daily weather forecast and stock market trends to determining insurance premiums. This World Statistics Day, the TReNDS’ Secretariat have highlighted a few recent statistics that we’ve come across that we think are particularly shocking. Thereafter, we put forward some of our individual recommendations on how the global statistical system can be improved.

InsightsAlyson MarksOctober 20, 2020SDGs, World Statistics Day, COVID-19, data governance, SDGs Today, data literacy

Assessing the State of Our World: A Call for ‘Factivists’

SDSN TReNDS has partnered with Project Everyone and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data to curate high-impact, reliable, and high-frequency (at least annual) datasets on the SDGs as part of a public advocacy campaign to bring to life the data behind the Global Goals. This will help ensure that there is greater awareness of where we are progressing and what needs improvement, as well as drive greater action and accountability on the SDGs. The first part of the campaign was launched today on the 5th anniversary of the SDGs during Global Goals Week, to celebrate the theme of ‘Factivism’ - campaigning to change the world by using facts backed up by timely and accurate data to drive action. Via this campaign, we worked to curate ten timely data "facts" on the SDGs to help raise awareness and galvanize action towards the Goals.

NewsGuest ContributorSeptember 25, 2020COVID-19, timely data, real-time data, SDGs, Factivism

Engaging the Scientific Community in the Use of Gridded Population Data

As the world continues to face the immense challenges posed by Covid-19, nontraditional data sources, including gridded population data, play an important role in tracking the virus’ spread and ensuring that no one is left behind. Gridded population maps distribute data using grid cells, combining census results with additional information, such as geospatial data from satellites, to provide more accurate and timely population estimates. However, as our recent report on gridded population data and joint webinar with the International Science Council revealed, while they offer great promise, many policymakers and researchers are still largely unaware of gridded population data, particularly their nuances and potential applications for sustainable development and Covid-19.

Gridded Population Data for Sustainable Development: Q&A with SDSN TReNDS' Analyst Hayden Dahmm

In advance of SDSN TReNDS’ webinar on gridded population data with the International Science Council, TReNDS’ Analyst, Hayden Dahmm, spoke with Lizzie Saylor of the International Science Council for a Q & A on how gridded population data can be used to respond to emergencies and move towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

COVID-19: A Look at Global Geospatial Challenges and Achievements

While geospatial data and technology are helping governments worldwide answer critical COVID-19 questions, each country deals with unique but related constraints that impact response efforts. Many world leaders are forging partnerships and creating collaborative strategies to gather data and analysis to address their constraints and deliver data-driven responses. This work builds on a 2015 commitment from nearly 200 countries to strengthen resilience to environmental, social, and economic challenges—outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals, the Sendai Framework, and the Paris Climate Agreement. Five years later, the world confronts a devastating pandemic that could significantly hinder these efforts and alter strategies moving forward. Before an agency or government can act, it needs accurate information about population count, movement, and accessibility to essential services. But, gathering robust data during a pandemic is no easy feat.

Leveraging Population Data in a Time of Crisis

During the current health crisis, knowing where people are located, what conditions they are facing, and their access to basic services and infrastructure is essential. Helping to answer these key needs, gridded population data have emerged and can play an important role in mapping individuals’ vulnerability and ensuring that no one is left behind. Gridded (or raster) population maps represent the distribution of population in rows and columns of grid cells, typically defined by their latitude-longitude coordinates. Population data is redistributed across these grid cells and combined with satellite imagery and other sources to provide more accurate and timely population estimates. Yet, as TReNDS’ recent report, Leaving No One Off The Map: A Guide To Gridded Population Data For Sustainable Development, demonstrates, many policymakers and other users remain largely unaware of these tools, including their nuances and strengths and weakness for potential application. There is a critical need for more validation work and capacity-building in countries. These issues were highlighted during a recent virtual debate, “How Can We Leverage Population Data In A Time Of Crisis,” hosted by TReNDS in partnership with SciDev.net.

Gridded Population Datasets: Which One Is Fit For Purpose?

Access to timely and reliable data on population is critical to delivering global development programs and humanitarian assistance. It helps governments, donors, and implementing partners understand what services people have access to and the challenges they face both geographically and socially. Gridded population datasets — spatial databases on global populations that can be analyzed within mapping software — enable this to be achieved. But awareness of them is low.

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