COVID-19 is rapidly shifting perceptions, priorities, and needs as they relate to digital and data policy, and this has accelerated the urgency of discussions around data governance. In this blog post, Tom Orrell, TReNDS' expert member discusses four recommendations that came out of a recent UN World Data Forum virtual session on this issue.
Read MoreLast week, more than 7,000 data experts from around the world gathered virtually for the third annual World Data Forum. Increasing investment in statistics, effective communications around data, the importance of disaggregation, emerging data sources, and careful data governance were among the key issues discussed.
Read MoreData plays a critical role in how we understand the Covid-19 epidemic and determining how policies are shaped. Everything from the allocation of personal protective equipment and drug treatments to reopening plans is guided in part by available data, and because these decisions can often make the difference between life and death, the data must be reliable and transparent. However, in recent months, several cases have demonstrated the dangers of politicizing data as well as the dearth of systems in place in both high and low-income countries to maintain data accountability and transparency.
Read MoreOne could argue that during the current global pandemic, data has never played such an important role. It is relied on for life and death decisions that are impacting billions of people around the globe. In particular, the need for accurate and real-time data, which many in the data for sustainable development community have been advocating for years, has come to the forefront of mainstream conversations. Yet in the haze of the countless Covid-19 data dashboards and discussions on data, much of the data being reported (especially in the United States) is incomplete, confusing to the general public, and being miscommunicated by journalists and politicians alike. As the spread of Covid-19 continues to increase at an alarming rate, policymakers and citizens each face numerous limitations.
Read MoreOpen data isn’t a new concept. It’s been a conversation-starter in government circles for years, as we’ve seen more and more governments launch open data initiatives in countries, states and cities across the globe. But beyond the PR opportunity and desire to appear open, has data openness actually made a difference? Thankfully, the answer is a resounding yes. The evidence shows how both citizens and governments have benefited, as governments continue to open up their official statistics and datasets for public review.
Read MoreTimes of crisis require difficult trade-offs between competing public interests. In the present instance with Covid-2019 raging around the world, trade-offs between fundamental human rights — the right to freedom of assembly, to liberty, and in some instances to due process — have to be balanced against the urgent collective need of society and countries around the world to flatten the curve of the virus’s spread.
Read MoreTReNDS hosted an expert discussion on data for development on the sidelines of the 51st session of the UN Statistical Commission. The breakfast event took place on 3 March 2020, and featured remarks by several experts from the TReNDS network. The discussion highlighted as a key issue the lack of data currently available on SDG indicators, saying significant gaps exist in data timeliness, represented geographies, and other factors.
Read MoreInsights from a roundtable discussion hosted by SDSN TReNDS, identify how governments need to change to support the creation and maintenance of the data required to achieve the SDGs. The role of traditional versus new data collection methods, policy and regulatory needs for data governance, and what a national data ecosystem should look like were among the topics debated. The learnings from the roundtable, along with the report “Counting on the World to Act,” will provide analysis and evidence-based solutions for government actors to take the much-needed steps toward achieving the data revolution.
Read MoreWe are on the cusp of another wave of disruptive technological innovation as 5G specifications, greater computing power, shrewd algorithms and very cheap internet-connected chips start to congregate around clever business ideas. If some estimates are to be believed, there’ll be a trillion devices connected to the internet by 2025. The sheer scale of connectivity will mean that our digital footprints will become significantly larger than they currently are, further blurring the lines between reality and cyberspace. If the snapshots of people’s lives in 2030 above were to materialise, what are the opportunities and risks inherent to those two realities? And, crucially for those of us who work in the data revolution for sustainable development, what are the things we need to start thinking about now to mitigate future risks?
Read MoreOn September 23, 2019 at One World Trade Center, in the context of the United Nations General Assembly, TReNDS co-hosted a workshop with partners to further advance its Contracts for Data Collaboration project, expanding the field’s understanding of the needs, opportunities, challenges, and risks related to establishing the basis for data collaboration. More than fifty participants from across the data ecosystem explored how greater transparency, access, and understanding of data-sharing agreements can advance data collaboratives and improve people’s lives.
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