Posts in Events
Shaping the data governance landscape: A multi-sectoral approach to use, protection, and inclusive digital transformation

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 More
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.

Read More
Data Sharing For the Public Good: Establishing the Right Frameworks

Covid-19 has given rise to an enormous amount of data. Everything from satellite data and mobile data to big data are providing insights on how the virus is spreading and where vulnerable communities are located. Collaboration is essential for leveraging this data, and the pandemic has prompted an increase in data partnerships. However, many of these data collaborations are raising privacy and security concerns - there are at least 27 countries currently using data from cell phone companies to track entire populations for COVID-19 purposes, and we don’t know how long this will continue. The crisis has also underscored many of the barriers to collaboration, including the lengthy negotiation process for negotiating data sharing agreements (DSAs) and the lack of trust and accountability between parties that can arise. Establishing the right legal frameworks and policies for managing the data are key to overcoming these obstacles.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
Navigating New Roles, Technology, and Ecosystems

As 120+ National Statisticians and hundreds of stakeholders across the globe convened at the UN for the 51st session of the Statistical Commission last week, how to manage the increasing breadth of new data and technologies, new responsibilities, and the changing data ecosystem was at the forefront of the conversation.

Read More
Gridded Population Data is Key to Leaving No One off the Map

The 2030 SDG Agenda promises to leave no one behind, but to fulfill this promise we need quality, timely, and accurate population data to account for everyone everywhere. Recent innovations in geospatial technology and remote sensing have paved the way for gridded population datasets to help fill these important gaps, but information is still lacking on their unique characteristics, potential, and limitations. These issues were highlighted during this week’s webinar, “Leaving No One off the Map: Gridded Population Data for Decision-Making,” hosted by TReNDS in partnership with Geospatial World Media featuring TReNDS Co-Chair and Director of CIESIN, Bob Chen, and TReNDS Manager, Maryam Rabiee.

Read More
Are We Leaving Too Many Behind? Addressing the Gap Between Population Data Suppliers and Policymakers

‘Driving science to action’ was a critical theme at the 2019 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting where TReNDS, alongside CIESIN and GPSDD, presented on how to make information about integrating new data sources for population estimates more accessible to policymakers as well as insights from our forthcoming report, Leaving No One Off the Map: How Gridded Population Data Can Help Realize a More Sustainable World.

Read More
The Data Countries Need Now: Outcomes from Data For Now’s Inception Workshop

This week, representatives from eight very diverse countries (Bangladesh, Columbia, Ghana, Mongolia, Nepal, Paraguay, Rwanda, and Senegal) convened in Kigali, Rwanda to discuss priority data needs; specifically, the kinds of timely (even real-time) data they need to effectively track sustainable development. In spite of varied data priorities across the countries (from poverty, to agriculture, to education) commonalities emerged that can expedite the accessibility, timeliness, and quality of data, such as focusing on the better use of satellite imagery and co-investing in administrative data.

Read More
TReNDS Experts Debate if the Data “Revolution” is a Misnomer

Last month, TReNDS members from around the world convened in Los Angeles on October 28 – 30 for the group’s bi-annual meeting. As part of the meeting, members honed their debate skills in a series of two Hollywood Reporter-style filmed roundtable debates on the relevance of the data revolution for sustainable development.

Read More
Highlights from the Space Generation Congress

The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) is a global non-governmental, non-profit organization that engages a network of students and young professionals in support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications. Over October 17-19, 2019, SGAC held its annual Space Generation Congress in the Washington DC area, and SDSN TReNDS participated in a special workshop on the SDGs that examined how space technology can inform our understanding of sustainable development.

Read More
Addressing the Challenges of Drafting Contracts for Data Collaboration

On 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.

Read More
TReNDS in Conversation on the Role of Earth Observation and Gridded Population Data Monitoring for Sustainable Development

Earlier this month, TReNDS joined partners at the second annual Human Planet Forum, hosted by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), to explore issues related to earth observation and population data for sustainable development. During the Forum, TReNDS presented on the POPGRID initiative and co-hosted a discussion with the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD) on how to best communicate the value of gridded population data products to policymakers.

Read More
Real time data on the world’s biggest challenges, launching now

On Wednesday 25 September 2019, SDSN TReNDS, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), the World Bank and UN Statistics Division launch their new initiative, Data for Now, on the margins of the UN General Assembly. The initiative aims to increase the frequency and timeliness of key sustainable development measures to enable governments to make evidence-based decision and drive progress on the world's biggest challenges. 

Read More
TReNDS Helps Share the Vision of a Digital Ecosystem for the Planet

SDSN TReNDS participated in the 2019 Data for Good Exchange conference on September 15 at the Bloomberg World Headquarters in New York. In collaboration with UN Environment, TReNDS helped to facilitate a workshop on “Building a Digital Ecosystem for the Planet.” UN Environment’s digital ecosystem proposal is described and endorsed in the forthcoming TReNDS report, Counting on the World to Act.

Read More
Communication, integration key for engaging the world on geospatial information

Geospatial data and technologies can support the Sustainable Development Goals – but only if the community helps make the case for them by improving communication and integration across stakeholders and processes. TReNDS Manager Maryam Rabiee reflects on this and more from the Ninth Session of the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).

Read More