Posts in Opinion
2022 Predictions For The Evolution of Data Use
2022 Predictions For The Evolution of Data Use

At this time of the year, there is no shortage of predictions of what lies ahead. Typing “year ahead 2022” into your web browser alone yields 885 million results - more than one for every ten people on the planet. And for big data enthusiasts, limiting the search terms to “year ahead,” “big data,” and “2022” returns 300,000+ articles covering data trends, top tech predictions, and what we can expect from big data analytics. The results are spottier, however, when we search for what’s in store for national data ecosystems and the implications for sustainable development. Yet, efficient national data ecosystems and better use of data are critical to helping organizations from the public sector, private sector, and civil society achieve better outcomes, particularly in sustainable development. TReNDS’ Director, Grant Cameron, reflects on how these types of organizations will evolve in their use of data in the year ahead, what it means for the national and global data ecosystems, and how these changes will contribute to sustainable development.

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Insights, OpinionSDSN Staffdata use, Citizen Science, evidence-based policymaking, data financing, data privacy, COVID-19
Fostering a New Era of North-South Exchange and South-South Collaboration
Fostering a New Era of North-South Exchange and South-South Collaboration

While the global landscape has rapidly shifted over the past several years, it’s no secret that countries from the Global South continue to be under-represented in research, often marginalized, and in some cases, even exploited. Fortunately, the power dynamics are beginning to change. In recent years, South-South collaboration has been particularly active in the data space, with more open source tools and new data sources, including citizen science, being generated at the local-level to inform decision-making. To help bolster this shift, TReNDS’ sub-group on North-South Exchange is working to crowd in more voices from the Global South as well as encouraging more documentation, discussion, and diffusion of lessons learned to catalyze South-South and triangular data collaborations. Recent conversations and members’ research have underscored the significance of involving local stakeholders in projects from the onset, customizing needs based on the local context, and developing local communities of practice to ensure long-term sustainability.

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Insights, OpinionAlyson Markslocalization, data colonialism, local data, evidence-based policymaking
Cities Are Paving the Path for Government Data-Driven Innovation and Stewardship
Cities Are Paving the Path for Government Data-Driven Innovation and Stewardship

In many places, local governments have been at the forefront of innovation around data for sustainable development. For years, cities have been combining traditional and novel data sources to measure performance and benchmark against other cities, to create dashboards to inform citizens, and to advance local policymaking. TReNDS’ research on data governance and stewardship at the municipal and local levels illustrates how national governments and international organizations can benefit from the lessons learned around cities’ approach to data stewardship.

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Insights, OpinionHayden Dahmmcities, data stewardship, data governance, chief data officers, localization
The Quest for Fit-for-Purpose Earth Observation and Remote Sensing Data
The Quest for Fit-for-Purpose Earth Observation and Remote Sensing Data

New data sources and innovative approaches using big data techniques, spatial analysis, predictive modeling, and other technologies are creating a range of new datasets that can help measure and monitor SDG-related targets and indicators. And while data availability is vital to tackling any global agenda, more data does not always guarantee good decision-making. To take meaningful action--whether it be a global crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic, or the recent earthquake in Haiti--policymakers and other SDG stakeholders must understand what data are fit-for-purpose. Earth observation (EO) and remote sensing products have emerged as an important source of data that present an opportunity to monitor environmental, agricultural, and other SDG-related indicators in fine temporal and spatial resolutions. With the increase of near real-time information, how do users identify the best-suited data source for their application of interest?

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Insights, OpinionMaryam RabieeEarth observation, remote sensing, fit-for-purpose data, gridded population data, POPGRID, population monitoring
Mobilizing “Smart City” Growth for a Resilient Future
Mobilizing “Smart City” Growth for a Resilient Future

Many cities are leading the path to ‘build back better,’ particularly “smart cities,” which use data and information technology to connect and integrate urban systems and services to enhance the efficiency of resource utilization, optimize urban management, and improve the quality of life for citizens. These data-driven cities responded better in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to smart infrastructure and data analysis. Fortunately, COVID-19 has accelerated the trend towards “smart cities,” and with the upcoming Urban 20 Mayors Summit, the G20, the wider international community should focus on allocating the necessary resources to increase smart city development globally to help ensure that cities are more resilient against future pandemics and crises.

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Insights, OpinionSDSN Staffnew technologies, smart city
Major Environmental Data Gaps Remain, But Progress is on the Horizon
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.

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Insights, OpinionHayden DahmmEarth Day, UNEnvironment, environmental data, SDGs, new technologies
Avoiding the Data Colonialism Trap
Avoiding the Data Colonialism Trap

Even while the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened awareness of data and statistics, it has highlighted the global divide in statistical capacity, and in many cases, exacerbated it. Across Africa, for example, incomplete death registration systems have hampered efforts to track the virus. And according to recent surveys of national statistical offices (NSOs), nine out of ten NSOs in low and lower-middle-income countries may not fully be able to meet their international reporting requirements. To address these issues, countries are now being presented with an array of private sector data solutions and other non-traditional sources of information to fill these data gaps. Yet as global institutions seek to empower with data, we must be wary of “data colonialism” -- the potential for the powerful, data-rich countries and corporations in the Global North to undercut capacity development in the Global South by failing to recognize the local contexts.

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Insights, OpinionTom MoultrieCOVID-19, data colonialism, data financing, UN Statistical Commission, digital divide, data protection
How Disaggregated Data Can Pave the Way for a More Equitable Recovery
How Disaggregated Data Can Pave the Way for a More Equitable Recovery

Around the world, racial and ethnic disparities are rampant across all sectors of society; from inequities in healthcare, education, and employment to housing, wealth, and criminal justice. Indigenous peoples and racial minorities are also systematically undercounted in censuses. COVID-19 has exacerbated these issues, as people of color, especially Black people, have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, both in terms of cases and deaths. Yet much of the COVID-19 data, including on vaccinations, is still not being disaggregated by race or ethnicity, further hampering governments’ ability to formulate effective policies to respond to the pandemic. With over a year since the first COVID-19 case and the rise of new variants and a resurgence in cases globally, countries must do better to disaggregate their data by race and ethnicity.

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Insights, OpinionAlyson Markscensus, indigenous peoples, population monitoring, racial data, disaggregated data, COVID-19
With Crisis Comes Innovation: How COVID-19 is Changing National Statistical Systems

The rapid global spread of COVID-19 has demanded that governments respond at breakneck speed to limit the human and economic costs of the crisis. And the scale of government response is unprecedented - a staggering 11 trillion USD in fiscal support provided by 55 countries in a matter of months – as is the demand for timely data to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed. Having accurate and timely data has become the foundation of a resilient and effective government, and national statistical systems are central to this. These systems have been placed under extreme pressure during the crisis. Temporary office closures and disruptions to operations and surveys have jeopardised dozens of statistical publications. Increased demand for new and more timely data on the impacts of the pandemic have stretched available resources. And pragmatic decisions have had to be made to reprioritise and redeploy staff and resources as well as to innovate to deliver new statistical products.

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Insights, OpinionGuest ContributorCOVID-19, timely data, household surveys, real-time data, public-private partnerships
Mixing the Old with the New: Integrating New Data into Traditional Data Systems for Sustainable Development

New methods of data collection have the opportunity to create a timelier, more detailed understanding of sustainable development challenges. For example, earth observation (EO) data has been identified as a tool for monitoring a wide range of issues, including agriculture, health, cities, and biodiversity at often more frequent and granular levels, and has also proven essential during the current pandemic. Additionally, last month, SDSN in collaboration with Esri launched SDGs Today, a platform of timely data sources related to the Sustainable Development Goals to provide users with a snapshot of the state of sustainable development. Although new methods can provide valuable insights, they need to be treated with caution as they are not replacements for existing methodologies.

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Insights, OpinionHayden DahmmCOVID-19, population monitoring, geospatial data, census, Earth observation, timely data
Combatting the Rise in Data Politics

Data 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.

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OpinionGuest ContributorCOVID-19, dataprivacy, datasharing, data transparency, timely data, data governance
Emerging Lessons From National Statistical Office Performance During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Guest author, Grant Cameron, highlights emerging lessons from national statistical offices during the Covid-19 pandemic and shares key focus areas to further support NSOs’ resilience and modernization. These include: the development of a business continuity framework; the documentation of successful processes and pathways for real-time NSO engagement with policymakers; and the development of strategies that reinforce modernization post-Covid-19.

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Insights, OpinionGuest ContributorUN reform, evidence-based policymaking, COVID-19, CRVS
A Vaccine Is Not the Only Answer to COVID-19: Why Strengthening Statistical and Data Systems Must Be Part of the Solution

The world’s inability to detect and contain the spread of COVID-19 has been financially devastating. The International Monetary Fund says that the global economy will shrink by 3% this year. Many analysts have described the decline as the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 42.6 million people applying for unemployment benefits in America alone. With these losses, budgets are tightening around the world. Prioritization of essential spending is more critical than ever, and many governments and organizations are understandably placing their hopes in the development of an effective vaccine. But as much as a vaccine is needed to address the pandemic, accurate and real-time data is needed to enable the detection and containment of its spread. And governments and development organizations can do more to better strengthen statistical systems by providing adequate financing.

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Insights, OpinionShaida BadieeCOVID-19, data financing, CRVS, census
Gridded Population Data Has a Role to Play in Ensuring an Inclusive Response to COVID-19

Like any health issue, the impacts of Covid-19 are strongly gendered. Men are believed to be more susceptible to the virus, while women are more exposed in other ways: to an increased care burden, to heightened incidences of gender-based violence, to limited work opportunities, and to job losses. Understanding these gendered experiences and responding accordingly requires data that is disaggregated. It means going beyond the totals of people accessing facilities or losing their jobs, but disaggregating figures on the balance of men and women facing these challenges, including inequalities and discriminatory effects.

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Insights, OpinionJessica Espeypopulation monitoring, POPGRID, leave no one behind, gender
Is Open Data at Odds with Citizens' Privacy?

Open 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.

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Insights, OpinionShaida BadieeSDGs, datasharing, open data, Open Data Watch, BudgIT, dataprivacy, microdata