Following the Data For Now Inception Workshop in Kigali, Rwanda’s local newspaper, the New Times, spoke with TReNDS and partners on the aims of the Data For Now initiative and the importance of timely, accessible, and quality data for sustainable development.
Read MoreThis 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 MoreLast 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 MoreThe 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 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.
Read MoreEarlier 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 MoreOn 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 MoreSDSN 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 MoreSince 2016, TReNDS expert Steven Ramage has been leading global stakeholder engagement and external relations for the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), an intergovernmental partnership promoting the value and usefulness of Earth observations (EO) for research, policy, decisions and action.
Read MoreLack of attention to data management practices around SDG 7 is slowing progress in ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. In this guest post, researchers from University of California, Berkeley share insights on how data sharing can support energy access.
Read MoreIn 2018 and early 2019, SDSN’s Local Data Action Solutions Initiative (LDA-SI) supported organizations around the world in localizing SDG monitoring. Since the conclusion of the grants, some participants have seen their work take on new heights and dovetail with other efforts to localize the SDGs, while other participants have been challenged by difficult political climates and other factors.
Read MoreTReNDS member Philipp Schönrock is the Director of Cepei, an independent think tank that he founded in 2003. He is also a member of the Technical Advisory Group of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and the Programme Committee of the UN World Data Forum.
Read MoreGeospatial 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 MoreTReNDS co-chair Shaida Badiee is the Managing Director for Open Data Watch. She brings several decades of experience in managing global development statistics as the long-time Director of the World Bank’s Development Data Group.
Read MoreThe August 2019 edition of the Disaster Risk Reduction & Open Data Newsletter includes news on a new working group to develop new hazard definitions and classifications, the value of administrative data, and more.
Read MoreThe City of Los Angeles, a Local Data Action Solutions Initiative grantee, has presented its Voluntary Local Review at the July 2019 High-level Political Forum. Learn more about their work on localizing the SDGs here.
Read MoreTReNDS member Molly Jahn is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she holds appointments in the Department of Agronomy, the Global Health Institute and the Nelson Institute, having served as the 12th Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Director of the Wisconsin Experiment Station.
Read MoreThe July 2019 edition of the Disaster Risk Reduction & Open Data Newsletter includes news on guidelines for assessing the human impact of disasters, the Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments and Analysis Report 2019, and more.
Read MoreOn the sidelines of the July 2019 High-level Political Forum, TReNDS co-hosted multiple events on the future of modern statistical systems. Read brief synopses here.
Read MoreSDSN TReNDS is seeking a Communications Manager. Read more about the role and learn how to apply here.
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