Introduction

While billions of gigabytes of data are produced daily, far too often unused data pass into a “data graveyard” (Custer et al, 2017) – where they go underutilized, precluding evidence-informed decisions from being made. This is especially dangerous at a time when intersecting crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and energy and food insecurity put a premium on decision-making that incorporates the best data. Additionally, our understanding of how data is transformed into usable information for decision-making remains weak relative to the efforts to produce data, and many producers of official statistics remain unclear about how to assess data uptake and impact. 

About the Project

‘Overcoming Data Graveyards’ is joint project with Open Data Watch and generously supported by GIZ. The project aimed to improve understanding of how data and statistics can drive impact by enabling better decisions. The project involved an in-depth literature review and the development of an envisioned transformation process for enhancing the use of official statistics in national statistical systems, as well as the production of a report that set out to provide conceptual clarity about the challenges of improving data use and a way forward for research by sourcing best practices from countries through a survey and in-depth interviews.

Resources

Published Materials

Overcoming Data Graveyards Project Brief

This brief serves as a live document, demonstrating work in progress on defining and describing a transformation process for data use of official statistics, as part of the ‘Overcoming Data Graveyards’ project. 

Overcoming Data Graveyards in Official Statistics: Catalyzing Uptake and Use

This report sets out to demystify the institutional barriers and challenges around data use for official statistics with country insights from Colombia, Mexico, the U.K., and the Philippines.

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

This blog spotlights insights and best practices from Colombia's National Statistics Office, DANE, on improving their data use. 

For more information on this initiative, contact trends@unsdsn.org.