The Summit of the Future:
A Way Forward on Digitalization and Data for Development?
By Open Data Watch
Ocotber 2024
Although some might view the outcomes of the UN’s recent Summit of the Future as out of touch with reality, we believe the initiatives address key areas of importance that are worth watching. Having reached the halfway point to 2030 for the sustainable development goals, the summit introduced critical frameworks for global progress, including the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact (GDC). These documents highlight the UN’s priorities for sustainable development, digital transformation, and international cooperation in the critical years leading up to 2030.
There has been some criticism of these being overly ambitious and out of touch with reality — see an editorial cartoon example — but they raise essential issues for those of us at Open Data Watch. Whether or not one believes these initiatives represent an unrealistic mythical that will transform global multilateralism and the international financial architecture, they address key areas of importance for official statistics, data systems, and digital public goods.
The “Pact for the Future” outcome document includes several key actions across various sectors relevant to data for sustainable development. For example:
- Part III focuses on science, technology, and innovation. While this does not explicitly address official statistics, this section highlights the enabling environment necessary for fostering innovation and data-driven solutions.
- Action 53, under the “transforming global governance”, is the closest the outcome document gets to data systems by pledging to “develop a framework on measures of progress on sustainable development to complement and go beyond gross domestic product.” This action item includes the work of national statistical systems, the UN Statistical Commission, and the SDG indicator framework. Beyond these two items, the Pact for the Future is focused on bigger topics of peace, climate change, and youth.
Yet, all these topics need data to enable policy decisions. This explains the pairing of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) with the “Pact for the Future” outcome document. The GDC presents a roadmap for digital development, including development data. As mentioned before by Open Data Watch, the GDC recognizes the importance of open data and gender data in several instances. The final adopted version has some noteworthy updates:
- The final text of the GDC has, unfortunately, removed a reference to a specific increase in funding for data for sustainable development. However, it still commits to “Increase financing for data and statistics from all sources and enhance efforts to build capacity in data and related skills, as well as responsible data use, particularly in developing countries.” An earlier draft of this commitment sought to boost financing for development data by 50 percent, while the current language omits a specific target. Nevertheless, funding for development data remains firmly on the list of global priorities. The Clearinghouse for Financing Development Data can serve as a key platform to track progress towards such calls.
- On open data, the final text makes stronger references to the subject. While the previous wording only suggested it “support states and communities […] to utilize and leverage data for their development and wellbeing.”[1] This could present significant opportunities for aligning initiatives like the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) with the GDC’s goals.
- Another promising area is the compact’s focus on building open and accessible data systems to enhance disaster early warning and facilitate prompt action and crisis response. Work like PARIS21’s Climate Change Data Ecosystems, which Open Data Watch has supported, has already begun to do this by supporting countries in their efforts to identify the necessary data for climate action and ensure openness and availability.
While the Pact for the Future sets forth the overall thematic focus to guide international development efforts for the next six years, the GDC provides a high-level roadmap for international cooperation around data for development. We look forward to aligning with the goals of the GDC, as well as linking up such initiatives with the forthcoming UN Cape Town Global Action Plan update, and the upcoming Financing for Development Data (FfdD4) conference.
A stronger international cooperation system that supports data is vital to better data for all, and the Summit of the Future has laid the foundation. The question remains if the broader international community will heed calls to recognize and fund data initiatives that help achieve these goals.
ODW will certainly be watching. 
Notes
[1] Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, Global Digital Compact: Zero Draft, April 1, 2024, https://www.un.org/techenvoy/sites/www.un.org.techenvoy/files/Global_Digital_Compact_Zero_Draft.pdf.
