As data availability and openness proves to play an increasingly important role in the COVID-19 pandemic, Open Data Watch continues to populate our special edition of What’s Being Said focused on COVID-19. In addition, ODW is working closely with the United Nations Statistics Division and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data to launch a website sharing guidance, actions, tools, and best practices to support the operational continuity of data programs by national statistical offices.
Below is a selected list of sustainable development data articles and reports published in April. For specific articles on the intersection of development data and COVID-19, visit our “Data in the Time of COVID-19″ post here. If there is something else to add, please contact us.
April
Impact of COVID-19: Maintaining Civil Registration and Vital Statistics during the COVID-19 Pandemic (April)
The United Nations Statistical Division explores how civil registration and vital statistical systems (CRVS) are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and how data collection efforts are adapting during social distancing measures. The findings emerged from a brief survey of national CRVS focal points to assess the impact of the worldwide pandemic. (source)
‘Show me the numbers’: The forces stalling gender data collection (4/1)
Amy Lieberman authors a piece for Devex on comprehensive, publicly available gender data to further progress on gender equality by monitoring challenges and tracking gains. She explains that gender data has the capacity to monitor setbacks in many areas such as women’s representation in government to women’s access to mobile phones. (source)
Is open data at odds with citizens’ privacy? (4/9)
Open Data Watch’s Managing Director, Shaida Badiee, authors a piece for Apolitical on how governments benefit from adopting data governance frameworks that facilitate the ethical use of data. (source)
A new experiment will direct data at crowdsourced gender questions (4/13)
Kelli Rogers, from Devex, authors a piece on the 100 Question Initiative organized by the GovLab and Data2x. The initiative focuses on the domains of gender, migration, air quality, disinformation, and the future of work, and brings together partners to address these tough questions of development data. (source)
ConVERGE: Connecting Vital Events Registration and Gender Equality
Open Data Watch, the Centre of Excellence for CRVS Systems at the International Development Research Centre, and UNFPA release sessions from their ConVERGE: Connecting Vital Events Registration and Gender Equality conference last month. (source)
The case for data: How CRVS systems can help improve gender equity (4/14)
Devex emphasizes the importance of CRVS systems for improving gender equality and explains that there is still a lot to do in terms of improving these systems as tens of millions of children are not registered at birth. They highlight the importance of making visible the challenges and underrepresentation of women. (source)
Building trust in alternative data ecosystems (4/16)
Open Data Institute releases a report outlining a framework for establishing trust in alternative data sources and data intermediaries. The report explores how to generate value from alternative data from new and unique sources and challenges associated with unofficial data usage. (source)
On Earth Day and Every Day, We Need to Focus on the Intersection of Gender Data and the Environment (4/22)
In commemoration of Earth Day, Elizabeth Black from Data2x authors a piece on the intersection of gender data and the environment. She highlights how the discriminatory effects of climate change as it reinforces poverty for the most vulnerable populations and the need to collect data on pressing gender data gaps in the climate domain. (source)
The Government of Jordan’s Approach to Strengthening Trust (Through Data) (4/23)
Development Gateway shares a piece on Jordan’s demonstrated and firm commitment to embrace digitalization and digital transformation through this blog. The author, Mays Abdel Aziz, explains that the government has demonstrated interest in maintaining transparency with its citizens from the start of their digital take-off. (source)
LAC-Africa Peer Exchange on Administrative Data (4/23)
Centro de Pensamiento Estratégico Internacional (Cepei) releases a summary report of a 2019 meeting that brought together 48 people from 11 countries to discuss how administrative collected from services like tax filing can be useful in policy design that aims to reduce poverty and inequality. (source)
Designing trustworthy data institutions (4/26)
Open Data Institute releases a new report on designing trustworthy data institutions for public, educational, or charitable aims. (source)
Coronavirus lockdown casts a harsh light on our data and privacy online (4/26)
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development releases new survey results demonstrating a third of all nations lack laws to protect their citizen’s online data and privacy. The article examines the dangers and the framework needed to develop better legislation. (source)
Data in the time of COVID-19: Six ways to reconcile data use and data rights (4/29)
Sarah Lucas from the Hewlett Foundation authors a piece on restoring data rights in a post-pandemic world. She explains that data is at the core of every COVID-19 response and this sensitive personal information needs to have clear use limitations. (source)