This month Open Data Watch (ODW) prepared to release the 5th edition of the Open Data Inventory (ODIN). ODIN conducts a global assessment of the coverage and openness of official statistics. This year is open data’s biggest year yet, with countries demonstrating the most remarkable progress to date. Stay tuned for the annual report –which will be published in early 2021.
Below is a selected list of sustainable development data articles and reports published in November. For specific articles on the intersection of development data and COVID-19, visit our “Data in the Time of COVID-19.” If there is something else to add, please contact us.
November
Understanding Women’s and Girls’ Vulnerabilities to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Gender Analysis and Data Dashboard of Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries (November)
Together with Data2X, ODW publishes a report that highlights a mismatch between women’s needs in vulnerable countries and countries’ capacities to respond to these needs. This report demonstrates the need for both gender-sensitive resources and robust monitoring and evaluation techniques during COVID-19. (source)
The Potential Role Of Open Data In Mitigating The COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges And Opportunities (11/2)
Health Affairs authors a piece that highlights examples where open data has been used to fight the pandemic. The article outlines key challenges and offers recommendations about fostering an open data ecosystem that allows open data to be used during the pandemic. (source)
To mitigate the costs of future pandemics, establish a common data space (11/2)
Stephanie Chin and Caitlin Chin author a piece for Tech Tank on the importance of developing a common data space to reduce COVID-19 infection rates. They explain that lags in data uploading, such as the lag between getting a COVID-19 test and the results, can pose challenges to infection rate estimates and public health guidelines. (source)
New technique to calculate population in census challenged countries (11/2)
Researchers from the University of Southampton develop a new method for estimating population in countries where conducting a full census is difficult to achieve. The team of researchers explain that it is possible to combine data from a neighborhood-scale micro census with data from national-scale satellite imagery and digital mapping to fill the gaps in hard-to-reach survey areas. (source)
Editor’s take: Data responsibility starts with you (11/3)
Ben Parker, the Senior Editor of The New Humanitarian, discusses data responsibilities in an era where data can be weaponized. He warns his audience that numbers are not neutral and that data engineers hold a lot of influence on how they construct surveys, COVID-19 graphs, and infographics. (source)
When ‘helping’ doesn’t count: What’s behind the underreporting of women’s work? (11/3)
Liliana Sousa and Miriam Muller of the World Bank author a piece on why surveys that intend to quantify employment and economic engagement, especially in rural areas, need to consider local, gendered definitions of employment and work. (source)
Data Innovation Fund website is live! (11/5)
The Data Innovation Fund team at the World Bank announces its new webpage, featuring project results, case studies, and more. This website will store timely and accurate data for decision-making and the achievement of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. (source)
How President Biden can reinvigorate global development and diplomacy (11/9)
George Ingram authors a piece for Brookings on how President-elect Joe Biden can reinvigorate global development and diplomacy. He explains that by working to reinstate trust in facts, statistics will also be improved. (source)
“Data Trusts” Could Be the Key to Better AI (11/10)
George Zarkadakis authors a piece for the Harvard Business Review on the importance of “data trust” for scaling up AI applications. He explains that one way to combat the scarcity of high-quality microdata is to place more trust in data sharing and trust that data providers are using it correctly. (source)
ODI Summit 2020: the future of Covid-19 (11/11)
The Open Data Institute releases the recordings from their 2020 Summit for anyone unable to watch it live. The Summit covered many topics, including how the COVID-19 pandemic changed how many stakeholders view and use data. (source)
UN agencies OECD and UNDP launch a plan to align global finance with sustainable development (11/12)
The OECD and UNDP launch a plan to help public and private actors identify and prioritize investments contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This ‘Framework for SDG Aligned Finance’ identifies solutions to support the financing of sustainable development. (source)
Uganda High-Frequency Phone Survey on COVID-19: Results from round 2 (11/13)
The World Bank discusses a collaboration between the Uganda Bureau of Statistics and the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement, which aims to disseminate microdata and survey reports from the second round of the Uganda High-Frequency Phone Survey on COVID-19. (source)
Virtual training series: Together towards better gender statistics for subnational SDG monitoring (11/13
PARIS21 authors a piece about a new pilot program conducted in partnership with the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute. The program organized three virtual training courses that aimed to strengthen gender statistics for subnational SDG monitoring. (source)
Create open data culture to feed hungry world – experts (11/16)
Fiona Broom discusses the growing importance of open research and data sharing for combating world hunger. She argues that making agricultural data accessible and open will be a key component for developing agricultural research used to formulate policies that can alleviate and prevent hunger. (source)
The 2020 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals: Stories and insights through innovative visuals (11/16)
The World Bank publishes the 2020 Atlas of the Sustainable Development Goals, with updated maps and data visualizations that demonstrate the status and progress towards achieving the SDGs. This year’s atlas can help viewers understand the SDGs’ global trends through interactive storytelling and innovative data visualizations. (source)
Three Questions to Ask about the Usability of SDG National Reporting Platforms (11/17)
Open Data Watch publishes a critical review of SDG national reporting platforms’ design and performance to ensure that data are available and accessible to all stakeholders. The article poses three questions to guide readers to think about the challenges of using SDG data. (source)
Understanding Usability of SDG National Reporting Platforms (11/17)
Yu-En Hsu and Elettra Baldi of Open Data Watch author a piece on SDG reporting platforms and their role in storing, managing, and disseminating SDG data. They also discuss common problems and feasible solutions drawn from their experience as platform users. (source)
An Investment for the Ages: Financing Gender Data to Meet Pandemic and Development Needs (11/18)
A United Nations World Data Forum blog by Shaida Badiee and Emily Courey Pryor explores how financing gender data can help meet the pandemic and development needs. They explain that investing in better data on women is a long-term investment that enables more effective decision making across domains. (source)
Joint Statement on Data Protection and Privacy in the COVID-19 Response (11/18)
UN Privacy Policy Group releases a joint statement on data protection and privacy for the COVID-19 response. The statement supports the use of data to fight the current COVID-19 pandemic. (source)
Gender Equality: Women, Land, and Data (11/25)
Time Hanstad authors a piece on the tremendous gaps in research on women’s land and property rights. He explains that researchers do not know how much land is legally held or controlled by women or how many women feel at risk of losing their property. He calls for more research and data to solve this problem. (source)
Where are women and girls especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic? (11/30)
Mayra Buvnic, Lorenz Noe, and Eric Swanson author a piece on the gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They produced a gender vulnerability dashboard that maps indicators of women’s wellbeing, economic outlook, COVID-19 rates and trends, and countries’ capacity to respond to the pandemic with a gender lens. (source)