In October, the development data community convened for a virtual United Nations World Data Forum (UNWDF). This three-day event brought together over 10,000 attendees from more than 180 countries to discuss data for a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient future. The event hosted over 70 sessions to underscore that the time is now to build capacity and increase investment in statistical and data systems around the world. Open Data Watch (ODW) contributed to several UNWDF discussions, including co-hosting a pre-recorded session on “Building the Foundations of the Data Revolution: Taking a Holistic Approach to Data Governance” with Sustainable Development Solutions Network TReNDS, Oxford Insights, and Data Ready. The session covered topics such as data ethics and governance. In addition to the UNWDF, ODW celebrated World Statistics Day 2020 with a blog highlighting some of the most critical statistics from our work areas and where we are working to improve them.
Below is a selected list of sustainable development data articles and reports published in October. 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.
October
Bringing joy to people’s lives (October)
Gemma Van Halderen, Director of the Statistics Division in the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, shares a case study on the power of civil registration and vital statistics in Afghanistan to empower women and girls and increase their visibility in statistics. (source)
Data sharing to fight COVID-19 (October)
Claire Melamed, the CEO of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, explains that the pandemic shows governments cannot effectively tackle big problems without good data. However, she mentions, it also shows that governments can vastly improve how they gather, share and act on data. (source)
Open Science (October)
Together the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, and UN Human Rights joined to launch an appeal for open science. The idea behind Open Science is to allow scientific information, data, and outputs to be more widely accessible and more reliably harnessed. (source)
Putting data to work for real-world SDG progress (October)
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network TReNDS team authors a piece for Nature Research on catalyzing data for real-world impact. The article explains that as governments, businesses, and researchers collaborate and share data, they drive to strive towards the progress of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. (source)
Bridging the Gap: Mapping Gender Data Availability in Latin America and the Caribbean (October)
Bridging the Gap: Mapping Gender Data Availability in Latin America and the Caribbean, written in collaboration Data2x and ECLAC, Open Data Watch is now available in both English and Spanish. The report highlights the availability of gender data across six domains: health, education, economic opportunity, political participation, human security, and the environment. (source)
Gender data: How expensive is it, really? (10/1)
Kalli Rogers of Devex authors a piece on gender data and the cost of closing the gender data gap featuring an interview with ODW’s managing director, Shaida Badiee. The article highlights that the gender data financing gap in low-income countries can be closed with two professional athletes’ salaries. (source)
When the data stop: Five lessons for data-driven decision-making in crises (10/2)
Paige Kirby, the Senior Policy Advisor of Development Gateway, outlines five critical lessons for data-driven decision-making during a crisis such as COVID-19. She explains how to make data-driven decisions even when COVID-19 is causing delayed censuses and surveys and impeding administrative processing. (source)
Updated estimates of the impact of COVID-19 on global poverty: The effect of new data (10/7)
World Bank Data publishes updated estimates of the impact of COVID-19 on global poverty. The estimates show that is probable that the pandemic will push between 88 and 115 million people into extreme poverty in 2020. This would set back poverty reduction by around three years. (source)
African countries need more air quality data – and sharing it unlocks its benefits (10/11)
Rebecca Garland and Paul Plantinga author a piece for The Conversation on the need for terrestrial air pollution measurements in African countries. In addition to collecting data on air pollution, Paul and Rebecca also highlight the importance of making this data open and accessible to enable a broad community of data users and assist in day-to-day decision making. (source)
International Debt Statistics 2021: Debt accumulation of low- and middle-income countries surpassed $8 trillion at end-2019 (10/12)
The World Bank Data team publishes the International Debt Statistics 2021 Report, which analyses debt statistics for 120 low- and middle-income countries that report to the World Bank Debt Reporting System (DRS). The report highlights that debt in low-and middle-income countries surpassed $8 trillion at the end of 2019. (source)
Integrate intersecting inequalities to leave no one behind (10/13)
A UN Data Forum blog by Papa Seck of UN Women discusses intersectional gender data and focuses on the intersectional relationship between the environment and technology. He expresses that often inequalities ‘intersect’ in ways that intensify disadvantages; thus, it is critical to have data on such intersections to ensure that nobody is left behind. (source)
The Power of Partnership: Advancing Gender Data in the Context of COVID-19 (10/20)
In partnership with UNECA and Data2X, Open Data Watch hosts a webinar with experts and partners in the gender data field to discuss actions currently in place to tackle gender data gaps and in time of COVID-19. The panelists also discuss the power of networking, partnership, advocacy for advancing gender data advocacy. (source)
Lessons from the pandemic: Building better gender data for the future (10/20)
As part of the celebration of World Statistics Day 2020, the International Labor Organization launched a set of guidelines to help build better gender data for the future. They explain that this is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, where inequalities between men and women in the world of work have been exacerbated. (source)
Experts call for ‘deeper data’ on women’s realities at UN World Data Forum (10/22)
Lisa Cornish authors a piece for Devex on the need for investing in more in-depth data on women’s realities. The article also discusses the new interactive platform of the latest data on gender equality worldwide provided by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (source)
It is Called the Sustainable Development Goals Index for a Reason (10/26)
Guillaume LaFortune, Jeffery Sacks, Guido Schmidt-Traub, author an op-ed piece for Foreign Policy defending Sustainable Development Goals Index and arguing that this is a vital metric for measuring the world’s economic and environmental progress. (source)
Smarter financing for development data: presenting The Clearinghouse (10/21)
PARIS21 Secretariat creates a video on the Clearinghouse for Financing Development Data. This explanatory video includes information about the Bern Network’s new portal, which will feature near-real-time information on aid flows, country and donor profiles, and advocacy resources. (source)
Global Data Community’s Response to COVID-19 (10/28)
Francesca Perucci, Chief of Development Data and Outreach Branch in the UN Statistics Division discusses the need for timely, reliable, and disaggregated as a critical tool for governments to contain the COVID-19 and mitigate its impacts. She says now is the time to build stronger, more agile statistical systems to respond to future disasters. (source)
Why we are optimistic about gender data after the 2020 Virtual UN World Data Forum (10/28)
Emily Courey Pryor of Data2X explains why she is optimistic about gender data after the 2020 UNWDF. She commends the many gender data discussions and says that gender data is recognized as a vital component of robust development data. (source)
Shaping the data governance landscape: A multi-sectoral approach to use, protection, and inclusive digital transformation (10/28)
Tom Orrell, the Director of Data Ready, authors a piece on behalf of Open Data Watch, which discusses the underinvestment of statistical systems and issues surrounding data governance and use during the COVID-19 pandemic. (source)
Internal Documents Reveal COVID-19 Hospitalization Data the Government Keeps Hidden (10/30)
Pien Huang and Selena Simmons-Duffin author a piece for NPR on the withholding of COVID-19 hospitalization data. They explain that concealing this information from the public and the research community is a missed opportunity to help prevent outbreaks and even save lives. (source)