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The intersection of the web and the World Bank.

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Inside the Web is a blog exploring the intersection of the web, international development, and the World Bank, written by Bank staff that work on online strategy, editorial, content, governance, and technology.

August 2009

How Web design can show the forward march of gender in project design

Submitted by Molly Norris on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 16:45

Fighting poverty means helping women not as an afterthought, but as forethought. Women’s disproportionate share of the poor makes them a special demographic. And we’re targeting them more and more.

Last year, 45 percent of lending operations looked through a gender lens when planning their projects -- up 10 percent from the year before. Project planners ran gender assessments, set aside resources for gender initiatives and broadly incorporated gender into project components.

Enter the Web. Mouse over the infographic below to take a look region-by-region.

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  Total Projects Projects with Gender 2-Year Trend
Africa 230 101
-4%
East Asia & Pacific 107 46
+15%
Europe & Central Asia 204 49
+8%
Latina America & Caribbean 109 60
+27%
Middle East & North Africa 40 19
+16%
South Asia 75 44
+1%

 

Source:
Feature- World Bank Increases Gender Support and Lending in Developing Countries
Report- Implementing the Bank’s Gender Mainstreaming Strategy: FY08 Annual Monitoring Report (PDF)
 

Hearing the call for open data.

Submitted by Sameer Vasta on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 09:34

In his most recent TED talk, open data advocate Hans Rosling blasted the World Bank (and lauded the US government) on data sharing practices. Rosling said that while we at the Bank have some of the best researchers and the best access to data, we're not doing enough to share that data openly, and for free.

I've embedded the video below so you can not only see what he has to say about the Bank, but also hear about some of the great ideas he has about datasets and mindsets.

Of course, it looks like Rosling may have ignored some of our more recent efforts to get our data to the hands of the people: efforts like our recently revamped API, and even the new data section (with great visualizations!) of the new World Bank Climate Change beta site.

But Rosling does have a point: we need to be doing more to share our data in open and usable formats. The question is, how do we do that?

While we've had some interest in our data visualization tools and our API, use of these tools is still low, making it hard to justify spending more resources on data sharing. Sure, there's a hunger for it, but how do we make sure we're feeding the right appetite?

There are a few questions that I have — questions where the answers will probably help me make a stronger case for increased emphasis on open data:

  1. What kind of data is the audience looking for?
  2. What does the audience want to do with this data?
  3. What are the best formats in which to release this data?
  4. What can we do to make it more enticing for people to use — and share — our data?

 

Mr. Rosling: we hear your call for open data. And while we hope that some of the steps we've already taken are helping address the world's data sharing needs, do know that we're working on sharing even more.

We just need the community's help — not their derision — in answering some questions so that we can make it better.

Making information easy to understand.

Submitted by Sameer Vasta on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 15:37

We've been doing a lot with data visualization here at the World Bank these days.

Our new Climate Change beta site has a whole data portal where you can not only get Bank data, but use our data viz tool to create motion charts, timelines, and maps using data that you choose. On top of that, we're working on building some fun toys (more on that later) using the World Bank data API, and I'm working on a few case studies so we can show our developer community just how easy it is to use the data we've released.

We're going to keep working on data visualization, of course, but one of the other things that has been piquing our curiosity here at the Web Program Office has been the use infographics.

GOOD does a wonderful job of sharing their infographics online, and recently I've become enamored of the work presented on Information Is Beautiful, particularly the Billion Dollar Gram they posted last week. (Screenshot below.)

The Billion Dollar Gram

We've also been looking at the New York Times online who have shown clear leadership when it comes to visualization and repurposing information in accessible and fun ways.

All that to say, we're working on finding ways to use infographics more effectively to supplement our feature stories and blog posts. We've still got some work to do: finding resources to create the graphics, figuring out a process to ensure these kinds of graphics are looked at in the conception stage of a story rather than as an afterthought, things like that.

In the meantime, if you've got any links to other groups that are using really neat information graphics, let us know. We're looking for more inspiration. Or, of course, if you can share any tips and best practices (or even get us in touch with people that might be able to help), drop me a line or a comment.

Should the World Bank care about net neutrality?

Submitted by Sameer Vasta on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 15:10

Net neutrality is a hot topic right now in various countries around the world, with the debate over its value and its feasability being tied to discussions about broadband penetration and service delivery over the internet.

For a quick definition of the concept, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

A neutral broadband network is one that is free of restrictions on content, sites, or platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and on the modes of communication allowed, as well as one where communication is not unreasonably degraded by other communication streams.

In essence, net neutrality advocates argue that internet service providers (ISPs) should not be able to discriminate against certain kinds of internet transfers and lower quality of service or access based on that discrimination. The concept of net neutrality says that ISPs don't have the right to restrict access or limit traffic or speeds to certain kinds of sites or certain types of activity — in the end, the user should be in charge of what they do once they have paid to access the network.

Computer wire by Don Solo on Flickr

Seems like a no-brainer issue to most, but that hasn't stopped hot debates around the world about the power of ISPs to control the content that their customers can access, and why they should or shouldn't be allowed to exercise that power.

My question today: should the World Bank care?

The World Bank's recent IC4D 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact report found that access to high quality mobile phone and internet services enabled development across all levels of the economy. It also claimed that access to broadband completed the information foundation for a modern economy and called for this access to be a priority in national development plans.

If good and widespread internet access is so integral to economic growth and development, does the Bank have a responsibility to ensure that this access is open, unfiltered, unshaped, and not throttled by ISPs? What is the risk in allowing traffic shaping to occur in developing economies?

All questions I don't have answers to, but that have been weighing on my mind for quite some time. If you have any ideas about net neutrality and the role that the Bank may have in the debate, let me know in the comments below.

For more information, check out the Wikipedia article on net neutrality, the FAQs on SaveTheInternet.com, and a multitude of other places around the web that have chimed in on the topic.

(Photo by Don Solo.)