The Data Innovation Fund team at the World Bank is pleased to announce the launch of its website, featuring project results, lessons learned, case studies, and more.
Timely and accurate data are critical for informing decision-making and policy for countries around the world, as well as for helping countries achieve the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Recognizing the importance of spurring a data revolution in sustainable development, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked an Independent Expert Advisory Group for concrete recommendations towards this end in August 2014. The group identified data innovation as one of four primary areas of focus around improving the global data landscape.
To help poorer countries with data innovation, the World Bank’s Development Data Group (DECDG), in collaboration with the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), launched the “Collaborative Data Innovations for Sustainable Development” initiative in 2016. The Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building III (TFSCB-III) provided funding for three rounds of pilot projects: Round 1 & Round 2 have been completed, and Round 3 is currently ongoing. TFSCB-III is funded by United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland, and the Governments of Canada and Korea.
The wealth of information generated from these projects is now available online as a resource to all those interested in contributing to data innovation, particularly as it relates to sustainable development. Visitors to the new website can read through our extensive project list to find links to final reports and case studies, as well as blogs about current and completed endeavors.
Middle: Using drones to gather aerial imagery in Malawi (photo credit: Netherlands Red Cross)
Right: After the major earthquake on 25 April 2015 in Nepal (photo credit: shutterstock)
We hope you’ll stop by the website to learn more about the work we’ve done on real-time drought monitoring in the Sahel in Africa, find out how the needs of elderly citizens of India and Kenya were identified and addressed through peer-to-peer surveys and community advocacy, and explore tools for more rapid and effective post-disaster responses in Nepal.
In a blog from last year, World Bank DECDG Director Haishan Fu said, “…we must commit to comprehensive data financing. We need to invest in countries in every step of the way, from improving their methods, to collecting better data, anonymizing and curating the information, and increasing their capacity to use and analyze data to bring about real development impact.” We think the Data Innovation Fund has been a strong step in the right direction, and we hope that it inspires further innovation in data to bring about a better world for us all.
Got questions or want more information? Reach us by e-mail at data@worldbank.org or on Twitter at @worldbankdata.
Join the Conversation