Working together. That was the main theme that resonated throughout a recent workshop to launch the 2024 Country Cohort of the Global Data Facility (GDF) program to Put Mobile Phone Data (MPD) to work for Policy.
Between October 7-10, the inaugural Cohort consisting of 18 Country teams (over 130 representatives) that were awarded grants through the GDF-MPD support program gathered to learn, work and launch their initiatives together. Each country team is comprised of key public and private sector stakeholders in their local MPD ecosystem (Mobile Network Operators, Regulators, National Statistical Offices, etc) along with their World Bank counterparts.
"For durable MPD policy solutions, all of the local public-private stakeholders need to be onboard. Bringing them all together in one room, that is a big win."
- Ronald Jansen, United Nations Statistics Division
The GDF-MPD Cohort workshop coincided with Netmob, the premier conference on Mobile Phone Data research, which was also hosted by the GDF-MPD program Oct 7-9. Joint sessions provided an opportunity for policymakers and the additional 120 plus researchers attending Netmob to learn from each other on the latest applications, innovations and opportunities in the MPD for policy realm. Bringing these communities together and helping to pair project teams with expert researchers enables more robust and durable MPD for Policy solutions.
Achieving the main GDF-MPD Program goal in each country, which is setting up a durable Mobile Phone Data pipeline for policy use, requires thoughtful multi-stakeholder partnerships, planning and investments. From investments in public-private partnerships, data infrastructure and methods, to investments in data safeguards and governance, to investments in local technical capacity.
But where to begin? The early sessions delivered the foundational knowledge necessary to inform the Country teams to prepare their MPD Country Action Plans. The training program was developed and delivered together by Flowminder, Positium, Nommon, the International Telecommunications Union, the University of Tokyo, and The World Bank. The Country teams learned how to use various essential resources developed through the GDF-MPD program, including the MPD Country Maturity Framework to assess their current state of MPD maturity, the Country MPD Theory of Change, to guide their MPD adoption process, and the UN Committee of Experts on Big Data (CEBD) Task Team on MPD for methodological guidelines. Further into the workshop, the teams applied their training in several group sessions to develop their respective MPD Country Action Plans, which they presented on the final afternoon.
"It is important that MPD stakeholders work together to build a roadmap to integrate Mobile Phone Data into the broader national data system and data science capacity building agenda."
- Prof. Samuel Annim, Ghana Statistical Services
Over the next two years, the Country Teams in the 2024 Cohort will implement activities to put their MPD Plans into action. From building awareness in MPD at the Pre-Foundation level, to setting up of arrangements for durable MPD pipelines at the Foundational level, to consistently using MPD toward a policy application at Practitioner level, toward multiple policy applications and Multi-MNO pipelines at the Expert level.
The table below provides an overview of the GDF-MPD 2024 Cohort initiatives (A country team from Botswana team also participated as a guest in the workshop):
Those countries that can successfully integrate MPD into their data systems, will join a growing number of countries like Spain, Indonesia, and Ghana that are using MPD toward more cost-effective, responsive, and targeted policies, statistics and public services.
"Knowing the mobility patterns of the most poor and vulnerable populations enables better informed policy decisions to focus resources and support to those that need it most."
- Roberto Castillo, Institute of National Statistics, Ecuador
Indeed, to go far in MPD for Policy, you need to work together. The GDF-MPD program is a multi-stakeholder program working together to develop essential resources, to deliver country support, and to realize the ambitions of the Cape Town Global Action Plan (CTGAP) for Sustainable Development Data. Going forward, the Country Teams and their local stakeholders in the GDF-MPD 2024 Cohort will also work together to transform their MPD Country Action Plans into durable MPD policy solutions.
Would you like to learn more about the GDF-MPD program, future Cohorts, and opportunities for partnership? Visit the Global Data Facility site and explore resources below.
Learn more:
- GDF-MPD Cohort Workshop Event Page includes links to presentations and video recordings
- Global Data Facility has information on the Mobile Phone Data for Policy program and how to partner
- GDF-MPD Essential Resources is a repository of MPD for Policy use cases, methods, tools and learning
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