COVID-19 — What's TReNDing

Learning from City-Level Chief Data Officers

Cities have been leading on innovation to improve civic outcomes for decades – with the origins of the “smart cities” revolution first taking shape in 1970s Los Angeles. Yet, the growth of “smart cities” along with the surge in new technologies and a global pandemic have contributed to the unprecedented data collection, production, and analysis demands facing national and local governments today. In response, a number of cities around the world have recently instituted a Chief Data Officer (CDO) position to improve their data stewardship for better service delivery and policymaking. To better understand how the experiences of CDOs at the city and sub-national levels can help to inform their national counterparts, SDSN TReNDS conducted initial research on this issue, and this blog highlights a number of emerging findings for National Statistics Offices.

2022 Predictions For The Evolution of Data Use

At this time of the year, there is no shortage of predictions of what lies ahead. Typing “year ahead 2022” into your web browser alone yields 885 million results - more than one for every ten people on the planet. And for big data enthusiasts, limiting the search terms to “year ahead,” “big data,” and “2022” returns 300,000+ articles covering data trends, top tech predictions, and what we can expect from big data analytics. The results are spottier, however, when we search for what’s in store for national data ecosystems and the implications for sustainable development. Yet, efficient national data ecosystems and better use of data are critical to helping organizations from the public sector, private sector, and civil society achieve better outcomes, particularly in sustainable development. TReNDS’ Director, Grant Cameron, reflects on how these types of organizations will evolve in their use of data in the year ahead, what it means for the national and global data ecosystems, and how these changes will contribute to sustainable development.

Avoiding the Data Colonialism Trap

Even while the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened awareness of data and statistics, it has highlighted the global divide in statistical capacity, and in many cases, exacerbated it. Across Africa, for example, incomplete death registration systems have hampered efforts to track the virus. And according to recent surveys of national statistical offices (NSOs), nine out of ten NSOs in low and lower-middle-income countries may not fully be able to meet their international reporting requirements. To address these issues, countries are now being presented with an array of private sector data solutions and other non-traditional sources of information to fill these data gaps. Yet as global institutions seek to empower with data, we must be wary of “data colonialism” -- the potential for the powerful, data-rich countries and corporations in the Global North to undercut capacity development in the Global South by failing to recognize the local contexts.

How Disaggregated Data Can Pave the Way for a More Equitable Recovery

Around the world, racial and ethnic disparities are rampant across all sectors of society; from inequities in healthcare, education, and employment to housing, wealth, and criminal justice. Indigenous peoples and racial minorities are also systematically undercounted in censuses. COVID-19 has exacerbated these issues, as people of color, especially Black people, have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, both in terms of cases and deaths. Yet much of the COVID-19 data, including on vaccinations, is still not being disaggregated by race or ethnicity, further hampering governments’ ability to formulate effective policies to respond to the pandemic. With over a year since the first COVID-19 case and the rise of new variants and a resurgence in cases globally, countries must do better to disaggregate their data by race and ethnicity.

New ODIN Results Highlight the State of Open Data in 187 Countries Worldwide

Open data has not only played a key role in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be crucial for the dissemination and uptake of the new vaccines, but it’s also been a core component of the data revolution since its inception. But just how many countries around the world are actively making their data open? Last week, we received a snapshot of countries’ progress with the release of the fifth edition of Open Data Watch’s 2020/21 Open Data Inventory (ODIN 2020/21).

InsightsAlyson MarksDecember 9, 2020ODIN, COVID-19, open data, Open Data Watch, gender

New Research from Australia Finds that the SDGs are Vital for COVID-19 Recovery Strategies

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a set of targets that can serve as a blueprint to ‘build back better’ after the pandemic. However, despite only 10 years remaining until the 2030 deadline, many countries still lack national targets and a clear understanding of their progress. This piece highlights new research that provides a data-driven assessment of the nexus between COVID-19 and the SDGs in Australia and explores how the SDGs can be used to guide Australia’s post-COVID-19 recovery.

InsightsTReNDS StaffDecember 3, 2020COVID-19, Australia, SDGs

Data Sharing in a Post-Pandemic World: How to Safely Wind Down Surveillance Measures

Despite the recent news of successful COVID-19 vaccine trials, the end of the pandemic still seems a long way off. The data community, however, should be thinking ahead to the end of this crisis, when unique data demands will no longer apply. In this Op-ed, Hayden Dahmm explores how sunset clauses and provisions can be used to ensure that surveillance measures are wound down responsibly at the end of the pandemic.

NewsHayden DahmmDecember 2, 2020data governance, sunset clauses, data privacy, COVID-19

Shaping the data governance landscape: A multi-sectoral approach to use, protection, and inclusive digital transformation

COVID-19 is rapidly shifting perceptions, priorities, and needs as they relate to digital and data policy, and this has accelerated the urgency of discussions around data governance. In this blog post, Tom Orrell, TReNDS' expert member discusses four recommendations that came out of a recent UN World Data Forum virtual session on this issue.

Driving Forward a New Data Ecosystem

Last week, more than 7,000 data experts from around the world gathered virtually for the third annual World Data Forum. Increasing investment in statistics, effective communications around data, the importance of disaggregation, emerging data sources, and careful data governance were among the key issues discussed.

Putting Data to Work for Real-World SDG Progress

Timely, high-quality data is critical to reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals — but harnessing it requires new ways of thinking, collaboration, and investment in national statistics systems. Learn more about what’s needed to catalyze data for real-world impact in this Nature article, featuring insights from TReNDS’ experts and partners.

Celebrating the Importance of Statistics on World Statistics Day

Statistics are fundamental to our daily lives – from predicting the daily weather forecast and stock market trends to determining insurance premiums. This World Statistics Day, the TReNDS’ Secretariat have highlighted a few recent statistics that we’ve come across that we think are particularly shocking. Thereafter, we put forward some of our individual recommendations on how the global statistical system can be improved.

InsightsAlyson MarksOctober 20, 2020SDGs, World Statistics Day, COVID-19, data governance, SDGs Today, data literacy

Assessing the State of Our World: A Call for ‘Factivists’

SDSN TReNDS has partnered with Project Everyone and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data to curate high-impact, reliable, and high-frequency (at least annual) datasets on the SDGs as part of a public advocacy campaign to bring to life the data behind the Global Goals. This will help ensure that there is greater awareness of where we are progressing and what needs improvement, as well as drive greater action and accountability on the SDGs. The first part of the campaign was launched today on the 5th anniversary of the SDGs during Global Goals Week, to celebrate the theme of ‘Factivism’ - campaigning to change the world by using facts backed up by timely and accurate data to drive action. Via this campaign, we worked to curate ten timely data "facts" on the SDGs to help raise awareness and galvanize action towards the Goals.

NewsGuest ContributorSeptember 25, 2020COVID-19, timely data, real-time data, SDGs, Factivism

With Crisis Comes Innovation: How COVID-19 is Changing National Statistical Systems

The rapid global spread of COVID-19 has demanded that governments respond at breakneck speed to limit the human and economic costs of the crisis. And the scale of government response is unprecedented - a staggering 11 trillion USD in fiscal support provided by 55 countries in a matter of months – as is the demand for timely data to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed. Having accurate and timely data has become the foundation of a resilient and effective government, and national statistical systems are central to this. These systems have been placed under extreme pressure during the crisis. Temporary office closures and disruptions to operations and surveys have jeopardised dozens of statistical publications. Increased demand for new and more timely data on the impacts of the pandemic have stretched available resources. And pragmatic decisions have had to be made to reprioritise and redeploy staff and resources as well as to innovate to deliver new statistical products.

Mixing the Old with the New: Integrating New Data into Traditional Data Systems for Sustainable Development

New methods of data collection have the opportunity to create a timelier, more detailed understanding of sustainable development challenges. For example, earth observation (EO) data has been identified as a tool for monitoring a wide range of issues, including agriculture, health, cities, and biodiversity at often more frequent and granular levels, and has also proven essential during the current pandemic. Additionally, last month, SDSN in collaboration with Esri launched SDGs Today, a platform of timely data sources related to the Sustainable Development Goals to provide users with a snapshot of the state of sustainable development. Although new methods can provide valuable insights, they need to be treated with caution as they are not replacements for existing methodologies.

Covid-19 and Gridded Population Data: New Models, Data Platforms, and Research Highlights

As we continue to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, one could argue that never before has timely and accurate population data been so critical. Population data is necessary to understand everything from the spread of the virus and who is impacted, to where vulnerable populations are located, and levels of population density for establishing effective social-distancing measures. And gridded population data are playing an important role in helping researchers access this type of information. Gridded population maps distribute data using grid cells, combining census results with additional information, such as geospatial data from satellites, to ensure more frequent and granular estimates, which are vital during a constantly evolving epidemic. In this blog, we explore how gridded population data are being used by researchers to inform the COVID-19 response.

Combatting the Rise in Data Politics

Data plays a critical role in how we understand the Covid-19 epidemic and determining how policies are shaped. Everything from the allocation of personal protective equipment and drug treatments to reopening plans is guided in part by available data, and because these decisions can often make the difference between life and death, the data must be reliable and transparent. However, in recent months, several cases have demonstrated the dangers of politicizing data as well as the dearth of systems in place in both high and low-income countries to maintain data accountability and transparency.

Emerging Lessons From National Statistical Office Performance During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Guest author, Grant Cameron, highlights emerging lessons from national statistical offices during the Covid-19 pandemic and shares key focus areas to further support NSOs’ resilience and modernization. These include: the development of a business continuity framework; the documentation of successful processes and pathways for real-time NSO engagement with policymakers; and the development of strategies that reinforce modernization post-Covid-19.

Insights, OpinionGuest ContributorJuly 28, 2020UN reform, evidence-based policymaking, COVID-19, CRVS

Data Sharing For the Public Good: Establishing the Right Frameworks

Covid-19 has given rise to an enormous amount of data. Everything from satellite data and mobile data to big data are providing insights on how the virus is spreading and where vulnerable communities are located. Collaboration is essential for leveraging this data, and the pandemic has prompted an increase in data partnerships. However, many of these data collaborations are raising privacy and security concerns - there are at least 27 countries currently using data from cell phone companies to track entire populations for COVID-19 purposes, and we don’t know how long this will continue. The crisis has also underscored many of the barriers to collaboration, including the lengthy negotiation process for negotiating data sharing agreements (DSAs) and the lack of trust and accountability between parties that can arise. Establishing the right legal frameworks and policies for managing the data are key to overcoming these obstacles.

Data and Covid-19: Navigating Barriers to Data-based Policy-making

Covid-19 has brought to light many of the barriers to evidence-based and data-based policy-making. In this blog, SDSN TReNDS’ expert member, Jonathan Glennie, explores these barriers and shares what’s needed to overcome them.

Insights, OpinionJonathan GlennieJuly 7, 2020UN reform, evidence-based policymaking, COVID-19, CRVS

A Vaccine Is Not the Only Answer to COVID-19: Why Strengthening Statistical and Data Systems Must Be Part of the Solution

The world’s inability to detect and contain the spread of COVID-19 has been financially devastating. The International Monetary Fund says that the global economy will shrink by 3% this year. Many analysts have described the decline as the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 42.6 million people applying for unemployment benefits in America alone. With these losses, budgets are tightening around the world. Prioritization of essential spending is more critical than ever, and many governments and organizations are understandably placing their hopes in the development of an effective vaccine. But as much as a vaccine is needed to address the pandemic, accurate and real-time data is needed to enable the detection and containment of its spread. And governments and development organizations can do more to better strengthen statistical systems by providing adequate financing.

Insights, OpinionShaida BadieeJuly 1, 2020COVID-19, data financing, CRVS, census

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