Calls for a “data revolution” in global development are gaining traction. But aside from the hype, stakeholders are struggling to figure out what needs to happen for the international aid community to move from talk to action on the issue.
That’s precisely the goal of “Data Innovation for Policymakers,” a two-day conference organized this week by PulseLab Jakarta in Bali, Indonesia, hosted by the country’s Ministry of National Development Planning and co-sponsored by the Knowledge Sector Initiative and the UNDP Innovation Facility, where representatives from governments, international as well as local development groups and the private sector will discuss their experiences and share lessons learned on how to fill in the “data gap” in their own communities, development programs and companies.
How did South Korea, a former aid recipient now turned emerging donor regarded as an example for developing countries, harness the power of data to shape the policies that sparked its economic miracle? What can different community organizations in Indonesia tell us about challenges and opportunities in tapping citizens for data collection? Where did five Indonesian students “guard” the data on the country’s presidential elections last July?