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    • #Data4Dev

    'Intermediaries' to play key role in future of data for development

    Nongovernmental organizations have started to hire more data scientists as part of their staff, but collaboration of analytical capacity should take precedence over competition, experts told Devex at the Cartagena Data Festival.

    By Kelli Rogers // 19 May 2015
    Increasing data capacity within an organization is not just about hiring the young person who recently graduated with a degree in data science, said Emmanuel Letouzé, director and co-founder of Data-Pop Alliance. It’s also making sure to employ the right mixture of people who collectively understand the history, politics and ethics of data. The development community is going to see more focused collaboration between different types of organizations that work with data as well as a huge role for the data intermediary — or the person who knows how to translate data to community groups that might not have the same statistical literacy, according to Elizabeth Stewart, research fellow for the Overseas Development Institute. There are currently two camps — the quant people who can read a spreadsheet and manipulate it, and the specialists who work in areas like health and education. “You’re already starting to see those barriers coming down,” Stewart said. Click the video above to find out the environment that Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, deputy executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, said would allow social transformation to take place. READ: Data for development: The talent needed now Watch our interview with Jon Herstein, international human resources operations director and human resources business partner at RTI International, where he explains his take on the staffing effects of the big data push. Whether you’re a seasoned expert or budding development professional — check out more news, analysis and advice online to guide your career and professional development, and subscribe to Doing Good to receive top international development career and recruitment news every week

    Increasing data capacity within an organization is not just about hiring the young person who recently graduated with a degree in data science, said Emmanuel Letouzé, director and co-founder of Data-Pop Alliance. It’s also making sure to employ the right mixture of people who collectively understand the history, politics and ethics of data.

    The development community is going to see more focused collaboration between different types of organizations that work with data as well as a huge role for the data intermediary — or the person who knows how to translate data to community groups that might not have the same statistical literacy, according to Elizabeth Stewart, research fellow for the Overseas Development Institute.

    There are currently two camps — the quant people who can read a spreadsheet and manipulate it, and the specialists who work in areas like health and education.

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    About the author

    • Kelli Rogers

      Kelli Rogers@kellierin

      Kelli Rogers has worked as an Associate Editor and Southeast Asia Correspondent for Devex, with a particular focus on gender. Prior to that, she reported on social and environmental issues from Nairobi, Kenya. Kelli holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and has reported from more than 20 countries.

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