Pulse Labs bring together government experts, UN agencies, academia and the private sector to pioneer new methods and frameworks for for using Big Data to support development goals. Pulse Labs tap into local knowledge and innovation, establish key partnerships, test and pilot real-time monitoring approaches at the country level, and support the adoption of proven approaches.
In late 2012 Pulse Lab Jakarta was established through a partnership between the United Nations and the Ministry of National Development and Planning (Bappenas). The first innovation lab of its kind in Asia, Pulse Lab Jakarta brings together experts from United Nations agencies, the Indonesian government, non-governmental organisations and the private sectors to research and, most importantly, facilitate the adoption of new approaches for applying new, digital data sources and real-time analysis techniques to social development. The Indonesian cross-government partners include the Ministry of National Development and Planning, as well as Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Communication and Information.
Research and Policy Impact
Pulse Lab Jakarta projects explore the utility of analyzing social media, and other new sources of digital data to address social development issues. The Lab’s annual research agenda is established, in consultation with the Government of Indonesia and the United Nations Country Team, based on national development priorities. These priorities include areas such as such as changes in food prices, fuel prices, and employment and urban poverty, and identifying what issues are important to ordinary Indonesians to help shape the Post-2015 priorities.
Pulse Lab Jakarta team - including a data scientist, data engineer, partnership coordinator, monitoring & evaluation expert and a government liaison - works closely with government, UN agencies, academia, and the private sector to conduct applied research projects and make the results available in ways that can inform policy makers and UN agencies' work.
The team is also currently investigating ways in which new data sources can complement traditional monitor and evaluation approaches.
Indonesia is a prime location for a Pulse Lab, with citizens’ use of mobile technology and internet penetration having skyrocketed in recent years. Estimates indicate there are now over 74 million internet users in Indonesia, with numbers forecasted to reach at least 100 million in 2015. A report by Semiocast in 2013 showed that Jakartans were the most active Twitter users and posted 2 percent of the 10.6 billion tweets worldwide
