CONFESSIONS OF A DATA ENTHUSIAST

Some of you may know that I am a data enthusiast. I loved mathematics in school, and while I did fail my statistics exam twice at University, I have used numbers and hard data to drive change and to engage. For example, “One girl under 15 married every 7 seconds” is a powerful use of data to mobilize attention, compassion, and giving around ending early and forced child marriage.

When the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015, I was super excited. Finally, the world had an agreed ambitious roadmap for development that wove together economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Hurray. But I was also worried that the many goals and targets would overwhelm the public, change makers, and politicians. And I was especially worried that without an accountability framework, it would be near impossible to maintain the change momentum and hold governments to account for the powerful framework they had just adopted.

At the time of the SDG adoption, I was transitioning from a leadership job at the UN to my first CEO job in civil society. I knew that UN agencies and many other organizations, including national statistical entities, would be working hard to gather data to show how member states were doing on SDG progress. I suspected it would set off an avalanche of data requests to governments and overburden already low-capacity systems. I also knew – and this remains true today - that there is an enormous distance between UN reports, donor reports, and national statistical reports and the communities worldwide where change and citizen mobilization needed to happen.

So, what to do? It was clear that citizens with the help of civil society would need to learn more about the SDGs and the commitments made by their governments. And the SDG enthusiasts needed to learn from and work with one of the most important historical drivers of change – the feminist movement. The volumes of existing data needed to get into the hands of activists across the world. Demand-driven data, visualizations, analysis, and tools to monitor progress and hold governments accountable had to land fast at the country level. At the same time, it was necessary to fill data gaps and strengthen the capacity to use data in advocacy and share expertise in data-driven advocacy.

And most importantly, as Harvard Business Review reminded us in 2014, the year before the SDGs were approved: “Data won’t get you a standing ovation; stories will. Stories inform, illuminate, and inspire. Tell more of them”.

In short, we needed to fuel the implementation of the SDGs with data and storytelling. We needed data with a soul. This was the driving idea behind what is today a unique global data partnership, Equal Measures 2030. Equal Measures 2030 is – in the spirit of SDG 17 - a partnership of national, regional, and global leaders from feminist networks, civil society, international development, and the private sector. To give this a little more flavor, let me quote Nadia Ahidjo, Program Manager, Girls’ Education in Emergencies in Sub-Saharan Africa: “Data can strengthen advocacy as it shows consistent patterns that require attention and action. Data is also useful in identifying effective solutions and can be used to hold governments accountable for their policies and commitments. This is summed up well by a partner survey response on capacity development needs: “No matter which route you go down, either using government data or using your own evidence that you produce, for me one of the more important questions is, how do you then use the data, or how do you use the evidence in a way that it’s facilitating you to achieve policy change? And I think that is something that quite a lot of people do need support with.” Equal Measures 2030 (EM2030) supports learning tailored especially for women’s rights organizations about how to understand and use data effectively in advocacy, covering topics including finding and advocating on data gaps and communicating data to different audiences, to name a few.”

Unfortunately, these types of approaches to genuine data partnerships are few and far between.

Data combined with lived experiences, in the hands of citizens and activists impacts policy, and investments and fuels transformation. And, therefore the obvious conclusion must be that we need more and better data and we need more and better storytelling if we are to mobilize the world for the most needed extra and accelerated efforts aimed at meeting the SDGs.

This is true, but so is the need for a small pause and some self-reflection especially in the development and humanitarian community.

We absolutely need to insist on closing the data gaps for all marginalized and non-dominant groups. This is the only way we can shine a light on growing inequality.

We must also close the often-unspoken power imbalance in data collection, analysis, and ownership. We need to talk about why there is often too much data in some areas, and what we can all do to protect the data of the most vulnerable in the world.

While researching this blog, I came across a fine paper published by the Dutch NGO, Watershed, entitled ‘How civil society generates and uses evidence for influencing policy”.The report identifies that a critical challenge around data and evidence is its definition. The paper states that there is often a narrow view and misconception of what constitutes data. Many people only focus on numerical data or struggle with what information is most relevant. One powerful statement from one disabled person at a key meeting can sometimes be more powerful than large-scale data collection that shows that 2% of the unserved population is disabled (Kenya). This I have also found to be true.

High data, evidence, and reporting requirements on small grassroots and community organizations make access to funding from government and philanthropy near impossible. Yet we know that these organizations are the reason why impact happens everywhere. Often donors and large global aid organizations collect data to satisfy their needs and compliance systems first. Consent from programme participants is often not given,  and rarely is there a thought given to how the same or different data can be used better in the hands of underserved populations.

And it is not uncommon that too little attention is given to and investments made in the protection of personal data of men, women, and children in poor rural communities. In February, the New Humanitarian, Irwin Loy, interviewed Olivia Williams, a former aid worker and specialist in information security. Olivia Williams explains well how data collected from some of the world’s most vulnerable communities can be compromised, misused, and mishandled.

 I am still enthusiastic about data and its transformative power, but let’s ensure we always hold ourselves to account for the highest equity standards as we drive for change through more and better data. I know that I haven’t always done that.