Mining Case Law to Improve Countries’ Accountability To Universal Periodic Review

1 CKM ADVISORS; 2 ICAAD; 3 DATA POP ALLIANCE; 4 GLOBAL INSIGHT. Please send any comments to contact@datapopalliance.org. The United Nations (UN) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process established by the Human Rights Council aiming to monitor and improve the human rights situation in each UN member state. In this study, we hypothesize that leveraging text mining and machine-learning … Read More

Working Paper: Spurring Big Data-Driven Innovation and Promoting Responsible Data Governance in a Privacy-Centred Europe

Through a series of regional stakeholder dialogues and debates in Berlin, Brussels and Madrid, the digitising europe initiative – organised by Data-Pop Alliance and the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications – aims to provide insights for European companies and public sector institutions on initiating big data-driven projects and promoting responsible use and governance of big data for public good. The … Read More

“Oportunidades y requerimientos para aprovechar el uso de Big Data para las estadísticas oficiales y los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible en América Latina”

The English version of this paper is available here. Este documento se realizó en el marco de un proyecto apoyado por el Banco Mundial e implementado por Data-Pop Alliance en asociación con el Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística de Colombia—DANE. Data-Pop Alliance es una coalición sobre Big Data y el desarrollo creada conjuntamente por la Iniciativa Humanitaria de Harvard, el … Read More

Big Data and Privacy: Understanding the Possibilities and Pitfalls of the Data Revolution in Germany

As the first event paper in the digitising Europe’s series, this event paper captures the major key themes emerging from our events in Berlin in November 2015. The Berlin workshop and public forum focused on the possibilities and pitfalls
of using Big Data analytics for economic growth and public good. Bringing together German academic institutions, think tanks, businesses and other thought-leaders, … Read More

“Opportunities and Requirements for Leveraging Big Data for Official Statistics and the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America”

The Spanish version of this paper is available here. This White Paper was written by Julia Manske (Co-lead author), David Sangokoya (Co-lead author), Gabriel Pestre and Emmanuel Letouzé, with contributions from Lauren Barrett, Natalie Shoup, and Andrés Clavijo. It was produced as part of a World Bank-supported project implemented by Data-Pop Alliance in partnership with Colombia’s Departamento Administrativo Nacional de … Read More

“Group Privacy in the Age of Big Data”

This is a chapter, authored by Lanah Kammourieh, Thomas Baar, Jos Berens, Emmanuel Letouzé, Julia Manske, John Palmer, and Patrick Vinck, which will be part of a book edited by Linnet Taylor and Luciano Floridi. A recent presentation on the material can be found here: APC Group Privacy 2015. Below is the abstract of the chapter. Big Data has blurred the boundaries between individual and group data. … Read More

Entering the Age of Data: A Focus on Data Inclusion

“Entering the Age of Data: A Focus on Data Inclusion” is the second video in our new series on Big Data and development. Literacy is a deeply political question. As explored by our experts, becoming literate means being able to question the power structures and dynamics of the context in which you are literate – “Being able to relate to data … Read More

Climate Change Resilience in the Age of Data

#COP21Data Data-Pop Alliance, Agence française de développement (AFD), and the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) are co-organizing a COP21 side event, Climate Change Resilience in the Age of Data: Opportunities, Challenges, and Requirements on December 4th, from 08:30 to 19:30 at AFD Headquarters in Paris. — A COP21 Side Event — Friday, 4 December 2015 | 08:30 – 19:30 As … Read More

What is Data Literacy?

“What is Data Literacy?” is the first video in our new series on Big Data and development. In under two minutes, Cartoonist Manu takes us through a short history of what literacy is and was from the early 1800s through today. We explore the evolving definitions of data literacy – from drawing a cross to reading a newspaper to interacting … Read More

“Beyond Data Literacy: Reinventing Community Engagement and Empowerment in the Age of Data”

This White Paper was written by Rahul Bhargava, Erica Deahl, Emmanuel Letouzé, Amanda Noonan, David Sangokoya, and Natalie Shoup, in collaboration with Internews Center for Innovation and Learning and the MIT Media Lab Center for Civic Media. It was launched September 29, 2015 in New York City for the Beyond Data Literacy Workshop. The term ‘data literacy’ has gradually emerged as … Read More

“Quantifying the Data Deluge and the Data Drought”

This Technical Note was written by Martin Hilbert. Funding for this paper was generously provided by the World Bank. Data-Pop Alliance is currently developing this note as one of the three inputs for the World Bank’s 2016 World Development Report: “Digital Dividends” (forthcoming).  This paper investigates how the world’s Big Data capacity can be understood in terms of the world’s … Read More

Strengthening Capacity in Developing Countries: It’s time to get it right!

PARIS21, with the support of Data-Pop Alliance and other organizations, hosted this event in September 2015. Despite some progress over the last 15 years and increasing attention and recognition, the question on how to best build national capacity in terms of data production, dissemination, and use remains largely unanswered in many countries. As Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) put an unprecedented demand … Read More

digitising europe initiative 2015

#digitisingEU Data-Pop Alliance and the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications are partnering to organize a European-wide series of stakeholders’ dialogues on the ethics of Big Data over the next 6 months in major European cities. Our Academic Director, Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, and his debater, Andrew Keen, are kicking off the event November 12th in Berlin. Subsequent dialogues will be held in: … Read More

Beyond Data Literacy Workshop

Data-Pop Alliance hosted a Workshop at the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 . The Workshop, which included a White Paper Launch, was organized and funded by Data-Pop Alliance and Internews’ Center for Innovation & Learning, in partnership with PARIS21, the World Economic Forum (WEF), and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). The Workshop aimed to … Read More

“Big Data and Mobility: Migration and Transportation”

This Primer was written by Emmanuel Letouzé in partnership with and funded by the World Bank Leadership, Learning and Innovation Group. This primer (forthcoming) discusses the linkages between Big Data and mobility—specifically migration and transportation. Its main objective is to give its readers—World Bank staff, policymakers, researchers, development project managers and other professionals—an overview of the main features and parameters of … Read More

“Could Cell-Phone Data Analytics Help Poverty and Population Analysis?”

This Empirical Paper was written by Emmanuel Letouzé, Espen Beer Prydz, Emma Samman, and Emilio Zagheni. Funding for this paper was generously provided by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Socio-economic and demographic data even on such basic indicators as poverty levels and population size are notoriously lacking in poor countries. Increasingly, the intersection of Big Data and Official Statistics has received … Read More

“Big Data for Climate Change and Disaster Resilience: Realising the Benefits for Developing Countries”

This White Paper was written by a team of lead coauthors and contributors under the umbrella of Data-Pop Alliance, including Jesse Anttila-Hughes and Marc Levy as lead co-authors and Marion Dumas, Lindsey Jones, Gabriel Pestre, Yue Qiu, Emmanuel Letouzé, Simone Sala, Bessie Schwarz, Natalie Shoup, Elizabeth Tellman, and Patrick Vinck as contributors. Funding for this paper was generously provided by UK’s … Read More

PeaceHack Barcelona

International Alert, with partnership from Data-Pop Alliance, hosted this event in September 2015.   #peacehack, an initiative by International Alert, convenes technologists, designers, developers and peace practitioners to formulate ideas and solutions for identifying and stopping violent conflict in order build peace. The first #peacehack took place in September 2014 in London as part of International Alert’s inaugural Talking Peace Festival. Following … Read More

“Correcting for Sample Bias with Application to the Case of Senegal”

This Methodological Note was written by Emmanuel Letouzé, Gabriel Pestre, and Emilio Zagheni. Funding for this paper was generously provided by the World Bank Group. Data-Pop Alliance is currently developing this note as one of the three inputs for the World Bank’s 2016 World Development Report: “Digital Dividends” (forthcoming). This paper works on modelling and correcting sample bias in Call Detail Records … Read More

Build Peace 2015

Data-Pop Alliance organized a session a session on “Peace Data Analysis” at the second annual Build Peace conference hosted this past April in Nicosia, Cyprus.  Build Peace, a global community and annual conference, convenes technologists, activists, and practitioners to use technology and share ideas for peacebuilding and conflict prevention. The Peace Data Analysis session at Build Peace 2015, moderated by Data-Pop Alliance Co-Director … Read More

United Nations Sustainable Development Training: Modeling Flooding Vulnerability

Data-Pop Alliance authored a training module that launched as Learning Session for the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in June 2015 in New York City.  This training addresses the use of data in modeling, mapping, and monitoring vulnerability to climate change and includes case studies on Laos, Tanzania, Australia, South Africa, west African coastline, and New York, as well … Read More

Cartagena Data Festival

Data-Pop Alliance organized this event in April 2015 along with other partner organizations such as ODI, PARIS21, UNFPA, Africa Gathering, and many others.  The Cartagena Data Festival was a three-day event in April 2015 that brought together more than 300 researchers, experts, policy advocates, and data visualization designers, to convene on ideas, innovations, and partnerships that drive a data revolution. The event … Read More

“Moves on the Street: Classifying Crime Hotspots Using Aggregated Anonymized Data on People Dynamics”

This Empirical Paper was written by Andrey Bogomolov, Bruno Lepri, Jacopo Staiano, Emmanuel Letouzé, Nuria Oliver, Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, and Fabio Pianesi, in collaboration with the World Bank Group, BKF, and Telefónica.  Using a multimodal, data-driven, and place-centric approach, researchers were able to predict high- and low-concentrated crime hotspots throughout London. The findings, published in September 2015, make predictions using … Read More

Big Data and Human Rights AAAS SRHRL Conference

The AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Sciences) Science and Human Rights Coalition organized a 2-day conference on ‘Big Data and Human Rights’ on January 15 and 16 in Washington DC, where Data-Pop Alliance’s co-founders Emmanuel Letouzé and Patrick Vinck participated in panel discussion.  The AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition, created in January 2009, brings together scientists, engineers, and … Read More

Big Data for Peace Summer School at Leiden University

Data–Pop Alliance is official partner of the Big Data for Peace Summer School organized by the Center for Innovation’s Peace Informatics at Leiden University, in The Hague. The event took place in July 2015. The program of this 2nd edition of the Big Data Summer School is designed for professionals and students with interest in the impact of Big Data for the international peace and justice, including latest trends … Read More

“Big Data and Development: An Overview”

This White Paper was written by Emmanuel Letouzé in collaboration with SciDev.net and the World Bank Group. “Big Data and Development: An Overview” describes the fundamental nature of Big Data as an ecosystem and how it engages with society. The Big Data ecosystem is stimulated by a supply for data and analytics capacities and the demand for better, faster, and … Read More

“The Law, Politics and Ethics of Cell Phone Data Analytics”

This paper is a Data-Pop Alliance White Paper. It was written by Emmanuel Letouzé and Patrick Vinck, in collaboration with the World Bank Group and the D4D team. “The Law, Politics and Ethics of Cell Phone Data Analytics” examines Call Detail Records (CDRs), a record that includes among other data, the starting time of the call (or message), its duration, … Read More

“Official Statistics, Big Data, and Human Development”

This White Paper was written by Johannes Jütting and Emmanuel Letouzé, in collaboration with PARIS21.  The White Paper aims to contribute to the ongoing and future debate about the relationships between Big Data, official statistics and development—primarily by revisiting and reframing the terms and parameters of this debate. Most current discussions on Big Data mainly focus on if and how … Read More

Reflections on Big Data & the Sustainable Development Goals: Measuring & Achieving Development Progress in the Big Data Era

This Working Note was written by Emmanuel Letouzé and served as an input to the Big Data and SDGs Chapter of the 2015 Global Sustainable Development Report. Whether and how Big Data could loosely “contribute to the SDGs”—in other words, and in broad terms, the collision and intersection of these two hot topics in the public development discourse—has received significant … Read More

UNFPA Big Data Bootcamp

Data-Pop Alliance provided technical support to UNFPA’s Big Data Bootcamp that took place at Betahaus Barcelona in February 2015.  The Bootcamp was structured around a series of presentations, group work, collective brainstorming sessions, and networking events, using a ‘design thinking’ approach to help UNFPA craft its Big Data engagement strategy for the next few years. It was led by Data-Pop Alliance’s Advisory Board member Bruce Campbell, Head of … Read More