"Official Statistics, Big Data, and Human Development"

“Official Statistics, Big Data, and Human Development”

Population 2021
(Millions)

HDI Score
2019 (Max. 1)

SDG Score
2020-2021
(Max. 100)

Gender Inequality
Index Score
(Max. 1)

Internet Inclusivity
Index 2022
(100 countries)

Sources: 1. World Bank (2021), 2. UNDP (2019), 3. Sustainable Development Report (2021), 4. UNDP (2019), 5. Economist Impact (2022).

Overview

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 it can contribute to producing faster, cheaper, more frequent and different development indicators for better policies. This paper takes a different starting point. It emphasizes the fundamental political nature of the debate, encouraging us to go and think beyond issues of measurement and stressing the centrality of politics beyond policy.

The paper argues that, in fact, Big Data needs to be seen as an entirely new ecosystem comprising new data, new tools and methods, and new actors motivated by their own incentives, and should stir serious strategic rethinking and rewiring on the part of the official statistical community.

Projects

Strengthening of Technical Capacities in Big Data for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

This project developed with the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), strengthened the technical capacities of government officials in Latin America and the Caribbean to take advantage of Big Data for sustainable development and official statistics. During the first phase of the project, through an exploratory study (see Publication below), we analyzed the current state of the infrastructure, institutional framework, regulatory framework, capacities and use cases of Big Data for the generation of public policies in 5 LAC countries: Bolivia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Peru.

The second phase focused on developing four capacity building workshops between June 2022 and March 2023.

Introduction to Big Data for Sustainable Development
Big Data and Poverty Analysis for Sustainable Development
Big Data and Health Analysis for Sustainable Development
Big Data, Security and Violence for Sustainable Development

This training itinerary provided participants with a comprehensive knowledge of the key concepts, the necessary tools and the main challenges of Big Data for sustainable development, with a special emphasis on the applicability of these data sources for statistical purposes.

Support to the Inter-American Development Bank in the Identification of Technological and Big Data Tools for Current, Ongoing, and New IDB Projects

This project aimed to support the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in preparing for the IDB Andean Summit event held on November 29, 2018, in Quito, Ecuador. A study was generated that identified new Big Data tools being developed and/or used by academic institutions, international organizations, and the public or private sector that would concretely benefit current and future IDB projects. Based on DPA’s experience, the consultancy’s goal was to contribute to the IDB’s knowledge, identification, and capabilities regarding available technological tools that provided observable material improvements at different stages of current or future projects. The study focused on IDB projects in five countries in the region: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.