Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

Overview

Representing the entire continent of South America and the Caribbean Region, this region encompasses geographies ranging from the vast Amazon rainforest to tiny, dispersed islands. With well over half a billion people, it is also home to an impressive array of Indigenous peoples and diversity, although the region has also struggled with the legacy of European colonialism. While LAC includes some of the world’s largest economies (notably Brazil), it also faces a wide variety of development challenges. These include social and economic vulnerability, ever-increasing wealth stratification, political instability, and the threat of climate change, which is especially harmful to island nations.

Projects

“Eureka Moment: Feminism, Culture and AI to Reimagine Our Futures” Workshops

During these 2 hour sessions, we leverage the best of our experience conducting the trilingual Book and Movie Club “Technology Through Feminist Lenses” to conduct an interactive workshop titled “Eureka Moment: Feminism, Culture, and AI to Reimagine Our Futures”. The ultimate goal is to foster critical and transformative dialogue about artificial intelligence (AI) and technology through an intersectional feminist perspective by leveraging the Eureka methodology. The workshop has been presented at several international events, including MozFest 2023, the Code for All Summit 2023, CryptoRave 2024, Fórum da Internet No Brasil (FIB14) 2024, ACM FAccT 2024, and the Global Digital Development Forum (GDDF) 2024.

Disarming Disinformation: How Migrants Fall Victim to Disinformation

To fill the information gap brought on by complex migratory processes, poor institutional communication, and lack of trust in authorities, Latin American migrant communities transiting through Mexico on their way to the USA often resort to the use of social media and instant messaging apps. While sometimes a source of helpful information, these are also polluted with disinformation and scams, ranging from alleged “opening” days/hours of Mexico’s northern border, to fallacious legal advice, to false job and visa offerings. In collaboration with Conexión Migrante, VerificadoMX, PolitiFact and The Associated Press, the DPA team investigated the business models that leverage and finance the disinformation that can put migrants’ lives at risk. The investigation was published by multiple media outlets, including our partner Proceso.

Feminist Urban Design: A Gender-Inclusive Framework for Cities

Data-Pop Alliance (DPA), in collaboration with Open Data Watch (ODW), was tasked with creating a pioneering gender data framework for urban environments, commissioned by the City Hub and Network for Gender Equity (CHANGE). This framework was intended for implementation across CHANGE’s network cities, starting with Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Nairobi, and Quezon City as the initial participants. Capitalizing on DPA’s and ODW’s specialized knowledge in data analytics and gender-focused research, the project’s core objective was to provide a robust measurement of gender equity within varied city landscapes. The project’s deliverables included: A comprehensive blueprint outlining the essential requirements and stages for cities to prepare and deploy the framework; The framework itself, featuring specific dimensions and indicators that assessed both the processes and physical form of the cities concerning gender equity; and a specialized data collection tool, complete with training materials, to enable cities to gather and process all necessary data to effectively utilize the framework. This multi-faceted approach ensured that the participating cities were equipped with the knowledge, tools, and methods required to drive meaningful progress in the realm of urban gender equity.

Book Club: “Counting Femicide with Catherine D’Ignazio”

This Book Club, featured the book “Counting Femicide: Data Feminism in Action” by Catherine D’Ignazio, which documents the creative, intellectual, and emotional labor of data activists across the Americas as they seek to fill the institutional gap in counting femicides and gender-related killings. The Book Club facilitated a safe space for discussion with the author herself during 8 live discussion sessions. Both the events and the by-weekly summaries were available for participants in English, but also in Spanish and Portuguese, thus expanding the reach of the book. This initiative gathered over 500 participants from across the globe, including academics, activists, journalists, policymakers, planners, and citizens interested in Data Feminism, feminicides, gender equality and activism.

Tracking Policy Influence Using Gender-Based Violence as a Case Study: Assessing the Overton Platform

DPA, in collaboration with ILDA, conducted a case study examining the evidence available on the Overton Platform regarding the influence of research on gender-based violence in policy. Overton is touted as the world’s most comprehensive searchable index of policy documents, encompassing research, briefs, reviews, or reports aimed at influencing policy. The platform aggregates information from over a thousand sources spanning more than 180 countries and regularly updates its database. It meticulously analyzes each document to pinpoint references, individuals, and key concepts, linking them to relevant news stories, academic research, think tank publications, and other policy-related content. Through its contribution to the Overton project’s aims and research objectives, DPA aimed to identify evidence that could ultimately catalyze positive change in addressing gender-related challenges.

Design and Development of the Central Database & CRM for Abogadas MX’s “Standards for Diversity and Inclusion within Law Firms in Mexico” Program

Phase 1: DPA, in collaboration with Abogadas MX, led the design and development of the Central Database and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for the “Standards for Diversity and Inclusion in Law Firms in Mexico” Program. This included the creation of a survey to collect gender-focused data from law firms. This initiative enabled the organization to systematically gather and manage information from specific law firms about gender equality and the implemented policies, facilitating the generation of recommendations aimed at improving internal policies to address gender inequality issues and promote the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in the legal sector.

Increasing and Strengthening the Availability of Digital Sexual and Reproductive Health Services with Youth-Friendly Approaches in Latin America

In partnership with Fòs Feminista, DPA conducted a consultancy with the objective of updating Fòs Feminista‘ subject knowledge, with a focus on digital sexual and reproductive health services implemented by their partners in the LATAM, Africa, and Asia regions, as well as to generate an analysis of the different strategies and methodologies used to apply a youth-friendly approach in delivering sexual and reproductive health services digitally.

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation Data Feminism Grant

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF) awarded DPA’s Data Feminism Program a twelve-month, $300,000 grant to support our work advancing intersectional, data-driven research, training and advocacy to continue fostering gender equality across Latin America and the Caribbean, the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2023, the grant was renewed for $400,000 to continue supporting existing and new Data Feminism Initiatives, including the Book and Movie Club, “Technology Through Feminist Lenses.”

Capacity-Building Workshop on the Analysis and Application of Quantitative and Qualitative Data

DPA developed a four week training on qualitative and quantitative analysis and tools for the members of the Mexican CSO EQUIS Justicia para las Mujeres. The training included different sessions, with online and in-person guided tutorials conducted by DPA facilitators. In addition to showcasing different techniques and tools for data analysis, use cases based on real projects from the organization were leveraged to discuss specific topics. The content was divided into two workshops: the first focused on practical techniques and tutorials on data collection, storage and processing; and the second focused on how to incorporate basic notions of statistics, database reading, and use of visualizations.

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.

EmpoderaData

EmpoderaData built upon the success of the “Quantitative Step” (Q-Step) program, which was developed as a strategic response to the shortage of quantitatively-skilled social science graduates in the United Kingdom. Together, University of Manchester and Data-Pop Alliance expanded upon the program’s excellent results, exploring this model in the Global South (specifically in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia) as the “EmpoderaData Project”. This initiative aimed to promote a virtuous cycle of social transformation by fostering data literacy skills applied to addressing our society’s most pressing issues within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Professional Workshop “Big Data, Sustainable Development, and Climate Change”

This series of workshops organized by Data-Pop Alliance, in coordination with GIZ and GIZ Colombia, addressed key terms, necessary tools, and challenges in the Big Data and sustainable development landscape, focusing on the applicability of these information sources in projects related to climate change adaptation and mitigation. This in-person workshop provided an introduction to the “3 C’s of Big Data” as a basis for the development of a Project Lab, enabling participants to incorporate new sources of information in the development of climate change projects.

Technical Workshop “Web Data Collection and Analysis”

In November 2019, Data-Pop Alliance, in partnership with ECLAC and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), conducted its first technical workshop in Rio de Janeiro, tailored specifically to the needs of the staff at IBGE. The goal was to help them to build and strengthen internal capacities to leverage web data collection and analysis in their projects, specifically by delving into web scraping and API’s interaction techniques. The workshop emerged as part of the broader training program carried out with ECLAC in the Latin America and Caribbean region: “Big Data for Measuring the Digital Economy”.

Ciudata Segura

Increasingly, data and information are being promoted as powerful tools to understand and prevent crime and violence. However, there are key questions that remain largely unanswered: Why is crime clustering in certain neighborhoods? Why do certain individuals turn to crime while others do not?

Ciudata Segura, leveraging sophisticated analyses of urban crime and violence in cities across Latin America and the Caribbean, has examined the local determinants of crime and the role of impunity and social networks in driving criminal behavior. This analysis involves collecting and analyzing both official and non-official data sources to produce public policy recommendations and action plans.

Funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and developed in collaboration with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), Fundazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), the MIT Media Lab, and the Citizens Crime Commission, the project began in 2017. It has resulted in close coordination with local governments and stakeholders, and led to the creation of roadmaps, data audits, and capability assessments to determine further interventions. Additionally, the project has produced research instruments for analysis, including a series of surveys and the creation of a visualization tool.

Professional Training Program “Big Data for Measuring the Digital Economy” in 5 Countries

In partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), DPA offered a series of workshops focused on “Big Data and the Digital Economy” in the Latin American and Caribbean region. These workshops were designed for development practitioners, policymakers, and researchers. Five editions were delivered in: Santiago de Chile (March 2016), São Paulo (September 2017) —in partnership with Cetic.br—, Mexico City (October 2017) —in collaboration with the National Digital Strategy (EDN) program and the MIT Sloan School of Management—, Santo Domingo (April 2019), and Bogotá (May 2019) —in partnership with DANE.

DataMex

Data-Pop Alliance and Oxfam México formed a partnership through “DataMex”, with the goal of advancing research and the application of Big Data for sustainable development in Mexico. This agreement, signed in late 2018, has since led to a consultancy and scoping study to identify the areas in which Big Data could be employed to better understand inequalities that have not been analyzed in depth. The resulting project was “Mundos Paralelos“, which focused on areas lacking in understanding and new perspectives that could provide critical insights into the work of Oxfam Mexico.

Characterizing and Analyzing Urban Dynamics In Bogota (from the Paper Series: “Big Data to Address Global Development Challenges”)

Four research papers were developed in collaboration with and funded by the French Development Agency (AFD) between 2016 and 2019 as part of a joint program with Data-Pop Alliance and research partners, titled “Strengthening the Evidence-Base for Leveraging Big Data to Address Global Development Challenges”. This paper, “Characterizing and Analyzing Urban Dynamics in Bogota”, utilized open data and mobile phone records to identify physical characteristics and socioeconomic conditions in the city which have an impact on crime proliferation. The results indicated that urban diversity and natural surveillance theories play a significant role in the proliferation of crime, and this knowledge can be exploited in urban planning to prevent crime. Key research partners included Fundazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) and the MIT Media Lab.

Assessing the Strategies to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Haiti

DPA, in support of Haiti’s Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF), and in close collaboration with the UNDP Haiti and the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE), has conducted a consultation with the objective of establishing a performance assessment of the achievement of the MDGs, deviations from targets, their justifications, and lessons learned. Additionally, the study measured the progress towards the achievement of the SDGs and proposed priority provisions and mechanisms for Haiti’s advancement towards them.

National Big Data Strategy for Colombia

The MIT Media Lab and DPA provided technical assistance to iNNpulsa—Colombia’s entrepreneurship and innovation agency—and to the Department of National Planning (DNP), in the design and development of the country’s first national Big Data strategy, which was presented to the President of Colombia in 2020. After intensive research, DPA produced nine diagnostic documents that were used to identify priority areas and specific actions that generated the necessary synergies to achieve four strategic objectives of the project:

(1) Strengthen the Big Data ecosystem in the country;
(2) Develop analytical capabilities for greater and better use of data;
(3) Foster the digital economy; and
(4) Promote the adoption of Big Data solutions and AI for public administration.

Book and Movie Club: “Networks’ Capitalism: Addiction, Disinformation and Violence”

This Book and Movie Club, a joint effort between Eureka and DPA, focused on addiction, disinformation, and violence stemming from social media in the context of Latin America. The Club featured two documentaries, a fiction movie, and a book related to the topic that addressed questions such as, Does monetization imply addition? How is social media used to spread hatred and violence? What is surveillance capitalism, and how does it relate to the business model of Internet platforms? The Club concluded with a panel discussion led by Paula Villarreal (Data Scientist & Full Stack Engineer), Matías González (Observatorio Legislativo del CELE), and Julie Ricard (Eureka Founder), and moderated by Ivette Yáñez (DPA).