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UNDP STRATEGIC DATA INITIATIVES.
Data is in every aspect of our lives. Online, we read emails, store lists of contacts, like social media posts, and share photos and videos. Offline, we clock in and out of work, register for government services, and tell the doctor how we feel.
We simply consume data and leave traces of our own data in every minute of our day. That’s why it has been referred to as the new plutonium. It’s both incredibly powerful and dangerous if misused. If used responsibly and ethically, data is a precious resource that can scale up economic development and improve millions of lives.
Data has made monitoring and improving development projects better than ever. It informs policies and steers funding to focus on populations that need it the most.
DATA & UNDP’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION:
The UNDP Strategic Data Initiatives team, in coordination with the Global Policy Network and IT Management Office, focuses on formulating UNDP’s data strategy and data policies, while upholding the organisation’s data principles throughout the organisation’s digital transformation.
UNDP’s Data Principles
UNDP’s eight Data Principles outline a framework to manage data responsibly, while putting human rights and privacy at the core of all its activities for the benefit of people and planet.
UNDP’s Data Strategy Pillars
To operationalize its Data Principles, UNDP is developing a corporate data strategy to accelerate its transformation into a data-driven organisation.
Managing the data lifecycle through a value-driven governance approach is pivotal in UNDP to ensure reliable analytics.Managing the data lifecycle through a value-driven governance approach is pivotal in UNDP to ensure reliable analytics.
How are we approaching this?
By establishing: A Data Governance Group to provide advisory guidance on data-related issues; Policies and procedures to ensure the highest ethical standards and; A central structure to ensure data management.
Data is transforming development work. A strong data culture is critical to maximise on the value of collected data for actionable, evidence-based insights to achieve high impact.
How are we approaching this?
By organizing: Data training workshops to establish a baseline capacity on UNDP’s Data Principles; Weekly interactive learning sessions on data and analytics; A data community that shares learnings and best practices amongst development practitioners.
Better data enables better policies and evidence-based decision-making. Investing in new tools and technologies will allow UNDP's workforce to create secure workplaces, access curated data collections, and enable self-service capabilities for advanced analytics.
How are we approaching this?
By designing: A Unified Data Hub to create a central repository of UNDP's data; New tools and technologies to enable self-service capabilities for advanced analytics; A data catalogue to support data-driven decisions.
Leveraging partnerships is pivotal to aggregate the best available data from a variety of organizations and translate it into actionable, evidence-based insights to support policymaking for development.
How are we approaching this?
By leveraging: Development Data Partnership to harness non-traditional data sources; Global Data Access Initiative; Data collaboration: from local successes to global scale.
Data Support for Member States
Development Data Partnership
UNDP is a founding member of the Development Data Partnership. This World Bank-led initiative brings together multilateral financial institutions, development agencies, and technology companies through a dedicated portal that facilitates sourcing third-party data to support high-impact development projects.
LEARN MORENew Data Sources for Policymaking
UNDP is partnering with GIZ to develop a playbook for policymakers on the use of non-traditional data sources to inform decision-making. The playbook will be coupled with a dedicated policymakers’ community of practice that focuses on sharing their experiences, challenges, and success stories about the use of new data sources. The project is planned to be piloted in Mauritania and Moldova.
LEARN MOREData Support for Member States
National Data Strategy Development
A well-established data ecosystem is crucial to protect citizens’ rights, unlock public-private investments in sustainable digital infrastructure, and ensure the inclusion of vulnerable communities like women, rural communities, and marginalized groups. To fully leverage the potential of data, UNDP supports governments in developing their national data strategies, by providing advisory guidance on data management with a human rights and ethics lens, building capacities, and addressing cybersecurity risks.
Contact UsNational AI Readiness Assessment
We are building an AI Readiness Assessment to provide insights into member-states' level of AI understanding and capacity, implementation and evaluation. using indicators such as governance, ethics, infrastructure and transparency in user countries.
Contact UsUNDP Data Futures Platform
The Data Futures platform is a global knowledge driver that strives to empower decision-makers and development partners. It provides access to data, tools, and insights that advance integrated solutions to global challenges in line with the 2030 Agenda.
