Launching Data conscious

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Welcome to the Data Conscious blog! This is the first entry in a new blog series looking at the application of data science to the monitoring and evaluating of humanitarian action. The blog will cover topics like:

  • Big data: how can it be practically used to help measure the results of
    humanitarian action?
  • AI and predictive analytics: what can they contribute to the evaluation
    of humanitarian operations?
  • Data management systems: how can we improve our systems to better measure
    results across programmes, communities, countries and organisations?
  • The digital divide: is the digitalisation of aid accountability inherently unfair?
  • Responsible data management: what ethical principles need to be followed to ensure data analytics do no harm in humanitarian contexts?
  • …and much more besides

Blog entries are authored by me, Neil Dillon, founder and director of Data Conscious, as well as guest authors. If you have an idea for a blog entry you’d like to submit, just click on the button at the top of the main blog page, and we can follow it up from there.

Why the blog series?

In spring 2020, I launched a survey of monitoring and evaluation commissioners and MEAL managers working in humanitarian organisations (including UN agencies, bilateral donors, NGOs and the Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement). I also asked humanitarian workers and data scientists to participate using LinkedIn and twitter. Using just one announcement and one follow-up post, I received 120 responses, all within a month of the survey launch.

The survey sought to understand how much interest is out there for a free online platform bringing together humanitarian M&E and data science expertise. It asked three pretty simple questions:

  1. Are you interested in the potential of data science to improve monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian action?
  2. Do you already use any online resources to learn about data science and its applications?
  3. Which of the following would be useful for you? (multiple answers possible)
  • A blog where I can learn about data science and M&E
  • A library of resources about data science and M&E
  • Advice on how I can use data science responsibly for humanitarian M&E
  • A site where I can find data scientists and analysts to hire
  • A place to showcase my own work to the humanitarian sector
  • None of the above
  • Something else?

 The results were pretty clear:

Of course, 100% participants answered yes to the first question. Why complete the survey if you’re not already interested, right? And in case you’re wondering, everyone who started the survey also completed it – all three questions(!)
 
So in this case, what’s more interesting is who completed the survey in the first place. The answer is that humanitarian M&E practitioners heavily dominated the participant pool:
 
For sure, this may be related to the types of people who saw the posts on LinkedIn and Twitter: having led ALNAP’s M&E workstream for 4 years, and conducted humanitarian evaluations for over a decade now, my network is obviously biased in the direction of humanitarian M&E practitioners. But it is still clear that there is a degree of interest among these actors in the application of data science to their field. Given this, it’s interesting that, in answer to question 2, 60% stated they don’t already use any online resources to learn about data science and its applications. This suggests either a gap in the available resources tailored towards these users, or a need for greater sharing of pre-existing resources.
 
This brings us to the last question: what did participants say would be most useful foir them. Here the answers are also fairly clear, with a very strong top three emerging from the list:
 
 
The Data Conscious website will start by serving the top three needs listed here by providing:
  • A library of resources on data science and humanitarian M&E
  • A blog on data science applications to humanitarian M&E
  • An avenue for consulting services regarding the use of data science to humanitarian M&E
It will also build the first network of interested humanitarians, M&E professionals and data scientists, to facilitate learning and contact between these communities for the greater good of humanitarian action.
 
How can you engage?
 
I hope you find the articles posted here useful, particularly as a way to navigate the many technical resources already out there. If you have any questions or suggestions for the blog, don’t hesitate to get in touch using the Contact Us link at the bottom of this page.  
 
I will be posting articles on a regular basis. To be notified of new posts, just register your interest using the Join the Network button on the homepage, or look out for tweets from @data_conscious or posts on the Data Conscious LinkedIn page.

I will also be searching for contributors from the Data Conscious network and beyond. So if you have an idea for a blog post, just click on the button on the main blog page, and we can start shaping your blog entry right away.
 
I look forward to hearing from you!!