Despite the abundance of information accessible today, significant disparities exist in the availability, access, and use of data worldwide. This disparity is especially evident among low-income countries and has the potential to widen the gap between rich and poor nations. The World Development Report 2021 from the World Bank explores this issue in depth, outlining strategies to harness data for better lives.
The Social Contract for Data
The report emphasizes the importance of extracting more value from data while simultaneously protecting people from harm and ensuring equity in access and representation. Data-creating and data-using parties must collaborate securely and effectively. Underpinning this collaboration are three cornerstones: value, equity, and trust.
Data as a Force for Public Good
Public intent data is crucial for many government functions. This includes data collected with the intention of serving public good through the design, monitoring and evaluation of public programs and policies. Public intent data plays a vital role in holding governments accountable, empowering individuals, improving service delivery and prioritizing scarce resources.
Infinite Possibilities with Data
Repurposing and integrating public and private intent data offer excellent opportunities. Such integration can provide real-time, granular insights, fill data gaps and overcome single data type limitations.
Connecting the World Through Data Infrastructure
Data infrastructure is critical for equitable data access, particularly for poor people and poor countries. This report stresses the need for robust data infrastructures across borders.
Data Governance
The role of data governance is twofold: controlling risks and capturing value. Effective data governance ensures the security, integrity, and protection of data and systems. It also establishes rules and technical standards that allow for more effective data exchange and integration.
Building Integrated National Data Systems
An Integrated National Data System (INDS) is an essential tool for leveraging data’s power. The INDS framework allows countries to share data among national participants safely and equitably.
Challenges and Concerns in Data Utilization
The explosion of data platform businesses has raised concerns about competition and brought new regulatory challenges. Only a small percentage of low-income countries make their data openly available. Underinvestment in public intent data systems is rife, with only half the countries having a fully funded statistical plan as of 2019. Notably, data on women and girls are notably lacking. Making data more accessible also increases the risk of misuse, including misinformation and attacks.
Data Gaps in India
India monitors only 54 out of the 130 SDG indicators. Although the overall number of monitored indicators has increased, India has dropped four indicators from its tracking list. The report also noted a significant issue with the assessment of global poverty due to the absence of data on poverty from India.
Filling the Gap: India’s Initiatives
India has implemented policies such as the National Data Sharing & Accessibility Policy (NDSAP) and the Open Government Data Platform to have an enabling environment for non-sensitive data sharing for scientific, economic, and developmental purposes.
The Way Forward
Inclusive and widespread participation is vital for harnessing data’s potential. The perspectives of poor people, often absent from global data governance debates, need to receive utmost consideration. International cooperation to harmonize regulations and coordinate policies is also called for, so the value of data can be harnessed globally to ensure a green, resilient and inclusive recovery.
Last Modified: February 11, 2024