This is a longer version of a talk on 'data in international development' that I gave on June 4, at the University of Malmö in Sweden.

1. D A T A I N I N T E R N A T I O N A L
D E V E L O P M E N T
Z A R A R A H M A N
@ Z A R A R A H
Inspired by this talk I gave at re:publica 2014 with Becky Kazansky, and
adapted from this talk for the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung.

2. •ICT4D
•#commisaid (communication is aid)
•open development
•D4D (data for development)
•data revolution / post-2015
•development 2.0
also known as…

3. M O B I L I Z I N G T H E
D ATA R E V O L U T I O N
F O R S U S TA I N A B L E
D E V E L O P M E N T
U N D A TA R E V O L U T I O N

4. D ATA R E V O L U T I O N : K E Y A R E A S
• accessible data
• sustainable development goals
• data innovation
• data landscape

5. A C C E S S I B L E D ATA
• open data
• data portals
• data literacy trainings
• transparency/accountability

6. S U S TA I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T G O A L S
• post-2015 goals: measuring progress
• involving poor + marginalised people
• openness on SDG process
• better service delivery
• demonstrating impact

7. D ATA I N N O VAT I O N
• new insights with big data
• developing new technologies
• innovation → quick, iterative, new ideas
• understanding needs

8. D ATA L A N D S C A P E
• building better data infrastructure
• “challenge of invisibility”
• communications - internal/external
• better decision making

9. … W H AT D O E S T H I S
M E A N ?

10. A I D T R A N S PA R E N C Y
H T T P : / / D E V T R A C K E R . D F I D . G O V. U K

11. C I T I Z E N G E N E R AT E D D ATA

12. C R I S I S M A P P I N G

13. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D
humanitarian open street map
http://hotosm.org/

14. B A L L O O N M A P P I N G
H T T P : / / M A P K N I T T E R . O R G

15. D ATA P O R TA L S

16. http://ifweweresyrian.org/
D ATA
V I S U A L I S AT I O N

17. D ATA V I Z : M I G R AT I O N
The Global Flow of People: http://www.global-migration.info/

18. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D
I D E N T I F I C AT I O N

19. A A D H A R , I N D I A
Read more on the privacy concerns: India's Big Brother Project,
by Malavika Jayaram

20. P R I VAT E S E C T O R I N V O LV E M E N T
Read more: on Tech Companies' responses to Nepal Earthquake

21. • “drones for good”
• access to internet
• mobile money
• satellites → disaster preparedness
• education (eg. one laptop per child)
• access to information
• …ETC.
…AND MANY MORE

22. C O N C E R N S

23. U S E F U L N E S S

24. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D
Google Trends (captured June 4, 2015)

25. " D I S I N F O R M AT I O N V I S U A L I S AT I O N "
Read more: Disinformation Visualization: How to lie with datavis, by
Mushon Zer-Aviv

26. - T I M E T O L I S T E N , H E A R I N G P E O P L E O N T H E E N D O F
I N T E R N AT I O N A L A I D - 2 0 1 2
"Everywhere, people tell stories about aid
agencies that came to their area, asked lots of
questions...and then disappeared."
D O U B L E S TA N D A R D S

27. I D E N T I T Y

28. - A N K A R A , T U R K E Y - J A N 2 0 1 5 , R E U T E R S
“Since December, Syrians must be registered in
order to get access to free healthcare and
schooling outside of camps.”
C O N S E N T

29. - J A N 2 2 N D , 2 0 1 4 D I R E C TO R O F U N H C R ’ S D I V I S I O N
O F P R O G R A M M E S U P P O RT, M A L AW I .
"Improving the accuracy of registration
data is a priority for UNHCR in our efforts to
make a positive impact… it is also of
significant importance to host
governments."
R E P U R P O S I N G T H E D ATA

30. – A L - A R A B I YA A R T I C L E , J A N 1 2 2 0 1 5
“Turkey has provided some 1.5 million
Syrian refugees with biometrics IDs...the IDs
will be used in the provision of aid, job
offers, education + social opportunities.
The database will also be used to
identify those who have been involved
in criminal activity”
M A L I C I O U S U S E S ( M AY B E )

31. “Prominent dev economist calling for
US govt intelligence systems to be
made available to countries for
Sustainable Development Goals
delivery. #datarevolution”
- F R O M T W I T T E R
R I C H - P O O R D O U B L E S TA N D A R D S

32. - D I A L I N G D O W N R I S K S , B Y H I B A H H U S S A I N F O R
T H E N E W A M E R I C A F O U N D AT I O N ( A U G U S T 2 0 1 3 )
“a fifth (18%) of participants reported that
someone else had inadvertently received
their IVR or SMS containing AIDS and HIV
information”
T E C H N I C A L E R R O R S

33. ● Subjectivisation: beneficiaries = passive data subjects
● Consent: different meanings and importance
● Privacy rights: geographic locations
● Technical literacy: practitioners + beneficiaries
● Power disparities: strengthened with use of
technology
● Technical design problems: verification/audit?
I S S U E S

34. WAY S F O R WA R D

35. Appropriate use of technology- sometimes, tech
isn't the answer…
(sometimes, maybe WE should say no…)

36. Data minimisation as standard - known purposes only

37. Agreement on and
implementation of
responsible data
practices [read more]
http://responsibledata.io

38. Education and
awareness raising
everyone works with data!

39. Increasing data literacy
among practitioners +
affected communities
http://schoolofdata.org

40. support the free and open internet

41. in conclusion…

42. N O is neutral
data
app
technology

43. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D
Dystopian theories of change
http://techtohuman.com, by Lucy Chambers

44. thoughtful innovation
(just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should)

45. thank you for listening!
mail@zararah.net
@zararah