By Tamara Johnson
5 August 2012
On 19 July 2012, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a panel discussion, “Improving capacities for evidence-based humanitarian decision-making,” as part of its humanitarian affairs segment on special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance. Ms. Valerie Amos, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator moderated the meeting.
Ms. Amos introduced the panel discussion, posing the questions of who owns data and how data will be used. She stated the objectives of the discussion were to strengthen evidence bases for decision making (especially in regards to who, where, and when to assist) and to strengthen data platforms for states, international bodies, humanitarian workers on the ground, etc. She also invoked the concept of inclusivity, stating that communities want to play a greater role in addressing their own crises.
H.E. Mr. Samuel Lesuron Poghisio, Minister of Information and Communication of Kenya, continued the panel, describing the Kenya Open Data Initiative. In Kenya, he said, the government now collects and publishes information, having realized the need for an integrated storage system of analytics material. This collection of open data provides information on social, health, economic, and other problems, helping to identify specific locations of need at district or county levels. This is a crucial tool in deciding how to allocate resources.
Open data leads to increased efficiency, but also a greater level of transparency and accountability, Mr. Poghisio continued. There is therefore some fear as to how the data will be used and by whom. Mr. Poghiso emphasized that there must be a deliberate decision on the part of governments to release data with strong political commitment and openness.
The Kenya Open Data Initiative has proved exceptionally useful in emergency response situations. For example, Kenyan citizens raised 7 million shillings of aid for Kenyans effected by drought in 2011, which the Open Data Initiative was able to help distribute to the places with the highest need for aid. SMS platforms and social media were utilized in raising the money.
The Under Secretary General posed the question of how the Ministry of Information and Communication was able to secure support for the Kenya Open Data Initiative against resistance from other ministries anxious that data transparency may evidence departmental shortcomings. Mr. Poghisio responded that the president was brought on board first, obliging ministries to follow suit and commit the requisite political will.
Next, Mr. Hans Rosling, Chairman of the Board, Gapminder, delivered a lively speech on data collection, processing, and presentation. He pointed out that the public ultimately effects many donor capacity countries’ decisions through voting patterns, so the presentation of data in comprehensible and clear forms is key to raising support. His organization, Gapmider.com, uses animated graphics to make data more accessible to voting populations of donor capacity countries.
The definition of “developing country” requires a radical reconceptualization based on data, rather than decades-old prejudices, Mr. Rosling continued. He also stressed that data systems must be open. He eschewed what he diagnosed as Database Hugging Disorder. “This is mine,” he satirized, “They treat it like their partner or their toothbrush: no one can use it.”
Mr. Rosling also emphasized the usefulness of SIM card data in assessing movements of people, citing post-earthquake Haiti as an example. Cell phone data was better there at indicating people’s relocation patterns then government agency estimations. Even the absence of cell phone coverage could be considered useful data, he insisted, as it may be one of the most compelling indicators of poverty available.
Mr. Patrick Meier, Director of Social Innovation, Qatar Foundation’s Computing Research Institute, then discussed new technologies for crisis response. He described innovative crowd sourcing, crowd seeding, and data mining techniques. These methods utilize volunteer time and labor to manually monitor hundreds of online sources, including social media, and SMS messages. The collected data is triangulated to approximate verification, yielding strong and usable results, assisting vitally in better decision making during confusing humanitarian crises. Mr. Meier emphasized the need to distribute these methods throughout the humanitarian community.
An interactive discussion followed, in which the representative from UNICEF pointed out the extreme difficulty of attaining data on the ground during operations regarding the results of an ongoing or past intervention.
The representative of Algeria raised questions regarding the indicators used to interpret on-the-ground situations and the risk factor of exposing resistance movements to visibility.
The representative of Sweden brought up the importance of data standardization, and the potential benefits of improved UN preparedness in ensuring that necessary technical platforms become available to all involved parties.
The representative from Syria raised questions regarding the legitimacy of data retrieved from social media and the potential to use such data as a tool against political opponents.
Mr. Poghisio agreed that data standardization is important and described a SMS cellular phone subsidy program in Kenya.
Mr. Rosling said that aid should be allocated to countries that don’t have frequent enough census cycles in order to collect and disseminate as much data as possible. In response to Syria’s concerns, he agreed that social media derived data is not necessarily good, but added that it is highly preferable to an absence of any data. Social media should be used consciously as a “grey area” in triangulation with other sources of information, and shouldn’t be ignored.
Mr. Rosling also pointed out that “diasporas are fairly well informed” and can be monitored on social media for accounts of on-the-ground developments in their countries of origin.
Mr. Meier countered Syria’s concerns with the concept of peer review, to which open data is exposed. In a vacuum of information, information from social media is infinitely preferable to nothing. Also, he noted, the political biases of social media users are often traceable via their social media accounts. He admitted that open data can have serious security repercussions and has to be used carefully.
Mr. Poghisio added that aid organizations, as well as governments, should be more forthcoming with their data. Data openness facilitates private sector entrepreneurs in addressing gaps between need and aid capacity. He also noted that news media should be better at understanding and honestly representing data to the public.
Canada then called attention to the importance of including data interpretation training in the humanitarian cycle.
Italy asked whether an increased focus on data might sometimes discourage needed action.
The Under Secretary-General brought up the importance of a balance between responding to evidence and the political priorities and agendas of donors.
El Salvador said that data openness empowers vulnerable groups and can support victims in humanitarian crises, and that citizen participation is critical. The representative also asked about the pros and cons of private sector involvement.
Norway questioned how it could be ensured that data would reach local decision makers.
Estonia pointed out the potential security dangers of “super databases.”
A participant via Twitter asked after do no harm analyses of open source data.
Mr. Meier addressed the latter point, explaining that his Digital Humanitarian Network refuses to produce data sets until satisfied as to a requesting organization’s plans. However, innovation has outpaced regulation. He noted the likelihood that agents of repressive regimes will try to hack humanitarian databases in order to target resistance. He said data security standards are being updated and do no harm practices being further honed.
Mr. Poghisio said that, in Kenya, government and private sectors now work together more closely thanks to open data sources. He added that data gathering, ideally, decreases levels of confusion and leads to better-informed activity and efficiency.
Mr. Rosling said that an advantage of data gathering is learning areas in which a donor lacks expertise and from which resources should be redistributed.
Mr. Meier concluded that the private sector has technical expertise in social media monitoring, pertaining to brand-related chatter, and that this expertise should be leveraged for humanitarian purposes.