Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) is pleased to announce the launch of the Data Interoperability and Governance (DIG) program. Supported by the Gates Foundation, this two-year initiative will strengthen the use of agricultural data for policy development, investment, and program decision-making in Africa, focusing initially on Senegal and engaging moderately in other countries.

To support DIG in strengthening data use in agriculture, we will collaborate with the 50×2030 initiative, a multi-agency partnership working to close the agricultural data gap and transform national data systems in 50 countries by 2030. As a key partner in the 50×2030 initiative, DG will lead data use efforts in Senegal by embedding experts in ministries, supporting inter-ministerial collaboration, strengthening the interoperability of administrative and survey datasets, and developing tools and governance mechanisms that enable the use of data for evidence-based policymaking. DG will also provide flexible support to other countries participating in the 50×2030 initiative, helping relevant governments and partners respond quickly to new opportunities for effective data use.

Key activities of the DIG program include:

• Conducting a situational analysis of Senegal’s data ecosystem to ensure the use of 50×2030 aligns with local policy priorities, drawing on our prior experience in Senegal with the Hewlett AD3 project.
• Building trust and capacity within and across ministries to foster sustained data sharing and decision-making.
• Supporting interoperability and joint analysis of 50×2030 surveys with administrative and other datasets.
• Providing rapid response, technical, and policy support to the other 50×2030 countries based on demand.
• Producing case studies, prototypes, and convenings that explore the impact of Earth Observation (EO) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the deployment and use of agricultural surveys.
• Fostering knowledge exchange and cross-programmatic learning with the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), who are presently leading data use activities in Sierra Leone.

Our initial assessment of Senegal’s agricultural data ecosystem under the 50×2030 Initiative revealed that while the country has matured in data production, it faces a systemic bottleneck in data usage and dissemination. In addition, while private sector platforms exist, they are sometimes underutilized, which often leads to the development of new tools that inadvertently duplicate existing systems. Beyond infrastructure, the assessment points to a human capital challenge that limits the transition from statistics to strategic intelligence. 

To unlock the value of this data, the assessment proposes a roadmap that aims to transform Senegal’s agricultural administration from a producer of annual statistics into a hub of real-time strategic intelligence. It will be built on four pillars: (1) Operational Expertise, deploying analysts and hybrid teams equipped with AI capabilities to cross-reference historical data with real-time weather and market signals; (2) A ‘Data-to-Policy’ Culture, institutionalizing a mentorship program for mixed pairs of technicians and policymakers while integrating granular data from Producer Organizations ; (3) Technological Sovereignty, ensuring full national ownership of Earth Observation and AI prediction models with a standardized “dual-track” publication calendar (Provisional vs. Official) validated by the Statistical Visa; and (4) A Foundational Interoperability Layer to reactivate the not operationalized Interoperability Framework.

This program builds on DG’s two decades of experience in West Africa and deepens our partnerships with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank, GPSDD, and others. Together, we’re ensuring agricultural data is more accessible, usable, and impactful – helping to improve food security and livelihoods across the region.

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) continues to evolve alongside emerging technologies, making it harder to understand its full scale and impact. According to UNFPA and UN Women, the prevalence of TFGBV in the Asia-Pacific region is extremely high, with some studies indicating that up to 88% of women in the region have experienced online violence. 

In response, Development Gateway has been working on a program to address TFGBV in the Philippines, known as the National Models for Women’s Safety Online (NMWSO). The initiative seeks to address threats to women’s engagement and leadership in digital spaces. Alongside our partner IREX, the team has been working with public and private sector actors in Kenya and the Philippines to document, test, and advance system-level responses to prevent and mitigate online abuse targeting women leaders.   

In this blog, we will share our findings from our work in the Philippines. 

The Philippines’ online safety model: Progressive laws, limited recourse 

In 2025, we conducted a Landscape Assessment in the Philippines to understand the online safety models, examining laws, reporting mechanisms, and platform regulation and accountability. According to the Assessment, data on TFGBV remains inconsistent, fragmented, and rarely disaggregated – limiting policymakers, platforms, and support organizations’ ability to respond effectively.

Our findings revealed that the Philippines has progressive laws that protect women and children in online spaces from individual perpetrators, such as the Safe Spaces Act (RA 11313) and the  Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC). However, platform regulation is comparatively weaker, reflecting a different regulatory approach from the EU, UK, and Australian models, which place stronger obligations on platforms to ensure their products are safe for users. Furthermore, reporting and recourse mechanisms can be challenging for survivors to navigate.  

Respondents to our study reported challenges in seeking accountability and justice in response to TFGBV. Survivors rely on platforms where the abuse was perpetrated for help, and while explicit images are often taken down quickly, responses to non-image-based abuse – especially in local languages – face prolonged delays. In addition, those who do pursue criminal or civil cases face complex legal procedures, a slow-moving justice system, and limited knowledge of TFGBV within some judicial and law enforcement agencies.

We worked with the public and private sectors to develop recommendations based on our findings to improve online safety in the Philippines. Among them were recommendations to upskill law enforcement agencies and improve services and outcomes for survivors. Additionally, we recommended that Safety By Design (SbD) be considered to address risks before launching digital products. Both the private and public sectors welcomed this approach as a proactive way of creating a safer internet without the risk of over-regulation or undermining free speech and innovation.      

Safety by Design is a concept that originated with industrial safety efforts in the early 19th century, developing into formal, systematic methodologies by the 1990s. The methodology encompasses systematically considering risks before releasing a product, an approach championed by the eSafety Commissioner in Australia. Led by IREX, NMWSO designed a Safety by Design curriculum and facilitator guide with the aim of equipping  mid-level technology-based product professionals with knowledge and skills to effectively and sustainably implement and integrate SbD principles throughout their product life cycles. The guide can be accessed here.

Incentivising proactive safety measures through the Safety-by-Design Grand Challenge 

To translate prevention principles into practice, the NMWSO program convened a Safety-by-Design Grand Challenge with the private sector in the Philippines. The Grand Challenge encouraged platforms and start-ups to embed safety considerations directly into their designs, and to identify and address potential risks before harm occurs, including exploring design features that reduce opportunities for abuse, strengthen user reporting and moderation, and improve transparency and accountability mechanisms.

Through the Grand Challenge, the participating platform developers demonstrated a wide range of solutions, from community safety and emergency reporting tools to women-led livelihood marketplaces, embedding privacy, safety, and user empowerment at their core. It also served as a crucial venue for interaction among major industry players that highlighted their ongoing efforts aligned with the SbD principles. Grab, a ride-hailing app, publicly committed to embedding SbD in driver training and creating safer, women-centered communities both online and offline. Similarly, Globe, a telecommunications company, emphasized that trust and safety must be treated as a shared, non-negotiable responsibility and a whole-of-nation mission. 

The discussions included the public sector entities, such as the Philippine Police Anti-Cyber Crime Prevention Group, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), and private sector stakeholders that support prevention as a driver of innovation, trust, and long-term user engagement rather than a regulatory burden.  

The success of the Grand Challenge highlights the potential for public-private partnerships to advance proactive safety standards. For the Philippines, this collaborative model presents a scalable strategy to strengthen existing legal frameworks with forward-looking, design-based protections.

Beyond this, the education sector also plays a big role in mainstreaming the SbD lens within the tech industry and shaping the country’s major future digital ecosystem. The NMWSO program collaborated with several leading universities offering courses on software development, technology innovation, or AI governance to embed SbD into their curricula. By embedding SbD principles into education, these institutions are helping build a pipeline of future developers, innovators, and leaders who view safety, privacy, and human-centered design as foundations for technology development. 

As Senator Risa Hontiveros, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, emphasized at NMWSO’s 16-Day Campaign against GBV event, laws and policies must keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies. She noted that this is only possible if civil society, the private sector, and individuals collectively demand more secure technologies, highlighting the importance of the SbD approach in ensuring that prevention is embedded throughout the technology development process. 

By integrating the Philippines’ robust legal protections with preventive frameworks, the Philippines can create safer, more equitable digital spaces. Moreover, implementing SbD principles is feasible, even within the resource constraints faced by both government and private-sector entities.