Posts focused on Strategic Advisory Services

Corruption hampers development, undermines fair competition, and erodes social trust crucial for sustaining democratic systems. Addressing this issue requires innovative solutions that disrupt opaque and exploitative power dynamics; it’s under this idea that HackCorruption was formed.

Senior Associate Annie Kilroy explores the limitations in how digital transformation has been measured and outlines recommendations for how to better assess the value and impact of digital transformation.

DG has been co-designing data visualizations with partners and stakeholders for over a decade. Thinking about the ways people process information is crucial to developing easy-to-understand data visualizations. In this post, we examine best practices for incorporating user-centered design into our data visualization outputs.

For as long as Development Gateway has specialized in data, we have also specialized in data visualizations. In that time, we have discovered the pitfalls and learned ways that data visualizations can increase data use. In this post, we look specifically at selecting the right type of visualization for the story you want to tell.

Through dozens of implementations across a variety of sectors, countries & contexts, DG has seen firsthand what makes data, technology & evidence effective, and what can contribute to dormant systems filled with incomplete and unused data. Based on our history, relationships, and perspectives, we realized that DG had a lot to say.

If an organization with an existing culture of learning and adaptation gets lucky, and an innovative funding opportunity appears, the result can be a perfect storm for changing everything. The Results Data Initiative was that perfect storm for DG. RDI confirmed that simply building technology and supplying data is not enough to ensure data is actually used. It also allowed us to test our assumptions and develop new solutions, methodologies & approaches to more effectively implement our work.

At DG, we pride ourselves in being a learning organization – focusing on continuous improvement and knowledge-building. We support this goal through a number of mechanisms, including holding post-mortem meetings at the end of every project. A post-mortem is a common method for project teams to review different perspectives on what went well, challenges faced, and what lessons could improve future projects.

Data-driven decision-making was considered a positive norm across countries researched during the UNICEF Data for Children pilot process. Ideally, the national data use cycle would consist of: (i) evidence-based planning; (ii) implementing programs according to plans; (iii) monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and reporting; (iv) analyzing data; and (v) making appropriate planning or program adjustments.

How do conflict, climate change, and natural disasters overlap -- and how can policymakers mitigate these challenges? The Complex Emergencies and Political Stability in Asia (CEPSA) program...