Innovating for the Data Revolution

The next “big idea” in technology and data for development will not happen in a vacuum. At Development Gateway, we seek to innovate by working closely with our partners and clients, to solve their most important problems.

But what does this look like in practice? Our innovation bets typically take the form of providing time, or co-investing with our funders, to provide an individual or small team time to work on a prototype or idea. We strongly believe that DG is poised to conceptualize and build the next generation of products and services for furthering the data revolution.

Here are some current examples of our innovation portfolio, led by a wide mix of our talented team:

Open Contracting
We are building a comprehensive procurement transparency program, using the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS); structured technical assessment and use case analyses, to guide program management and policy recommendation; and hands-on process, change management, data collection, and analytical training. In one year, we have scaled from a pilot program in Vietnam to activities in 9 countries worldwide.

IATI and Country Systems
For years, DG has been a leader in aid management, and an active participant in the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). More recently, we have used this expertise to lead a combination of applied research, open source software development, and trainings to assist government partners seeking to benefit from IATI data use. We are also partnering with Development Initiatives to launch the first ever IATI-AIMS Fellowship, modeled on our successful Aid Management Fellows program.

Country Tools for the SDGs
Using our own internal funds, DG is building out technical tools, trainings, and process approaches for the country-level capture, reporting, and use of data to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Linking indicator and resource data – informed by our Aid Management Program, Results Data Initiative, and Tanzania Sectoral Dashboard work – we aim to help governments manage for the SDGs at both national and local levels.

This article is excerpted from DG’s 2016 Annual Report, which you may download or view online.