Stories, ideas, and updates from DGers around the world

Last month (March 13-19, 2019), the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Des Chiffres et des Jeunes (DCDJ), and SEJEN teams gathered at the Ecole Nationale de Statistiques et d'Economie Appliquée (ENSEA) campus for a comprehensive Semi-Annual Review (SAR) of activities carried out since the DCDJ project launched.

The Government of Madagascar’s Permanent Technical Secretariat for Aid Coordination (STP-CA) has used its Aid Management Platform since 2008, when we installed the platform to better align projects with Madagascar’s national plans and to prepare national budgets. Additionally, starting in 2017, Madagascar was selected as a pilot country to support IATI data use in reporting to the Madagascar AMP. We had a chance to talk with Zefania Romalahy, Head of the STP-CA, about how her department makes use of IATI data.

With the World Bank/ IMF Spring Meetings underway, many of us are keen to explore more and better resources for achieving the data revolution for sustainable development. As we and others have argued before, a key part of this revolution must involve greater harmonization of data collection and use efforts between country governments and development partners.

This post was written by Kady Touré, Communications Manager of the Des Chiffres et Des Jeunes (DCDJ) project, and was originally posted on the DCDJ blog. The original post can be accessed here. Ce blog est également disponible en francais ci-dessous.   As Women’s History Month came to a close last week, DG has been

The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Development Gateway (DG) are pleased to release a new report entitled “Decision-Making and Data Use Landscaping: Better Data, Better Decisions - May 2017 to October 2018.” This work examines the role that data plays in supporting key decisions taken by DFID at the strategy, portfolio (sector or country), and programme level. Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through DG’s Results Data Initiative, the report synthesises in-depth interviews with approximately 60 DFID staff across four country offices, all sector teams, and senior management. 

Development Gateway is pleased to announce that we will be developing the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Information Management Systems for the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation (MIIC) in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Incentives, accountabilities, and fitness-for-purpose influence how (and whether) data are used to drive policy. So what opportunities exist in national data ecosystems that can catalyze systemic change, toward greater evidence-based decision-making?

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.

What does “fit-for-purpose” data actually mean? It depends: on who you ask, and what decision is at stake. For governments and development partners – particularly those who rely on data from country systems for program planning and management – much frustration came from perceived redundancies in statistical and administrative data systems. 

Within the Sustainable Development Goal context of “leave no one behind,” there exists an opportunity – and a pressing obligation – to support better outcomes for children. But much of the change needed must happen at country and local level, through better use of data and evidence in decision-making.