Focus Area: Data Use

The Custom Assessment and Landscaping Methodology: Balancing Accountability and Learning in M&E Systems

Custom Assessment Landscaping Methodology (CALM): Balancing Accountability and Learning in M&E Systems shares one approach for developing tools and processes that increase the utility and impact of data for decision-making. It also shares case studies from our work with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Government of Malawi to provide an overview of how implementing CALM supports the design of more balanced M&E data systems.

Understanding Data Use: Building M&E Systems that Empower Users

The August 2018 paper, Understanding Data Use: Building M&E Systems that Empower Users, emphasizes how critical it is for decision-makers to consider users’ decision space – from the institutional all the way to technical levels – in achieving data uptake

Designing Data Strategies: A Playbook for Action

For most global development and humanitarian agencies, data has historically been either a niche activity or fragmented task. But in the era of a ‘data revolution for sustainable development’ – and in a time of increasing financial scrutiny – institutions increasingly consider data and digital to be a strategic asset. This paper aims to provide a structured overview of lessons learned that may be used by those seeking to develop and implement a data strategy within international development and humanitarian organizations.

Farmer-Centric Data Governance: Towards A New Paradigm

Background The potential benefits of digital agriculture are prolific. However, farm data is generally collected by others, and smallholder farmers rely on external resources, like weather data, and proprietary tools that provide specific advisories. Farmers face a paradox: while the use of data holds much potential, control over power, resources, and data governance challenges raise the possibility that farmers do not benefit from their own data. The current data economy is defined by a paradigm of extraction and a lack of consideration of equity, whereby the role of farmers and communities g