Episode 2: Strengthening national data ecosystems to leave no one behind

Good with data: the Development Initiatives podcast

In the first mini-series of Good with data we explore one of the most important issues in global development today, the Leave No One Behind Agenda; what it means, why it matters, and how we can make it a reality by improving data and making best use of existing data and evidence.

In this episode we discuss national data ecosystems, and why they are key to fostering a strong culture of data use to improve development policies and programmes that leave no one behind.

Our guests are:

• Elizabeth Birabwa Aliro, Programmes Manager at the Economic Policy Research Centre in Kampala, currently focused on strengthening Evidence Informed Decision Making in policy processes in Uganda;
• Papa Seck, Chief of Research and Data at UN Women, where he leads the organisation’s research and statistical work, including the Women Count global gender data programme.

For more on this subject, read our recent discussion paper on the role of national data systems and data to leave no one behind. An accompanying discussion paper looks specifically at the role of donor investment in strengthening national data ecosystems, and how they can better act on their data commitments. During the episode, we asked our panellists to share their recommendations for listeners to explore issues relating to national data ecosystems further:

• Elizabeth recommended two recent reports from the Economic Policy Research Centre: one on evidence diagnostic exercises in Uganda and Pakistan undertaken as part of the Strengthening Evidence Use for Development Impact programme; and another on the political economy of policymaking and the evidence ecosystem in the Humanitarian, Gender, and Family Planning sectors in Uganda.
• Papa recommended visiting data.women.org to view UN Women’s relevant resources, and encouraged all of us to consider how decisions based on data affect our lives, and to get involved to make sure that the data being used to make those decisions is good.

Good with data is a production of Development Initiatives, a global organisation harnessing the power of data and evidence to end poverty, reduce inequality and increase resilience.

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