No Progress on the SDGs Without Data Equality, Transparency, and Measurement
Written by +SocialGood Connector Gabriel Cecchini
A central theme that ran through the discussions that took place during UNGA/Global Goals Week in New York this September 2017 was the importance of data and tech as an indispensable condition for progress with respect to the 2030 Agenda/Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, during the “We the Future” conference organized by the Skoll Foundation, TED, and the UN Foundation, data-based approaches — from collection to analysis to story-telling — played a central role in the talks by ambassadors, activists and data experts.
There is consensus that what was traditionally considered as a field of/for specialists in hard data and statistics is today a highly innovative area involving the collaboration of diverse actors with and without technical knowledge but with expertise in sustainable development’s vast array of issues, seeking to make intelligent and productive use of the data in order to find solutions to enduring challenges.
No gender equality without data equality
Three substantive issues framed discussions around data-based approaches: gender equality, anti-corruption and how to measure social progress beyond traditional GDP-based metrics. With regard to gender equality, Emily Courey Pryor, Executive Director of Data2X, stated that data helps to make better informed decisions for the development of public policies. And that without equality of data there is no possibility of achieving gender equality (and vice versa). Pryor pointed out that out of the 232 SDGs indicators, 53 of them explicitly refer to women and girls but that reliable data exists on only 15 of these 53 indicators. The reasons for this lack of data regarding indicators lie in the fact that data systems are designed and structured with data either incomplete or collected in ways that are biased against women and girls.
In this sense and given the current progress of innovative existing data technologies, an effort should be made to apply them to the search for solutions to sustainable development problems and to fill in the existing gaps. In this regard, Queen Rania of Jordan, a global data equality advocate, emphasized the paradoxical (and unacceptable) fact that we can and do know the exact number of times we check our cell phones per day, or how many dogs there are per household in London, or how many ants are in New York City, but we are not able to have sufficient information and data on the 50 percent of mankind represented by women and girls, especially on sensitive issues such as financial inclusion, contribution to the household economy not represented in government statistics, number of refugees, or displaced women and girls by conflict or violence, etc.
What is most serious about this situation is that this lack of data, often based on biases that impact the non-measurement of dimensions that affect women, usually end up reinforcing those same biases and preventing a change of the status quo. According to Queen Rania of Jordan, only through an adequate measurement of indicators relative to women and girls will it be possible to design and make effective public policy decisions that take them out of the current state of (near)invisibility. And there is room here for actors from the public, private, and civil society sectors, including journalists and citizens, to all come together and collaborate in the search for data equality.
In a world of fake news, data-driven approaches allow the truth to prevail
The second important issue where data-driven approaches play a crucial role is the fight against corruption. Gillian Caldwell, CEO of Global Witness, outlined how investigations, data, and alliances with actors pursuing transparency can put a stop to corruption and force accountability. These three elements together have enabled Global Witness to uncover cases of corruption in different parts of the world, such as illegal timber trade in Cambodia, blood diamonds in Africa, and money laundering schemes in New York.
In particular, data collection, analysis, and cross-checking was vital in an investigation report released in 2015 on corruption in the jade mining sector in Myanmar and how this $ 31 billion dollar business (that accounts for 48 percent of that Asian country (GDP) was found to be connected with opaque companies owned by military strongmen there.
The dossier exposed not only the nefarious consequences corruption had for the national economy but also the dire costs in terms violations of human, labor, and environmental rights and conditions. A data-driven approach was key for the project and it made use of open data and software programs specially designed with the help of giant database OpenCorporates. In the process, diverse data sources were intertwined, cross-checked, and verified, including such sources as public maps, contracts, Myanmar public company register databases with information on directors and shareholders, and other databases (news, government sanctions lists, etc.).
This massive analysis of data allowed to pulled back the veil of the people who were the ultimate beneficiaries of these opaque companies that exploited the jade mines, allowing the identification of several senior military, drug cartel leaders, etc., who benefited from this corrupt scheme. Caldwell stressed that the use of data throughout the investigation and its exposure led to highly positive changes and impact in Myanmar: suspension of mining licenses, social and environmental impact assessments, and public recommendations for sustainable mining currently under discussion in Myanmar’s parliament. (The dossier on jade mining can be seen in this film.)
You manage what you measure
Michael Green, CEO of Social Progress Imperative, presented the main features and rationale behind the Social Progress Index (SPI), launched in 2013. The SPI is an aggregate index of social and environmental indicators that capture three dimensions of social progress: basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing, and opportunity. The 2017 Social Progress Index includes data from 128 countries on 50 indicators. The Index aims to measure sustainable development beyond GDP measures, aligning them with the SDGs and targets that encompass a vast array of subjects and include everyone.
The index is considered to be a complement, not a replacement of other traditional measurement tools, and encompasses the three previously mentioned main dimensions: basic human needs, wellbeing and opportunity. In sum, all aspects (e.g., means of survival, education, health, sustainable environment, freedom) that define what makes a good, inclusive society at its different levels (countries, cities, communities), very much in line with the spirit and concept of the SDGs. Still, according to Green, progress needs to be made on gaps in data related to hot issues such as shelter, gender-lens on every aspect of social progress, mental health, and other challenges.
Kathy Calvin, President & CEO, UN Foundation, wrapped up the data-driven approaches session with the perfect phrase: if data is not from everyone, it can’t be for everyone. The phrase underscores the urgent need to be able to recollect, analyze, and integrate as much comprehensive, reliable and accurate data as possible in order to help to accelerate the achievement of the broad SDGs agenda.
