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.

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. 

Moving into 2019, we are pleased to be expanding RDI alongside our growing set of partners and funders. The program’s third phase focuses on agency-level engagement, and we will be scaling our partnerships with these development agencies to use results data to inform critical policy and programmatic decisions.

To achieve data use, we must change how we approach, design, and implement M&E systems. At present, investments in M&E systems suffer from high levels of inefficiency, and there is a high rate of failure across implemented systems. In taking steps to improve how M&E systems are designed, and to achieve truly useful systems, Development Gateway is pleased to announce the release of our latest white paper, “The Custom Assessment and Landscaping Methodology: Balancing Accountability & Learning in M&E Systems.”

We know that evidence can lead to better outcomes. Yet despite spending upwards of USD $2.5 billion annually on collecting information about results – outcomes and impacts – research suggests these data are infrequently used.

We at Development Gateway invite you to discuss how we can address this gap, by making smarter agency and government-wide investments in results.

We know that Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) aims to support accountability and learning, in order to drive better outcomes. Through the Results Data Initiative (RDI), we’ve approached M&E with a critical eye – how can we better allocate M&E funding, and what results are we really striving for?

What does it take to design a platform to collect, manage, and analyze a country’s agricultural information? Ideally, a significant amount of time to speak with key data producers and intended data users to understand needs and achieve buy-in. But, as was our experience in Malawi, – it also requires a fair amount of humility and iteration.

This weekend marks the G7 Summit in Canada – as well as the first anniversary of Global Affairs Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy. Over the past year, in Canada and elsewhere, we’ve seen the rights of women and girls grow in prominence across public and development discourse. 

Agriculture data being reported, collected, and visualized is growing exponentially. But are the data we’re spending so much to collect truly relevant for decision makers? We’re proud to announce that, through our Results Data Initiative (RDI), we’re working with Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development (MOAIWD) to design a National Agriculture Management Information System (NAMIS).

Last week, we shared our schedule for this week’s Data for Development Festival, hosted by the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD)  in Bristol, UK.