Article: How to Secure Africa’s Data Revolution, November 2015
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The document discusses the need for Africa to embrace a data revolution to effectively produce and utilize statistics for sustainable development goals (SDGs). It highlights the challenges and costs associated with current statistical practices and introduces the 'Africa Data Consensus,' which aims to reform data collection by promoting partnerships among various stakeholders beyond national statistical offices. By adopting this consensus, Africa can enhance data accuracy, accessibility, and relevance, paving the way for better-informed decision-making and economic development.
![Carlos Lopes, UN Economic Commission for Africa
“The data revolution can become a reality —
and quickly.”
The same information — but anonymised, so people can’t be identified —
can be used to track the movement of goods to markets
(http://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/trade/), allowing economists to
capture information on informal economies.
But collecting the statistics needed to inform society and track the 17
Sustainable Development Goals
(http://www.scidev.net/global/sdgs/multimedia/african-data-champions-
sdg-challenge.html) (SDGs) will require a formidable effort. And although
not all government decisions need official statistics, Africa’s statistical
requirements already go far beyond what is needed for the SDGs
(http://www.scidev.net/global/governance/sdgs/). National statistical
offices (NSOs) are overwhelmed with producing timely, reliable and
relevant statistics on everything from making investment decisions to
gaining intelligence about business opportunities.
And there is a hefty price tag. An unpublished report drawn up by the
heads of African NSOs and other partners this year estimates that
producing harmonised statistics to track the SDGs costs a minimum of
US$1.54 for every one of Africa’s 1.2 billion people. This figure would rise
to US$4.33 per person with efforts to obtain more reliable numbers. It
would increase further to US$8.11 per person in 15 years, when the
population is also expected to have grown to 1.6 billion.
The expense is only one constraint — consistency, quality and the
capacity of NSOs to produce good statistics are others. As a result, the
statistics often don’t tally for much of Africa.
One example is official GDP (gross domestic product) calculations by
NSOs, which have shown that annual household income in Africa grew
from 0.9 to 1.1 per cent over the last 20 years. However, researchers from
the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom found that it
grew from 3.4 to 3.7 per cent a year over this period, based on factors
such as the number of households with TV sets or electricity access.
And according to a 2008 report
(ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/014/k2921e.pdf) by the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization, official submissions of agricultural
(http://www.scidev.net/global/agriculture/) statistics from African
countries were at their lowest level since before 1961 — to the point
where only 1-in-4 countries reported basic crop production data
(ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/014/k2921e.pdf). [1]
Without reliable statistics, how can we trust the numbers we are seeing?
New data ecosystem
An excellent recent opinion piece by Shannon Kindornay
(http://www.scidev.net/global/data/opinion/flashy-innovation-fuel-data-
revolution-post-2015.html) spelled out the commitments, made by
countries in July at the Financing for Development summit in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, to harness the opportunities of the data revolution.
It also highlighted barriers to implementation. Here in Africa, however,
there are very good prospects for overcoming these. The data revolution
can become a reality — and quickly.
The Financing for Development summit owes its success to a conference
held on the sidelines of the annual meeting of African ministers of
finance and economic planning (http://www.uneca.org/cfm2015) in
March.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/how-to-secure-africa-data-revolutionscidev-170606084202/85/Article-How-to-Secure-Africa-s-Data-Revolution-November-2015-2-320.jpg)
![There, a group of statisticians and data professionals from diverse
backgrounds came together to chart a strategy for implementing the data
revolution in Africa. The result was the Africa Data Consensus
(http://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PageAttachments/final_adc_-
_english_1.pdf). [2] The Consensus has many ground-breaking features,
but two are particularly important.
You might also like
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One is rethinking the traditional concept of NSOs automatically ‘owning’
all official data that is collected and reported. The idea is to hand this role
to ‘data communities’ — formed by bringing together the people from
across the organisational spectrum (NGOs, private sector, NSOs or other
government agencies) who produce or use data on sectors such as trade
or energy (http://www.scidev.net/global/environment/energy/).
Second, the Consensus establishes a principle where country data
provided by data communities could be accepted as sources of official
statistics as long as it is sanctioned by the NSO.
Opening up data collection
Embracing the data Consensus would mean a shift in the role of NSOs. It
could create a new statistical landscape for Africa, opening up the field of
data production and dissemination to both state and non-state actors.
The professionals involved in data communities would be in charge of
defining the data they produce and use — and, in the process, the
statistics reported across countries would become more consistent. And
because data collected by non-state organisations typically relies on
mobile technologies, data collection and dissemination costs are likely to
plummet.
Finally, and most importantly, there would be just one overriding
criterion: that only the most relevant, reliable, accurate, accessible and
timely data — irrespective of who is producing it — is acceptable.
Africa’s NSOs have solid track records when it comes to cooperation
(http://www.scidev.net/global/governance/cooperation/) and promoting
innovative (http://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/innovation/) ideas.
Previous initiatives include the African charter on statistics
(http://www.au.int/en/sites/default/files/AFRICAN_CHARTER_ON_STATIST
ICS.pdf), a common legal framework for statistics development, and the
Strategy for harmonization of statistics in Africa (http://auc-
statdivision.voila.net/pdfstat/SHaSA_strategy.pdf), a coordinated effort to
support statistical consistency across Africa. [3,4] So they are also likely
to embrace the Africa Data Consensus — provided partners can be
mobilised to help finance its implementation.
The UN Economic Commission for Africa, together with the African
Union Commission and the African Development Bank, is supporting this
effort to make the Africa data revolution a reality. Join us.
Carlos Lopes is executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for
Africa. He can be contacted at @ECA_Lopes
(https://twitter.com/ECA_Lopes)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/how-to-secure-africa-data-revolutionscidev-170606084202/85/Article-How-to-Secure-Africa-s-Data-Revolution-November-2015-3-320.jpg)
![The full article is available here as HTML. Press Ctrl-C to copy
Carlos Lopes
(/global/author.carlos-lopes.html)
05/11/15
References
[1] Independent evaluation of FAO’s role and work in statistics
(ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/014/k2921e.pdf) (FAO, July 2008)
[2] Africa data consensus
(http://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PageAttachments/final_adc_-
_english_1.pdf) (UN Economic Commission for Africa, 29 March 2015)
[3] African charter on statistics
(http://www.au.int/en/sites/default/files/AFRICAN_CHARTER_ON_STATIST
ICS.pdf) (African Union, 2009)
[4] Strategy for the harmonization of statistics in Africa (http://auc-
statdivision.voila.net/pdfstat/SHaSA_strategy.pdf) (African Union
Commission, Economic Commission for Africa and African Development
Bank, 2010)
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<div class="articlewrap">
<div id="articleintroduction">
<h1>How to secure Africa’s data revolution</h1>
<h4>By Carlos Lopes</h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div id="articlebody"><strong>An ‘Africa data consensus’ will reform how countries
produce stats for the SDGs and social needs, says Carlos Lopes.</strong><br />
<br />
Africa needs to embrace the <a
href="http://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/data/">data</a> revolution — the exponential
increase in the volume and types of data available, which is creating unprecedented
opportunities to inform and transform societies.<br />
<br />
Related topics:
Data (/global/enterprise/data/)
Cooperation (/global/governance/cooperation/)
Enterprise (/global/enterprise/)
SDGs (/global/governance/sdgs/)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/how-to-secure-africa-data-revolutionscidev-170606084202/85/Article-How-to-Secure-Africa-s-Data-Revolution-November-2015-4-320.jpg)
Article: How to Secure Africa’s Data Revolution, November 2015
- 1. Copyright: Sven Torfinn / Panos Speed read Data deal intends to deliver cheap, reliable data NGOs and firms, not just national statistical offices, would produce stats ‘Data communities’ would focus on providing consistent ‘open’ data An ‘Africa data consensus’ will reform how countries produce stats for the SDGs and social needs, says Carlos Lopes. Africa needs to embrace the data (http://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/data/) revolution — the exponential increase in the volume and types of data available, which is creating unprecedented opportunities to inform and transform societies. To take one small example of the potential value: telecom companies can track people’s movements using data that identify the mobile phone towers through which their calls are routed. Tracking where people went after leaving a disease (http://www.scidev.net/global/health/disease/) hotspot helped epidemiologists working on the West Africa Ebola (http://www.scidev.net/global/health/ebola/) epidemic to predict where new outbreaks might occur (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in- the-news/predicting-ebolas-spread-using-cell-phone-data/). Science and post-2015 (/global/article-series.science-and-post-2015.html) How to secure Africa’s data revolution Bringing science and development together through original news and analysis Search articles in SciDev.Net
- 2. Carlos Lopes, UN Economic Commission for Africa “The data revolution can become a reality — and quickly.” The same information — but anonymised, so people can’t be identified — can be used to track the movement of goods to markets (http://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/trade/), allowing economists to capture information on informal economies. But collecting the statistics needed to inform society and track the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (http://www.scidev.net/global/sdgs/multimedia/african-data-champions- sdg-challenge.html) (SDGs) will require a formidable effort. And although not all government decisions need official statistics, Africa’s statistical requirements already go far beyond what is needed for the SDGs (http://www.scidev.net/global/governance/sdgs/). National statistical offices (NSOs) are overwhelmed with producing timely, reliable and relevant statistics on everything from making investment decisions to gaining intelligence about business opportunities. And there is a hefty price tag. An unpublished report drawn up by the heads of African NSOs and other partners this year estimates that producing harmonised statistics to track the SDGs costs a minimum of US$1.54 for every one of Africa’s 1.2 billion people. This figure would rise to US$4.33 per person with efforts to obtain more reliable numbers. It would increase further to US$8.11 per person in 15 years, when the population is also expected to have grown to 1.6 billion. The expense is only one constraint — consistency, quality and the capacity of NSOs to produce good statistics are others. As a result, the statistics often don’t tally for much of Africa. One example is official GDP (gross domestic product) calculations by NSOs, which have shown that annual household income in Africa grew from 0.9 to 1.1 per cent over the last 20 years. However, researchers from the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom found that it grew from 3.4 to 3.7 per cent a year over this period, based on factors such as the number of households with TV sets or electricity access. And according to a 2008 report (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/014/k2921e.pdf) by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, official submissions of agricultural (http://www.scidev.net/global/agriculture/) statistics from African countries were at their lowest level since before 1961 — to the point where only 1-in-4 countries reported basic crop production data (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/014/k2921e.pdf). [1] Without reliable statistics, how can we trust the numbers we are seeing? New data ecosystem An excellent recent opinion piece by Shannon Kindornay (http://www.scidev.net/global/data/opinion/flashy-innovation-fuel-data- revolution-post-2015.html) spelled out the commitments, made by countries in July at the Financing for Development summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to harness the opportunities of the data revolution. It also highlighted barriers to implementation. Here in Africa, however, there are very good prospects for overcoming these. The data revolution can become a reality — and quickly. The Financing for Development summit owes its success to a conference held on the sidelines of the annual meeting of African ministers of finance and economic planning (http://www.uneca.org/cfm2015) in March.
- 3. There, a group of statisticians and data professionals from diverse backgrounds came together to chart a strategy for implementing the data revolution in Africa. The result was the Africa Data Consensus (http://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PageAttachments/final_adc_- _english_1.pdf). [2] The Consensus has many ground-breaking features, but two are particularly important. You might also like Data doesn’t always tell the whole story — here’s why (/global/data/editorials/data-gender-ict-digital-divide.html? _src=related articles) Aid agencies urged to sustain Ebola data advances (/global/ebola/news/aid-agencies-sustain-ebola-data-advances.html? _src=related articles) Big data for development (/global/data/spotlight/big-data-for- development.html?_src=related articles) One is rethinking the traditional concept of NSOs automatically ‘owning’ all official data that is collected and reported. The idea is to hand this role to ‘data communities’ — formed by bringing together the people from across the organisational spectrum (NGOs, private sector, NSOs or other government agencies) who produce or use data on sectors such as trade or energy (http://www.scidev.net/global/environment/energy/). Second, the Consensus establishes a principle where country data provided by data communities could be accepted as sources of official statistics as long as it is sanctioned by the NSO. Opening up data collection Embracing the data Consensus would mean a shift in the role of NSOs. It could create a new statistical landscape for Africa, opening up the field of data production and dissemination to both state and non-state actors. The professionals involved in data communities would be in charge of defining the data they produce and use — and, in the process, the statistics reported across countries would become more consistent. And because data collected by non-state organisations typically relies on mobile technologies, data collection and dissemination costs are likely to plummet. Finally, and most importantly, there would be just one overriding criterion: that only the most relevant, reliable, accurate, accessible and timely data — irrespective of who is producing it — is acceptable. Africa’s NSOs have solid track records when it comes to cooperation (http://www.scidev.net/global/governance/cooperation/) and promoting innovative (http://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/innovation/) ideas. Previous initiatives include the African charter on statistics (http://www.au.int/en/sites/default/files/AFRICAN_CHARTER_ON_STATIST ICS.pdf), a common legal framework for statistics development, and the Strategy for harmonization of statistics in Africa (http://auc- statdivision.voila.net/pdfstat/SHaSA_strategy.pdf), a coordinated effort to support statistical consistency across Africa. [3,4] So they are also likely to embrace the Africa Data Consensus — provided partners can be mobilised to help finance its implementation. The UN Economic Commission for Africa, together with the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank, is supporting this effort to make the Africa data revolution a reality. Join us. Carlos Lopes is executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. He can be contacted at @ECA_Lopes (https://twitter.com/ECA_Lopes)
- 4. The full article is available here as HTML. Press Ctrl-C to copy Carlos Lopes (/global/author.carlos-lopes.html) 05/11/15 References [1] Independent evaluation of FAO’s role and work in statistics (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/014/k2921e.pdf) (FAO, July 2008) [2] Africa data consensus (http://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PageAttachments/final_adc_- _english_1.pdf) (UN Economic Commission for Africa, 29 March 2015) [3] African charter on statistics (http://www.au.int/en/sites/default/files/AFRICAN_CHARTER_ON_STATIST ICS.pdf) (African Union, 2009) [4] Strategy for the harmonization of statistics in Africa (http://auc- statdivision.voila.net/pdfstat/SHaSA_strategy.pdf) (African Union Commission, Economic Commission for Africa and African Development Bank, 2010) We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines: 1. You have to credit our authors. 2. You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo (http://www.scidev.net/global/content/follow- us.html#Link%20to%20us) with a link back to the original article. 3. You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article. 4. If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them. 5. The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below. For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines (http://www.scidev.net/global/content/media.html#Using%20SciDev.Net%20material). <div class="articlewrap"> <div id="articleintroduction"> <h1>How to secure Africa’s data revolution</h1> <h4>By Carlos Lopes</h4> </div> <br /> <br /> <div id="articlebody"><strong>An ‘Africa data consensus’ will reform how countries produce stats for the SDGs and social needs, says Carlos Lopes.</strong><br /> <br /> Africa needs to embrace the <a href="http://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/data/">data</a> revolution — the exponential increase in the volume and types of data available, which is creating unprecedented opportunities to inform and transform societies.<br /> <br /> Related topics: Data (/global/enterprise/data/) Cooperation (/global/governance/cooperation/) Enterprise (/global/enterprise/) SDGs (/global/governance/sdgs/)