“Changing the outlook: for a local approach to data”
As a follow-up to our 2020 study ” Program data: the silver bullet of the humanitarian and development sectors”, with this report we wish to pursue our reflection on the question of localization and explore the role of local organizations in the management of Humanitarian Aid and International Development industry data – a blind spot identified in our previous study.
In parallel with debates on the “localization of aid” (and its slowness), which some would even like to see become “decolonization”, the very purpose of data use, often in the service of accountability to international actors and donors more than to the local actors who produce them, raises questions.
These inequalities can be seen in representation and measurement biases, in under-investment in the capacities of local players, and in the lack of access for local Civils Society Organizations (CSOs) to digital and data support. And this, taking into account the diversity of actors, between countries but also locally, and the many related issues (ecology, digital divide, democracy, etc.).
What’s next?
We conclude this first exploration of the subject with a series of recommendations for international players, and we hope that Global South actors will be able to seize upon them to deepen our reflection… and make it a reality! Carried out as part of the Strengthening program data management in French-speaking CSOs project led by CartONG and co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD) over the period 2020-2022, this study is not intended as a finished reflection, but rather as a starting point for initiating conversations on the subjects of localization and data.
A first opportunity to delve deeper into these topics will be the presentation of the study, which will take place online (in French) on Tuesday February 20 from 11am to 12:30pm CET, with the presence of the authors of the study and various representatives of local and international humanitarian and development organizations. Information and registration here.
