IGF 2020 WS #247 ICTs, SDGs, and Existing Data Gaps for Measuring Progress
Session recording available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g83sw3YKxkI
About this Session:
This panel will focus on a roadmap for a broad set of actors to address data gaps for sustainable development. The panelists, drawn from different stakeholder groups will share current practices, reflecting upon the past couple years of progress and setbacks, and develop tentative recommendations on future best practices. The panelists will provide practical strategies to overcome the existing setbacks and highlight successful country and local-level practices.
Description:
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are targets for global development set to be achieved by 2030. However, these SDGs appear to be heading for a similar fate as the Millennial Development Goals. Thus, with only 10 years left to achieve these goals, it appears that most countries are not on track to achieve the targets. Parallel to this, developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) suggest opportunities to accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs. Over the past several years we have seen a surge in initiatives and organizations dedicated to advancing ICT-based services for sectors like education, healthcare, financial services, and agriculture. However, the successful integration of ICTs to enable sustainable development requires a deep understanding of their impact. Furthermore, interventions, including ICT-based services, need to be evidence-driven. Without timely, relevant, and disaggregated data, policymakers and practitioners will be less capable of developing informed interventions. However, data gathering mechanisms have been poor at local and governance levels resulting in significant data gaps. Therefore, with limited time left to meet the SDGs, it is imperative that we focus on building robust, inclusive, and relevant local and national data systems to support the curation and promotion of data for sustainable development.