How to Use Data to Solve Social Problems and Drive Decisions: 4 Takeaways from Data for Good Exchange 2016
September 28th, 2016 | Viewpoint
These days, the normal reaction I get after telling someone that I work at John Snow, Inc. is not “Oh right, the broad street pump guy!” I get Game of Thrones references instead. While the crowd at Bloomberg Data for Good Exchange 2016 (#D4GX) may be GOT fans, they are, more importantly, data scientists; connoisseurs of collecting, analyzing, and using data to inform and change systems…like the father of epidemiology himself.
#D4GX was just that; a conglomeration of folks wearing public and private sector hats, coming together to share best practices, new innovations, and opportunities for collaboration in their respective industries, from urban planning, and fishing and forestry, to public health.
Have you seen the SDGs? They’re no joke, and 2030 will be here before you know it. It’s time to combine forces and share data. Development convergence encourages industries to come together to synthesize their data, ideas, methods, and dollars. Sounds like #D4GX don’t you think?
Panel, Decoding the SDGs: Data Solutions for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Timothy A. A. Stiles (KPMG), Robert Kirkpatrick (UN Global Pulse), Marcia Odell (Plan International), and James Baker (Clinton Climate Initiative).
It’s been a couple hundred years since Dr. Snow plotted cholera deaths on a simple map; one of the earliest examples of data visualization and epidemiology. But using maps, geo-spatial data and geographic information system (GIS) data is trendier than ever. Think: satellites, drones, smart phones. These powerful technologies offer billions of pixels worth of data that many industries have only just tapped into as a resource. The high number of public beta mode presentations demonstrated that there is an immense amount of potential to be unlocked in this arena. For example:
Flint City Service Line Records, University of Michigan.
Source: Real Impact Analytics.
With big data comes big responsibility. It is up to data scientists to manage the knowledge at hand to drive decision making. Data needs to be pushed out and shared to contribute to society for the greater good.
JSI’s Cary Spisak presents on IMPACT Team Networks in Kenya as a part of Quantified Communities Paper Presentations.
Technology and data are powerful tools that when analyzed and applied can inform and inspire change for good. However, data, and its overarching algorithms, can also be considered a weapon of math destruction (as coined by keynote speaker and mathematician Cathy O’Neil). It is crucial that data scientists remove biases or wishful thinking from their analyses so that findings are honest and pure. O’Neil suggested that data scientists “need a Hippocratic oath for modeling” to do no harm. This was tied in the development convergence conversation; how do we ensure data anonymity and ethical use of big data once it becomes increasingly available?
Get more information on our #D4GX submissions below:
Learn about the conference.
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