On data…

"In God We Trust… But All Others Bring Data" — W. Edwards Deming

Data is the present.. and the future. The availability and use of data has led to breakthroughs in various industries (such as healthcare and advertising), businesses operating more efficiently, lower corruption and more accountability in government, and generally improved standards of living. Today in the western world, data collection is ubiquitous — from web traffic to road traffic to actual foot traffic (looking at you, smartwatch owners). Data is collected about almost everything and, with faster internet speeds to move all this data easier and cheaper ways to store and process it, only increasing amounts will be collected. This means more data for medical research, and also more data for businesses, governments and even ordinary people to make objective and informed decisions. However, the strides made in the western world in the collection, storage and use of data in decision making and analysis have not been paralleled by countries in the developing world, and the pace of development and standard of living in these countries can only improve with an increased use of data.

The major problems plaguing developing countries are, in my opinion, bad governance, poor healthcare, poor education and difficulty of doing business. Each of these problems can be better understood and eventually diminished by efficiently collecting and analyzing data.

Budgetary and spending data can provide insights into what government officials do with public funds and make it easier to prosecute corrupt officials. For example, the recent indictment of Sambo Dasuki — the former National Security Adviser in Nigeria for awarding up to $2 billion in bogus contracts and the public outcry in South Africa over President Jacob Zuma using public funds for a $16 million renovation of his personal home. Also, the effectiveness of legislation can be objectively tracked which can only help in solving societal issues. For example, the rate of gun related crime plunged in Australia after legislators there passed strict gun control laws but restrictions to gun carrying and ownership in Chicago have failed to reduce gun related crime there. Analysis of gun related crime data from both places shows that a ban on guns was quite effective in Australia but had no effect at best in Chicago. This shows that gun control legislation alone can not solve the gun violence issue in Chicago like it did in Australia and law makers have to try something more.

Availability of enough health data can help with predictive analytics to understand, track and get ahead of disease outbreaks like the 2014 ebola outbreak in West Africa; to ensure that badly needed medication is in stock and readily available to patients; and to track the health trends of the population and perform various forms of preventative health care to curb easily preventable diseases like obesity, diabetes and also some forms of cancer. These will generally improve the living standards and life expectancy of people in the developing countries.

Student data can help teachers and education administrators track student engagement in school by subject area and topic. It can also help teachers and administrators gain insight into dropout rates, why students dropout and what students are more likely to drop out. At my previous job, my team worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Education to create metrics on student grades, behavioural and attendance data to identify students most at risk of dropping out (see here: PDE Early Warning System). These students now receive more attention from their teachers and are likely to be more engaged and stay in school. This is particularly useful in areas with a relatively higher teacher to student ratio, as it can help focus the teacher and school as a whole to students most in need of their help. Those kind of metrics can only be created to improve the quality of education a child receives when student data is collected and is available for analysis.

Using data in developing countries can help businesses maximize profits by increasing efficiency, using pricing techniques such as dynamic pricing and also reducing unnecessary cost. According to the World Bank, agriculture employs 65% of the labor force in African countries and makes up 32% of their collective GDP. Businesses in the agriculture industry can use historic data to accurately gauge demand, prevent oversupply and subsequently maximize profits. Farmers can also use weather data to predict potential flooding or drought which will help them properly ration their planting. An example of such an initiative is the free basics program by Facebook in India.

For all the benefits of data collection and analysis, there are cons. The breadth of data collection and the ease of which it can be obtained and transported means repressive governments and other ill meaning people can steal and misuse that data. The obvious solution is a rigorous and continuously imporoved security system around the way the data is collected, transported and stored. There is also a concern as to the ethics and limits of data collection. However, I believe that as long as the data collector is doing so transparently, and the individual(s) that share their data are aware and approve of it, there is no problem. Here's a clip of Steve Jobs eloquently sharing his view on this issue:

Data is by no means the only answer to issues developing countries face but it provides a better understanding of these issues and clues as to how best to solve them.