At a recent panel discussion hosted by the Independent Evaluation Group, speakers from the World Bank Group, OECD and AidData shared their perspectives about how to strengthen data production and its use for development and policymaking.
Data and evidence are the foundation of development policy and effective program implementation, and countries need data to formulate policy and evaluate progress.
In the fast-moving, tech-heavy world of the data revolution, statistical capacity building has a reputation as a slow-paced, unwieldy, and somewhat archaic endeavor that could somehow be bypassed through investments in smart devices and big data analytics. We found that this reputation is misguided and unjustified.
As a leading source of development data, the World Bank plays an important role in helping countries access the data they need to make informed policy decisions. The Sustainable Development Goals require countries to invest in monitoring and interpreting their progress towards achieving a host of development targets. This, along with recent technological shifts has further underscored the importance of data in development.
This evaluation assesses how effectively the World Bank has supported development data production, sharing, and use, and suggests ways to improve its approach.
