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Developing institutional capacities for digital data management and cooperation to advance progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (2022 - 2025)

About the project:

The world is moving closer to becoming a truly digital society. At the global level, the quantity of data is expected to increase more than fivefold from 33 zettabytes in 2018 to 175 zettabytes in 2025, with 49 per cent stored in the public cloud, and the number of devices driven by the Internet of Things (IoT) will reach 10 times the world population (about 75 billion) in 2025. But at the same, the digital divide between and within developed and developing countries continues to widen, which is inhibiting developing countries, in particular African countries, Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in their efforts to contribute to and benefit from integration into the global economy.

Governments are among the largest producers and consumers of data in many countries, and they also play a critical role in data regulation. Much of the operational activity in government is now data-driven, making it difficult, if not impossible, to function effectively without data. Many African and Asian countries lack the institutional capacity for to fully implement data management and data strategy, impeding them to fully reap the benefit of data governance.

This project seeks to address existing challenges and gaps in digital data management and cooperation, focusing on enhancing the institutional capacities of countries to utilize, manage and govern data in a comprehensive, objective and evidence-based manner, through regional and global cooperation. The project will build on the momentum of recent initiatives, including the Initiative on Partnership for Africa's Development. To this end, working closely with UN RCOs and UNCTs the project will support:

  • African countries, LDCs and SIDS, to assess key data management and governance challenges and strengthen government officials’ and stakeholders’ knowledge of sound and secure data management;

  • National and regional initiatives in fostering an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for digital data cooperation through mutual benefit, win-win outcomes and common development;

  • Countries in developing national digital data policies and strategies for ensuring data quality, access, security, privacy and usage, and for promoting data security through consultation, collaboration and shared benefits;

  • The advancement of digital data cooperation agreements through case studies and sharing of legislative information and toolkits.

Objective:

To build and develop capacities for developing national digital data policies and strategies, in ensuring data quality, data sharing and exchange, data security and privacy, as well as data infrastructure and usage. The Project will also serve as a discussion and consultation platform to seek stakeholders’ view and ideas to explore, digest and propose issues of national data governance priorities and policies.

Beneficiaries:

Direct beneficiaries include government officials from ministries and governmental institutions at the national and subnational levels. Indirect beneficiaries include citizens and communities at large.

Key Accomplishments:

(i) Enhanced capacity of selected countries to assess key data management and governance challenges and strengthen government officials’ and stakeholders’ knowledge of sound and secure digital data management; and (ii) Enhanced capacity of selected countries in fostering an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for digital data cooperation through mutual benefit, win- win outcomes and common development.

Global activities:

Global Forum on Data Governance and Digital Transformation

Event Website: https://publicadministration.desa.un.org/events/global-forum-data-governance-and-digital-transformation

China, 23-25 April 2024

Data and digital data governance in the public sector have become increasingly important in Governments’ modus operandi and real-world applicability. Data are now integral to every sector and function of government—as essential as physical assets and human resources. Much of the operational activity in government is now data-driven or data-centric, and many Governments would find it difficult, if not impossible, to function without data.

This Global Forum seeks to address existing challenges and gaps in national digital data governance, data management and cooperation, focusing on enhancing the institutional capacities of countries to utilize, manage and govern data in a comprehensive, objective and evidence-based manner, through regional and global cooperation. The aim is to build awareness and develop institutional capacities in building national data governance frameworks in developing countries, especially those in Africa and the Asia Pacific region.

Open Forum on Adopting Data Governance Framework: From Silos to Ecosystem as part of the Internet Governance Forum. 

Event website: https://publicadministration.un.org/en/news-and-events/calendar/ModuleID/1146/ItemID/3163/mctl/EventDetails 

This Open Forum organized by UN DESA/DPIDG at the Internet Governance Forum 2022 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, seeks to address existing challenges and gaps in digital data governance, data management and cooperation, focusing on enhancing the institutional capacities of countries to utilize, manage and govern data in a comprehensive, objective and evidence-based manner, through regional and global cooperation. The aim is to build the awareness about the institutional capacities of government officials and stakeholders in countries, especially those in Africa and the Asia Pacific region.

Lead Division:
UN DESA/DPIDG
Partners:
RCOs in the respective Countries, UN country teams
Donor:
China
Funding Source:
Peace and Development Trust Fund
Budget:
$824,629
Time Frame:
March 2022 - February 2025
Thematic Area:
SDG 9 to “build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”, and in particular the following targets: (i) 9.a Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries
Region:
Africa, Asia and the Pacific
Focus Countries:
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Laos, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Morocco, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania