Datastory develops the new UNdata prototype

Partnerships

Dec 22, 2022

With support from The Swedish Internet Foundation, Datastory – a thought-leader in knowledge management and data visualization – joins the UNdata modernization team to develop architectural specifications for the new UNdata platform.

The Secretary-General’s Data Strategy

Today, we all recognize the power of data. Data and analytics permeate virtually all aspects of the UN’s work in development, peace and security and human rights.

But how do we get more relevant and timely data to track, predict and accelerate SDG progress? And how do we better share and use the key statistics curated by the UN family and member states?

These are two of the key questions in the Secretary-General’s Data Strategy, which sets out the vision and practical use cases for building the technological capabilities that the UN needs to succeed in the 21st century.

To succeed, the UN needs a new global data governance model that is built on interconnection, collaboration, and community; a playbook not only for the UN family, but also a reference for member states who seek data-driven change.

Building a dream team

Since the beginning of 2022, the work on a new UNdata platform is ramping up. A core team is being established and candidate technologies are being validated.

“The UNdata portal serves as a single-entry point to international statistical databases”, says Francesca Perucci, Assistant Director, UN Statistics Division.

The portal is one of the most popular in the whole UN system with about three million pageviews per year. Although considering that it was first launched back in 2005, Francesca Perucci sees room for improvement:

“The portal’s contents and functionality need to be updated to better serve current and potential users by bringing together a broader set of data from UN agencies, international organizations, and member states. We are happy to get support from Datastory and The Swedish Internet Foundation to drive this important work forward, prioritizing user engagement and empowering data producers to build country-level statistical capacity”.

Datastory Cloud

Datastory is an organization focused on enabling user-friendly data experiences. By combining the latest advances in semantic, open data technologies with data journalism, they make it possible for organizations to produce engaging, quality content fast.

Daniel Lapidus, the Chief Executive Officer of Datastory explains:

“In the last 5 years we have seen an explosion of exciting database and data science initiatives. If we combine these tools with the ethos of open data and civic tech, organizations can create remarkable platforms.”

Joining the UNdata modernization working group, Daniel and a team of designers and developers aim to build on lessons learned, and use cutting-edge tech to solve for the unique challenges of UNdata:

“We want to bring all good forces together – designers, architects, statisticians, educators, data journalists and developers – to build the next generation of UNdata on a sound technical and philosophical foundation”, says Daniel.

More about UNdata

https://www.un.org/en/desa

More about The Swedish Internet Foundation

https://internetstiftelsen.se/en/

Media Contacts

Daniel Lapidus, CEO Datastory
daniel@datastory.org