Report on DevInfo Presentation

DevInfo is a human development data portal and data visualization tool managed by UNICEF for the UN system as part of the UN DevInfo Initiative to monitor progress toward meeting millennium development goals (MDG), www.devinfo.org.

3 reasons to use DevInfo:

  1. Free data – one of the world’s “best kept secrets” for data
  2. Fun data – search and visualize in creative ways
  3. Fast data – one-stop portal for hundreds of data sets

In 2004, the DevInfo Initiative (Data for All), as part of the MDG Initiative, set out to establish standards to organize, compile, and disseminate data to support decision making to help countries track progress toward reaching MDGs.

DevInfo is a Google-type interface with a strong data visualization feature. The portal contains UN-specific databases as well as databases uploaded by individual countries. All data is country owned and license and royalty free. 130 countries are currently using DevInfo and there have been 300 adaptations. DevInfo allows users to generate “DevInfo Profiles” – snapshots of particular topics generated from the database. A number of dashboards run off the database, i.e., “Promise Renewed” campaign for UNICEF. The “My Data” feature allows users to upload their own data to create maps, tables, etc.

Douglas works for the Community Systems Foundation (CSI), a not-for-profit organization that provides technical and sector expertise to build IT solutions for management and GIS, institution building, social welfare, program design, management training, technical support services, etc. One project CSI works on is the Open Education Management Information System (EMIS) which tracks data on education systems.

– Contributed by Liz Nugent