31 January 2014: The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in conjunction with the eighth session of the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), recently hosted a global meeting on ‘Data and Accountability for the Post-2015 Development Framework.’ The meeting brought together practitioners, stakeholders, the UN system and governments to discuss the needed “data revolution” and its potential for the design and implementation of the SDGs.

Meeting participants discussed their experiences in monitoring of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and lessons learned from this process. Many expressed the difficulties of obtaining specific data to measure progress, and stressed the necessity of good data in order to monitor the future SDGs. Policy makers from different levels of government also shared lessons learned from using data to make responsive policies, and their regional perspectives on the data revolution.

Capacity requirements for effective monitoring – including big data, mobile technologies, good governing institutions, coordinated research and human capacity – were found to be lacking in many countries, both developed and developing. Speakers also called for making public data more accessible for civil society and stakeholder groups, who can use the information to hold leaders and governments accountable to their development priorities.

Olav Kjørven, Special Adviser to the UNDP Administrator on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, delivered the opening statement, and highlighted UNDP’s efforts to consult more than a million people across the world on the post-2015 development agenda, in partnership with the UN Development Group (UNDG). He reiterated calls for a data revolution in order to harness better quality and accessible information, and hold development stakeholders more accountable for progress.

The meeting also gave different groups the chance to present their specific projects in the context of the data revolution and implementation of the global development agenda. IISD Reporting Services showcased its work distributing “qualitative data” to policy-makers and stakeholders on the post-2015 negotiation process, through its Post-2015 Policy & Practice knowledgebase. [Meeting Webpage] [UNDP Press Release][IISD RS Sources]