Data for development impact: Why we need to invest in data, people and ideas

High quality development data is a must for development impact shutterstock_1109960660

We know that high quality development data is the foundation for meaningful policy-making, efficient resource allocation, and effective public service delivery. Unfortunately, even as new technology makes more data and wider uses of data possible, there are still many blank spaces on the global data map. A paper by my colleague Umar Serajuddin et al. (2015) describes this phenomenon as “data deprivation”, finding that as of just a few years ago, 77 countries still lacked the data needed to adequately measure poverty. What’s worse, data is often most scarce in the areas where it is most desperately needed. For one, the scarcity of individual-level data on issues like assets and consumption severely curtails our ability to make decisions to reduce gender disparities. Similarly, despite the urgency of the need to manage climate risk, significant voids remain with regards to climate data, such as impacts on freshwater resources. Education, health, food security, and infrastructure are just a few of the many other areas where more and better data is needed to deliver progress.

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Social media beyond entertainment

Social media has flourished with increasing digital connectivity. Internet users in the 1_pCKhN6mVHMVYwmYo8HE-DgPhilippines, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates spend more than 3 hours per day on social media. Global social media platforms such as YouTube and WhatsApp as well as local ones such as Mxit, an instant messaging application in South Africa, and Odnoklassniki, the Russian version of Facebook, are attracting people’s attention. The social interaction aspect of those communication initiatives redefines how individuals, business and government engage with each other.

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eC2: MSME landscape and Market Research in West Africa

Deadline: 25-Feb-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)images

The firm will undertake market research of the financial sector in each country with specific focus on the market structure, key players, product offering to MSMEs.
The project timeline is around 2 months starting Mid March.
The final deliverable will be five detailed reports (both English and French):
Three reports (one for each of the three markets: Côte dIvoire, Senegal & Burkina Faso) summarizing the main findings and conclusions regarding the MSME sector and the financial needs of MSMEs in each country; and
One consolidated report summarizing key themes and findings across the region, based on the in-depth country reports, for the benefit of the Holding Company.
Short (~20-page) PowerPoint presentations (in both English and French) to summarize key findings and recommendations.

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eC2: Program Evaluation for the Environmental and Social Standards in Water Resources Development (Hydro E&S Advisory)

Deadline: 07-Mar-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) water

IFC is seeking a consultant (s) from a firm with relevant monitoring and evaluation (M&E) expertise to undertake an end of program evaluation and to provide recommendations for future strategy and program design.
Purpose and use of the Evaluation
The purpose of the evaluation is threefold:
1. To assess and report on program results;
2. To identify lessons for IFC and its partners; and
3. To inform future strategy and program design.

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eC2: CONSULTING FIRM – TO IMPLEMENT AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, A FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, AND GRAPHIC ARTIST (DESIGNER) SUPPORT FOR COMMUNICATION ENHANCEMENT

Deadline: 14-Mar-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The project will support the IFC Client to assist in the development of ~3,000 grape-growing farmers by improving their productivity, efficiency, and profitability through enhanced land management, grape cultivation, harvesting and drying practices. The project will promote climate-smart and precision farming practices, thereby facilitating farmer access to export markets through the IFC Client. IFC is seeking to recruit a firm to assist IFC and it’s client in the following activities:
Section 1: Development of an environmental and social management system;
Section 2: Implementation of a food safety management system; and
Section 3: Graphic Artist to Support Management Systems Design and Enhance Communication

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eC2: Design a disaster risk financing facility for NGOs

Deadline: 28-Feb-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) vn-communitybased-disasterrisk-780x439

Scope
To conduct an exploratory study to test and find ideas and structures for a financial mechanism that can help channel pre-arranged funds directly to front line humanitarian organizations. The purpose is not a feasibility study providing legal or technical advice.

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eC2: Supply Chain Management Consultant

Deadline:  28-Feb-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) supplychain

IFC is seeking to contract a firm which has expertise in improving the productivity of raisin production by farmers and in developing raisin supply chain. The consultant will be working with an IFC client company and grapes farmers to improve the productivity and efficiency of clients raisin supply chain and to set in place a strong supply chain management and development capacity in order to ensure the long-term and reliable availability of raisins from farmers at competitive prices, in sufficient quantities and with the high quality required by the client.  The overall objective of the assignment is to improve the productivity and efficiency of the farmers producing and supplying grapes to the Client. The Consultant will also support IFC on collecting the data required for monitoring and evaluating the Projects impact on farmers and their livelihoods.

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eC2: Technical Advisor – wastewater treatment and reuse

Deadline: 24-Feb-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)Waste water plant

The Advisory Services in Public Private Partnerships (PPP) unit of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is in discussions with the Government of Botswana (GoB) to engage as the lead transaction advisor to structure and implement a project to upgrade the existing Glen Valley Wastewater Treatment facility in Gaborone to enable water reuse, under a PPP model. In anticipation of its engagement, IFC is soliciting expressions of interest from Engineering Consulting Firms with specialized experience in secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment plant design and – in particular – wastewater reuse.

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eC2: Lighting Africa/Global: Quality Assurance Manager under ACE Program

Deadline: 23-Feb-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) Solar-street-lights-in-Guinea1

Lighting Africa/Global program is a joint IFC/World Bank initiative that seeks to build sustainable markets for affordable, high quality, modern solar lighting and energy products for people not connected to grid electricity.  There are, however, impediments in many markets in Sub-Saharan Africa that must be addressed to enable growth of the sector in the region. One key barrier is the lack of quality standards that has resulted in markets being flooded by low quality products thus undermining consumer confidence.  In response to these market failures, working with UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the program has developed the Africa Clean Energy (ACE) program which has the objective of addressing a host of market barriers that have served to make these markets unattractive to potential manufacturers and distributors.  Lighting Global is therefore looking for a firm to implement the quality assurance component and activities under the ACE program.

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