Innovation fund by Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and World Bank asks for proposals to improve data in poor countries on the disabled, excluded populations such as the homeless and refugees, and on challenges related to climate change and urban resilience.

New York, Washington D.C., United States – August 1, 2017

The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data in partnership with the World Bank will invest up to $2.5m on ‘Collaborative Data Innovations for Sustainable Development’.

The new initiative seeks to improve availability and use of data under two themes: “Leave No One Behind” and the environment. These topics cover people with disabilities, those living outside traditional households (e.g. institutionalized populations, slum dwellers, the homeless and refugees), and issues related to climate change and urban resilience.

Collaborative Data Innovations for Sustainable Development Promo

The Innovation Fund is supported by the World Bank’s Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB) with financing from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Government of Korea and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland. DFID is the largest contributor to the TFSCB.

“We are seeking collaborations that shine a light on groups that have been historically left out by traditional surveys and other data gathering,” said Claire Melamed, Executive Director of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. “Exclusion takes on many forms, and in order to ‘Leave No One Behind’ we must invest in better data to make better decisions leading to better lives.”

Haishan Fu, Director, Development Data Group, The World Bank Group added “Many governments, companies, researchers and citizen groups are experimenting, innovating and adapting to the new world of data. But many others are excluded because of a lack of resources, knowledge, capacity or opportunity. This innovation fund targets priority issues in the countries that most need support”.

The Innovation Fund focus is on proposals to improve data production, dissemination, and usein low and lower-middle income countries, and on projects that bring together stakeholders to address concrete problems. To qualify for funding, projects must support action and decision making by having a specific end-user of the project’s outputs as part of their team.

Successful teams will be awarded amounts between $25,000 to $250,000 depending on whether the project is embryonic or ready to scale up. Funding will be disbursed by the World Bank’s TFSCB. The first round of funding for ‘Collaborative Data Innovations for Sustainable Development’ was launched in 2016 and funding forprojects was announced in March 2017.

Proposals for this call must be received no later than September 1, 2017 and submitted via the online applications system here.

Press enquiries: Jennifer Oldfield JOldfield(at)data4sdgs.org +1 347 327 6568

A webinar will be held to field questions regarding this call for proposals on Monday, August 7th, 2017, 09:30 – 11:00 ET. To participate in the webinar, please send an email to: fund@data4sdgs.org indicating the names and email addresses of the participants. Each participant will receive an email with instructions for registering for the webinar. Applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in the scheduled webinar.

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About the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data

The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data is a growing network of more than 250 organizations that act as data champions working around the world, harnessing the data revolution for sustainable development. Among these champions are governments, charities, businesses, and UN agencies. Since it was created in 2015, the Global Partnership has elevated data issues at a political level, launched a multi-million-dollar Collaborative Data Innovations for Sustainable Development funding initiative, and supported the advancement of country-led Data Roadmaps for Sustainable Development in: Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and elsewhere. 

About the World Bank’s Development Data Group

The World Bank Group plays a key role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. Data and statistics that improve our knowledge of development in all its forms –is at the heart of the work of the World Bank. The Development Data Group (DECDG) is the Bank’s focal point for this work. DECDG’s mission is to put data to work for development. It aims to achieve this by improving the quality, accessibility and use of development data, both for clients and for staff, through technical expertise, partnership, and innovation. For more information, please visit data.worldbank.org.

(Photo: UNDP/iHub)