DANE, Colombia's national statistics office, is rethinking who counts as a data producer, partnering with groups like Colombia Diversa, ILEX Acción Jurídica, and traditional midwives in Chocó to capture realities that standard surveys miss. The result is a citizen data framework, built under the Make Inclusive Data the Norm initiative with Ghana and Kenya, that treats community knowledge as a legitimate source of public data.
This framework emphasizes that public-interest information is generated not only by governments but also by communities and organizations that understand their unique data needs. In Colombia, this approach is exemplified by initiatives such as App Diversa, a co-created application with citizens, the Wayuu Multidimensional Registry, and the Partera Vital initiative.
Moreover, various civil society organizations generate data on critical topics such as environmental issues, citizen participation, and human rights, producing evidence that enhances official data sources and deepens the analysis of inequality.
What citizen data means in practice
Building on the Copenhagen Framework, citizen data involves participatory initiatives that engage individuals across the data value chain, anchored in principles of inclusion, responsibility, professionalism, and ethics. Colombia’s Citizen Data Framework, influenced by both the Copenhagen Framework and Colombia's legal standards concerning transparency, access to information, and personal data protection, integrates ethical principles, quality attributes, and intersectionality.
As María Jimena Vargas Mayo, GIT Coordinator for Territorial Statistical Strengthening at DANE, puts it: "A single quality standard functions as a binary pass/fail gate, which inevitably favors large, well-funded organizations. We would have lost the most critical voices simply because they don't fit a traditional definition of statistical rigor."
"In many of the projects we carried out in rural areas, when we did social cartography and identified the midwife's location, the conditions of social control were different from other areas. They exercise a quite interesting authority because the young people grow up - and who do they listen to? The midwife. You had to talk to the midwife to carry out any activity with young people, because they don't just know them - the young people actually listen to her."
Martha Luz Chaverra Ríos - Consultant, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
The Colombia Maturity Model
Colombia’s citizen data framework incorporates a Maturity Model consisting of four progressive levels and dimensions: planning, governance and participation, methodology, and use and impact. This model helps grassroots organizations and citizen groups assess their practices and create practical improvement strategies. DANE adopted this approach due to the asymmetrical nature of the citizen data ecosystem, where a binary quality standard tends to favor larger, resource-rich institutions.
The Maturity Model offers a nuanced view of data quality as a trajectory rather than a fixed point, supporting recognition of both nascent and robust data. The model emphasizes process over product, ensuring that the voices of marginalized communities are included in data assessments. This approach allows organizations to identify their specific situational contexts and promotes a participatory methodology.
Authors and contributors
- María Jimena Vargas Mayo, DANE
- Mauricio Giovanni Valencia Amaya, DANE
- Martha Luz Chaverra Ríos, Global Partnership
- María Alejandra Naranjo Arcila, DANE
- Abraham Caraballo, ILEX Acción Jurídica
- María Clara Zea Gallego, Colombia Diversa
- Eliana Robles-Pallares, ILEX Acción Jurídica
- Ledy Manuela Mosquera, Association of the Interethnic Midwifery Network of Chocó
- APC-Colombia
