These value of data case studies, developed by the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and TReNDS – the data and statistics thematic group of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, represent an effort to dig deeper into the impact of data, and specifically the return on investment of each case. Our goal is to highlight the impact of data and show that investing in data systems, capacities, technologies and processes are relatively inexpensive, and often lead to long-term cost efficiencies as well as sustained social impacts and positive development outcomes.

These case studies are part of a wider initiative that the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, with the support and guidance of several partners, developed to help push for more and better financing for data. We have joined major institutions and academic consortiums like the OECD, the World Bank, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network that have recently published major reports calling for this, and are collaborating with these partners and the UN Statistical Commission’s High-Level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity Building for Statistics to mobilize political commitments to increase financing for data and spend those resources as effectively as possible.

Data Modeling Helps Reduce Risk of Violent Crime in Atlantic City (PDF, 4MB)

Bangladeshi Slums Reduce Maternal and Infant Mortality with the Help of Innovative Health Data (PDF, 3MB)

BudgIT Empowers Nigerian Citizens Through Open Data (PDF, 4MB)

Landsat's Earth Observation Data Support Disease Prediction, Solutions to Pollution, and More (PDF, 3MB)

Data Sharing via SMS Strengthens Uganda's Health System (PDF, 3MB)

Improved Data Governance Leads to Better Economic Outcomes for Philippine Citizens (PDF, 5MB) 

Valuation of the New Zealand Census (PDF, 2MB)

Household Surveys Shape Policy Investments: A Case Study of the Living Standards Measurement Survey (PDF, 3MB)

Handpump Data Improves Water Access (PDF, 3MB)

Civil registration and vital statistics benefit health, child protection, and governance (PDF, 1MB)