Feedback from our partner organizations is essential for understanding how they engage within the network and how we can work together to enhance our impact. Since 2018, we've prioritized gathering data from our partners through various means, including needs assessments, event and training feedback surveys, and organization-wide monitoring systems. Our annual partner surveys provide a pivotal opportunity to learn what our partners value, what's working well, and where improvements can be made.
The Global Partnership has supported the strengthening of actions with the organizations of the National Statistical System.
- Government partner
This blog presents the key insights, highlighting how our partners have engaged with the Global Partnership and each other in 2023, and what we’re looking forward to in the coming year.
This year’s partners’ survey validates the goals articulated in the Global Partnership 2024-2030 Strategy, particularly highlighting the three pivotal roles we fulfill within the data ecosystem as a coalition builder, learning convener, and solutions broker.
Coalition building: growing partnerships for change
More than three-quarters of partners reported having a strong sense of belonging in the Global Partnership. They reported feeling a sense of pride in being a partner (82 percent), being empowered to connect and collaborate with others, and staying informed about opportunities in the network (71 percent). Respondents included partners from government organizations, NGOs, academia, multilateral organizations, for-profits, and donors, spanning across all global geographic regions. Through our collaborative efforts we have facilitated the formation of more than 138 data partnerships across 46 countries, 42 percent of which are public-private partnerships.
Our organization's involvement [in the Global Partnership] has facilitated valuable connections with other INGOs.
- NGO/CSO partner
85 percent say their goals in the partnership, such as connections to the UN, capacity builders, and civil society organizations, were achieved. This, coupled with the diversity of the network, highlights our sustained role in fostering networks and alliances to address common goals.
Our objective is to empower our partners to work together to support countries’ national decision-making processes across three pillars:
- By ensuring access to relevant and timely data, as exemplified by our initiatives such as the Collaborative on Administrative Data and Collaborative on Citizen Data.
- Fostering the creation of inclusive data systems that leave no one behind, as demonstrated through the Inclusive Data Charter and the Data Values Project.
- Promoting accountable data governance practices that build trust in data and its use for the greater good, as outlined in our resources, including our cookbook on effective and ethical data sharing.
We would not have had access to a resource like the cookbook and the case studies in it if not for the efforts of the partnership. This resource has helped us think about our work on data sharing differently."
- For-profit partner
Learning and capacity building: empowering partners with knowledge and skills
Two-thirds of partners have increased their awareness of data for development topics and 59 percent have improved their technical skills with support from the Global Partnership. For example, through our capacity development partnership with Uruguay's national statistical office last year, data analysts at INE Uruguay were able to markedly improve their data processing, visualization and dissemination of labor statistical data.
Partners value our events, workshops, policy dialogues, and knowledge-sharing initiatives, and have expressed interest in expanding learning opportunities. This interest was reflected in the high levels of engagement in the Data Values campaign, which engaged 600 organizations and 100 countries in its first year. This year, the Data Values project launched its second cohort of advocates and will develop a starter pack to guide and support our partners to implement Data Values in their organizations.
[The Global Partnership] has helped build a foundation on technical skills, especially on data analytics, which we currently engage in continuous learning to apply in new initiatives in the pipeline and in our daily work operations.
- Government partner
Last year, our capacity building initiatives reached more than 400 learners through 13 trainings and twice as many knowledge exchange activities. These initiatives span various domains, from employing data science techniques at the intersection of climate and health data, and leveraging earth observations for informed environmental decision-making, to navigating the ethical complexities of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, among others. We remain committed to harnessing sustainable and innovative solutions to equip our partners with the knowledge, skills, and data they need to drive positive change.
Solutions in action: driving progress through data and innovation
For two-thirds of partners, the Global Partnership has (either directly or potentially) facilitated achievements that could not have been done alone, by means of networking, capacity development, access to resources, and the utilization of data, expertise and advocacy. 63 percent of partners reported progress on key data priorities such as inclusive data systems, accountable data governance, and timely decision-making because of their engagement with the Global Partnership.
Through our advocacy efforts last year, we launched the High Impact Initiative on the Power of Data which aims to establish 30 data partnerships across Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024. These partnerships will promote ethical data use, revolutionize decision-making, accelerate digital transformation, and create new economic opportunities for a more equitable and sustainable world.
Half of respondents state that the Global Partnership helped them change their approach or practice. Partners also value solutions brokering support in areas like tracking commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), scaling what works in capacity building, and fostering specific partnerships. Last year, for example, our collaboration with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) helped to enhance the inclusivity and accuracy of SDG monitoring and reporting, subsequently improving data use and impact for decision makers in the institution. Also last year, the Global Partnership and D-tree facilitated a peer exchange between the Ministries of Health in Kenya and Zanzibar to share and explore effective health data management and governance best practices in the era of data digitization.
I learned about a lot of exciting initiatives when I attended [Festival de Datos] and will be following up with a number of the speakers for potential collaboration.
- Academia/Research Partner
An invitation to partner with us
Overall satisfaction with engagement with the Global Partnership remains consistently high, with 73 percent of partners expressing satisfaction this year. Partners predominantly engage with the Global Partnership through various avenues, including attending events, participating in global initiatives like the Inclusive Data Charter or Data Values Project, speaking at, or co-convening events, among others.
The 2023 Annual Partners’ Survey results underscore the importance of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and capacity building in harnessing data for sustainable development. As we celebrate the successes of our partners and the impact of our collaborative efforts, we also acknowledge the challenges our partners identified, including limited access to, and availability of data, lack of qualified personnel, financial and resource constraints, and institutional and regulatory obstacles.
With less than six years remaining to achieve the SDGs, we must intensify our efforts to address the challenges identified by our partners and drive data-driven change. By working together, we can leverage the power of data to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and create a more equitable and sustainable world.
If you would like to learn more about joining our network and collaborating to solve today's most pressing challenges using data, please reach out to our Partner Network Associate, Julia Nicolls, at jnicolls@data4sdgs.org. Together, let us continue to build a strong coalition, convene learning opportunities, and broker solutions that drive positive change through data.
