a partnership between development gateway brigham young university the college of william & mary
TRANSCRIPT
A Partnership Between
Development GatewayBrigham Young University
The College of William & Mary
“Drinking from the Firehose”
1. Visualization helps make sense of information
2. But neither information nor visualization ….. imply that we will learn
Avoid the illusion of learning
Two Key Points
1. Targeting of Need
2. Donor Coordination
3. Recipient Feedback
Where do information and visualization get us?The role of geocoding…
Three Key Questions
Geocoding allows fund tracking at the sub-national level
Does aid reach and help the neediest?
Targeting of Need
Full .pdf here
How do we really know whether aid helps?
Will visualizations mislead users?
Targeting of Need
Do donors coordinate to target areas of need?
Geographic clustering in areas of concentrated need
…Spread out in areas of diffuse need
Donor Coordination
Is clustering inherently problematic?
What is missing?
...cofinancing. else?
The Swarm Principle
Geocoding makes possible leveraging the wisdom of crowds through decentralized
citizen and NGO feedback
Recipient Feedback
If you build it… will they really come?
Locations, Incentives….not technology
Recipient Feedback
Good, Better, Best
Complexity of development:Need for other types of informationBetter information on aid and need over time Methods for multiple variables and
identification of causal pathways
Randomized Controlled Trials
The Illusion of Learning?
We’re betting on transparency and visualizationI’m on board
But more information does not imply learningVisualization does not imply learning
In the race for information, let’s take the time to learn