data is cool, but there ain't no data (driven) revolution - rakesh rajani

Data is cool, but there ain’t no

data (driven) revolutionRakesh Rajani, Twaweza, @rakeshrajani

(with support from Ben Taylor, @mtega)

Isn’t this beautiful?

One day we could do even this…

And they wouldn’t they love it!

Revolutions are driven by people, not data

Cartoon from WSP

1.

Start with the problemyou wish to solve, not your data point

2.

Be rigorous with the evidence,

and open to change your mind

3.

Most of the time,the real revolution

will be the small dataabout my life

Anyone here interested?

4.

Meaning comes from comparing

5.

Be clear about how you will get from here to there

aka theory of change

What will you do here to get there?

Data

I get it.We want to make

a difference.We will do X.WHAT?

What?What?

What?

What?

What?

What?

What?

What?

What?What?

What?

DATA + WHAT? = CHANGE

• Do I understand?• Is it new info?• Is it worse than expected?• Do I care?• Is it my responsibility?• Do I have the skills?• Can I do anything?• New ideas for actions?• Can I achieve anything alone?• Will others join me?

Source: Lieberman, Posner, Tsai (Twaweza Evaluators)

In conclusion,

Revolutions are driven by people, not data

For data to aid the revolution, three things that really matter

People RelationshipsPolitics

And for us to use the data wellfor the revolution

Curiosity Be differentOpenness