“Data Innovation: Key to a Better Nation”

Through the years, data plays a vital role in the day-to-day existence of people and
organizations alike. Data, when processed, disseminated and utilized properly, becomes
sound basis for effective decision- and policy-making. In coming up with solid and
effective plans and decisions, the provision of reliable and timely data is essential which
can further be guaranteed through data innovation.
“Data innovation refers to the use of new or non-traditional data sources and methods to
gain a more nuanced understanding of development changes.” 1 Innovations such as on
business intelligence (BI), analytics, visualization, data management, machine learning,
internet of things (IoT), have shown vast potential for the overall improvement of the data
ecosystem, particularly in the provision of better quality data. Given the huge and
complex network of data producers, providers and users, the Philippine Statistical System
(PSS) continually adopts new and innovative ways to meet the growing demands and
challenges of an ever-expanding data ecosystem.
The data revolution involving big data and new technologies is advancing very fast which
necessitates commensurate response from the PSS by way of gradually switching from
traditional to new methods and models to accurately measure progress and produce
useful and reliable data for planning. In response to the demands of the Philippine
Development Plan and other national, sectoral and local development plans, as well as
international commitments, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the Philippine
Statistical Development Program 2018-2023 emphasizes the need for data innovation to
generate quality statistics with relevant disaggregation from censuses, surveys,
administrative data, and registers, among others.
Thus, the 30th National Statistics Month and the 14th National Convention on Statistics
aptly adopt the theme, “Data Innovation: Key to a Better Nation.” The theme highlights
the importance of innovating statistical systems, processes and technologies in coming
up with quality statistics – statistics that will be used by data users, especially planners,
policymakers and program implementers who are in the best position to shape the future
of the country and of its people. With better policies and programs based on quality
statistics that are produced through effective innovations, the Filipino people will be
assured of the achievement of the country’s long-term vision of a simple and comfortable
life for all.
INNOVATE. COLLABORATE. COMMUNICATE
TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 9 (PIA) – With the theme, “Data Innovation: Key to a Better
Nation,” this year’s National Statistics Month (NSM) celebration in Eastern Visayas come
October will highlight and introduce data innovations and new methods in providing
quality statistics that are vital to data users for development purposes.

“Data innovation means new or non-traditional data sources and methods to gain deeper
understanding of development challenges,” Wilma Perante, regional director of the
Philippine Statistics Authority 8 (PSA-8) quoted a UNDP statement in a special meeting
with other government agencies Wednesday, August 7.
Perante mentioned that with data innovation, some of their services and activities are now
paperless, one of which is the use of tablets in the conduct of Labor Force Surveys and
Annual Poverty Indicators Surveys.

“With this data innovation, we expect a more timely release of information and statistics,”
Perante said.

An added highlight during the NSM opening ceremony is the launching of the Eastern
Visayas Online Statistical Datashoppe at the PSA website where the Eastern Visayas’
Agency Statistical Calendar will be linked, among other data that will be made available
to the public.

PSA is also inviting presenters from other agencies to share data innovations to the
public.

“The use of digital data derived from social media, web content, transaction data, the use
of GPS (Global Positioning System) devices are some of data innovations,” added
Perante.

This year’s NSM celebration in the region, which coincides with the 14th National
Convention on Statistics, will be highlighted also with the following activities at the
regional level: press conference, fun run, inter-agency statistical exhibit which will feature
management information systems and data systems, poster-making contest using
recyclable materials, interagency mangrove planting activity, Philippine Statistics Quiz,
Radio Stats Go! (pop quiz), Search for Best NSM Agency, and the first Eastern Visayas
Data Festival.

Perante likewise encouraged its partners in the statistical system to support the NSM
celebration by conducting also NSM-related activities in their respective agencies and
areas that are aligned with the theme.

Now on its 30th year, the NSM is an annual celebration of the Philippine Statistical System
in accordance with Presidential Proclamation No. 647, series of 1990 declaring the month
of October of every year as National Statistics Month.

It is aimed to promote, enhance, and instill nationwide awareness and appreciation of the
importance and value of statistics to the different sectors of society.

Likewise, it seeks to elicit cooperation and support of the general public in upgrading the
quality and standards of statistics in the country.

Data Innovation indicates reaching all the major goals of sustainable development
programmes in order to bring all around development of people and society and be able
to meet up with all challenges.
The initiatives for data innovation for development or DI have been quite seriously by
the United Nations Development Programme. They are sometimes seemed as
analogous with big data analytics.

The concept of big data is new, however it is a mandatory step towards the future as
this kind of technology enables storing huge amount of data. This makes it very useful
for health and social care, educational institutions, workplaces etc.

Read more on Brainly.in - https://brainly.in/question/12172866#readmore

The world of data changes every day and every hour. New innovations have hugely
increased the quantity of data and the possibilities available to people and institutions
who want to collect and use it. The challenge, and the opportunity, is to make this new
world of data useful and useable to improve people’s lives. Such innovations offer
exciting new opportunities, but also throw up big challenges around privacy, public trust,
and the potential abuses of data. The increasing use of internet-enabled devices with
sensors will provide still more opportunities both to improve the way services are
delivered and also to harness that data to gain faster insights into whether interventions
are working.

Read more on Brainly.in - https://brainly.in/question/12172866#readmore

The world of data changes every day and every hour. New innovations have hugely
increased the quantity of data and the possibilities available to people and institutions
who want to collect and use it. The challenge, and the opportunity, is to make this new
world of data useful and useable to improve people’s lives.

In defining the Sustainable Development Goals to take us through to the year 2030, we
have an opportunity to discover new ways of assessing wellbeing, measuring global
development and making swift interventions in times of crisis. Looking at the changes
over 15 years gives us an indication of how different the world could be over the next
15.

Since 2000 when the Millennium Development Goals began, there has been a
surprisingly swift uptake of technology even in developing nations. In 2014, the
developing world accounts for more than three-quarters of the world’s mobile phone
subscriptions.
 Today, in the private sector, analysis of big data – data sets too large and complex to be
studied without software- is commonplace – with consumer profiling, personalised
services, and predictive analysis being used to optimise sales. Similar techniques could
be adopted to gain real-time insights into people’s wellbeing and to target aid
interventions to vulnerable groups. Such innovations offer exciting new opportunities,
but also throw up big challenges around privacy, public trust, and the potential abuses
of data. Legal frameworks have not yet caught up with rapidly advancing technology.

Public sector bodies are also starting to use big data and new technologies. Public
health researchers are gaining valuable insights from using anonymised mobile phone
data on human migration and linking this to the spread of malaria and dengue fever.

The increasing use of internet-enabled devices with sensors will provide still more
opportunities both to improve the way services are delivered and also to harness that
data to gain faster insights into whether interventions are working. Mobile technology
services are also drivers of information that can empower citizens, be it apps that tell
farmers when to optimally plant crops, micro-loans for fledgling enterprises or medical
information for front-line health practitioners in remote settings.

Much of the big data with the most potential to be used for public good is collected by
the private sector. As such, public-private partnerships are likely to become more
widespread. The challenge will be ensuring they are sustainable over time, and that
clear frameworks are in place to clarify roles and expectations on all sides.

The Independent Expert Advisory group welcomes input regarding how the
opportunities of emerging technology and methodologies can best be realised for public
good. In particular:

1. Creating incentives and regulatory structures to encourage private enterprises to

share data and pilot new ways of working.
2. Encouraging links between public and private sectors to research new methods, pilot
their use, and encourage dissemination.
3. Developing privacy frameworks that protect the privacy of individuals without
hampering life-saving uses of data science for public good
4. Capacity-boosting on new sources of data and the use of new technologies in the field
of international development, humanitarian assistance and statistics.
5. Examples of new innovations and methods that have demonstrated potential for
improving the frequency, reliability, accessibility and usefulness of data.
6. Examples of success in bringing together official and non-official data sources, and
traditional and non-traditional methods. What are the factors behind the success stories,
and what have been some of the challenges?
7. Supporting widespread adoption of new and innovative ways of working where
proven effective.
You don’t have to be a data scientist to innovate with data.

Data innovation is the use of new or non-traditional data sources and methods to gain a
more nuanced understanding of development challenges. Data innovation often
combines non-traditional with traditional sources of data, such as household surveys, to
reframe issues and shed new light on seemingly intractable problems. New, or
nontraditional data sources may include digital data derived from social media, web
content, transaction data, GPS devices (see pp 19 for more). Because combining data
sources can provide more complete, more timely, and/or more granular information
about an issue, data innovation can open opportunities for more cost- effective
interventions, as well as provide entirely new insights that may have been overlooked
through traditional approaches.

Governments and development agencies around the world are increasingly moving
away from old models of problem-solving, and searching for new, more networked
models of resilience. Data innovation is a vital element of this effort. Identifying and
integrating faster, more detailed insights into development programme planning
processes can lead to better-targeted responses and more efficient resource allocation.
Data innovation is also part of reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Effective data collection, analysis, and monitoring can help policymakers to course-
correct programmes and policies more quickly, leading to cost efficiencies and greater
returns on investments, as well as empower communities ultimately helping to achieve
the goals.

In the modern economy, innovation drives growth. From the telegraph to the telephone
to the Internet, new technologies increase productivity and allow Americans to prosper.
But while innovation has revolutionized the American economy as a whole over the last
century, the education sector has benefitted relatively little from these advances.
Although computers and Smartboards are becoming increasingly common in the
nation’s classrooms, over the past three decades average math and reading test scores
of American seventeen-year-olds have remained largely unchanged. Meanwhile per-
pupil spending has almost doubled. This increase in spending partially reflects that
schools must compete to hire college-educated teachers in a labor market where well-
educated workers command higher and higher salaries, but it also indicates that
innovation and increases in productivity have occurred faster and been more effective in
the broader economy than in the field of education.
As the 20th century draws to a close, the technological landscape is changing. The
United States is now only one of several technologically powerful nations. The end
of the Cold War has heightened the importance of commercial technologies in
maintaining both economic and military security. New technologies depend
increasingly on scientific and engineering knowledge; this interdependence
strengthens the reciprocal links between understanding and capability.

In the United States, technology development and adoption occur through a complex
system that encompasses many individuals and organizations. Researchers in
academic, government, and industrial laboratories create new knowledge on which
many advanced technologies are based. Colleges and universities educate new
generations of scientists and engineers who will put that knowledge to work.
Private companies invest financial and human resources in developing new
technologies and adapting existing technologies to meet perceived needs.

The most-important role of government in technology development and adoption is

maintaining an environment conducive to private-sector innovation and investment.
Many policies affect that environment, including policies on taxes, trade, investment,
patents, product liability, environmental and consumer protection, international
arms control, and human resources. Those policies have multiple and sometimes
competing aims. By explicitly recognizing the effects of public policies on
technology development and adoption, government could better integrate its
pursuit of technological, economic, and social objectives. (A-l)

The government’s economic and regulatory policies have an especially broad

influence on technology development and adoption. For example, government
policies help to determine levels of investment in the economy, which in turn drives
productivity, economic growth, and job creation. Public and private investment in
research and development leads to new products and processes that can spur
productivity, and investment in new facilities and equipment gives companies an
opportunity to incorporate more-productive technologies into their operations.

Innovation management should be a core practice in National Statistical Offices

(NSOs) as a strategic area, a data technology expert reasoned during the 5th
International Conference on Big Data for Official Statistics that took place in
Kigali from 29 April to 3 May 2019.

According to Mr. Rajiv Ranjan, the Technical Programme Advisor at the PARIS21
Secretariat hosted within the OECD's Statistics and Data Directorate, the ‘Cape Town
Global Action Plan (CT-GAP) for Sustainable Development Data’, adopted by the
UN Statistical Commission in 2017, identifies “Innovation and modernisation of
national statistical systems” as a strategic area. Without innovation management, it is
hard for NSOs to take on the data challenges of the 21 st century characterised typically
by changing data priorities, increasing data demands, burgeoning data supply and
competition.

PARIS21 works in over 90 countries including Rwanda and collaborates with a wide-
range of institutions globally with the goal of strengthening data ecosystems to deliver
quality data for sustainable development. PARIS21 has been involved directly and
indirectly, in facilitating thinking and action on innovation at NSOs through several
dimensions. For instance, PARIS21 developed a tool called PISTA (Platform for
Innovation in Statistics) which serves as a comprehensive repository of innovations in
data and statistics worldwide. It allows for easy browsing across different domains
and identification of data innovations – both from the production and the use side.
Further, PARIS21 has been consistently engaged in the statistical modernisation
agenda through technical assistance programmes for NSOs in low and middle-income
countries. The PARIS21 Capacity Development 4.0 framework also formalises key
ingredients for statistical capacity development in NSOs, relevant for enabling
innovation (such as politics, resources, skills/knowledge, incentives and
management), something Mr. Ranjan highlighted in his presentation at the conference.

Taking cue from the work of OECD’s Observatory of Public Sector Innovation
(OPSI), the expert characterised innovation as “a new or significantly altered process
or approach that is novel, that has been implemented in some form, and that is
intended to deliver better public outcomes by achieving increased efficiency,
effectiveness, and citizen, user or employee satisfaction”.

Advocating for a life-cycle approach as opposed to the linear model of innovation and
making it more relevant for NSOs, he proposed to map the innovation process to
various stages the Generic Activity Model for Statistical Organisations (GAMSO) –
which describes the activities that take place within a typical statistical organization.

A key strategic area relating to innovation and modernization of national statistical

systems (NSSs) includes encouraging NSOs to realise the potential of new and
alternative data sources, including big data and embrace the open data initiative,
ensuring inclusive stakeholder participation from within and beyond the NSS.
However, building an innovation-friendly culture especially in the public sector
requires enabling conditions and critical skills especially for public sector innovation.
These include iterative processes, data literacy, user-centricity and curiosity (as
identified by OPSI). "It is also important to make innovation easier by providing
resources, such as appropriate training, data and funding to problems solvers," Rajiv
told a group of participants who attended the conference.
One can no longer, see innovation as a specific responsibility of an organisation’s
R&D departments, but rather as a core element of the management and culture of the
whole organisation. At the heart of innovative agencies lies an operating culture
aimed at the rationalisation of production, improvement of service, continuous
development of products and processes, and nurturing of innovativeness and creativity
among the personnel. Therefore, the innovation agenda is closely associated with the
modernization of statistical agencies agenda. Other lessons in the area include the
pivotal role of partnerships for knowledge and idea diffusion, the importance of risk-
taking, and trial and error for incremental learning.

Making innovation work for official statistics requires sound understanding of its
management and basic capacity. This links to the whole debate around statistical
capacity development and the need to go beyond pure technical individual skills to
systemic enabling conditions. This also reinforces the call for more and better support
to statistical agencies worldwide, in the spirit of the CT-GAP for Sustainable
Development Data.

The fifth International Conference on Big Data for official statistics was the first of its
kind held in Africa and Rwanda. The previous Big Data Conferences took place in
October 2014 in Asia (Beijing); in October 2015 in the Middle East (Abu Dhabi); in
September 2016 in Europe (Dublin); and in November 2017 in South America
(Bogota).

I believe data science is the key to our nation’s future, and I’m here to make a pitch for its
merits, no matter who you are. If you’re a business leader, you need to incorporate data science
into your products and services. If you’re a young professional, you need to add data science to
your skill set.
Data science can help us solve the biggest problems facing the Philippines. The country is
already one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and we can continue this rise if we
address some of the long-running inefficiencies that have plagued our nation – a task that data
science is naturally suited for.
Take the case of traffic. When we speak of fixing traffic in Manila and other cities, we usually do
so in the context of adding things, be they carpool lanes, toll roads, highway on-ramps.

Applying data science to road congestion is far less resource-intensive than adding
infrastructure because it enables us to make better use of what is already there.

After collecting data on traffic patterns in the metro, for example, we can find ways to
optimize usage of our on-ramps, so that vehicles do not congest only a few of these
entry points but distribute more evenly in usage.

Between human resources and traffic congestion, there is no problem in the Philippines
that would not benefit from the application of data science. To this notion, the skeptic
might ask, “With which data scientists?” The Philippines, after all, is not known as a
haven for data scientists, as I myself have noted.

Though this may sound counter-intuitive, the fact that the Philippines is a laggard in
data science is actually an advantage.

New technologies have made it easier and cheaper to collect, store, analyze, use, and disseminate
data. But while the potential for vastly more data-driven innovation exists, many organizations have
been slow to adopt these technologies. Policymakers around the world should do more to spur data-
driven innovation in both the public and private sectors.

If oil was the fuel of the twentieth-century economy, data will be the fuel of the twenty-first century.
Indeed, by enabling people to better understand the complex world around us and to use that
understanding to make better decisions, large and small, data has the potential to drive innovation in
a broad range of areas, improving both economic productivity and quality of life. A growing number
of organizations, from Netflix to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have
already begun to harness large-scale data analysis technologies to great effect. For example, 75
percent of what users watch on Netflix is found through the company’s advanced recommendation
algorithm; and NOAA has refined its predictive weather models to anticipate storms ten times more
accurately than it did 20 years ago.[1]
Making sense of the vast amounts of data collected about people and the world around them is
necessary to address major social challenges, including improving health care, education, public
safety, transportation, energy, and the environment. Some countries have already begun moving in
this direction. For example, the Australian government has identified data as key to driving
innovation in the public sector, including through initiatives to maintain infrastructure, improve health
care, and reduce response times for emergency services.[2] But data-driven innovation is not merely
a tool for developed countries; developing countries, too, are harnessing the power of data, including
for humanitarian aid and development.[3]
Researchers use data to open doors for future applications and to spawn entirely new areas of
inquiry. Scientists ushered in medical genomics with the Human Genome Project, advanced particle
physics at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN), and mapped the stars with the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey, all relying on enormous quantities of data. Some landmark research datasets
have continued to pay dividends decades after their collection began. For example, data from the
Framingham Heart Study, a long-term cardiovascular study launched in 1948, has recently been
applied to analyses of obesity and divorce. In the future, researchers will derive insights into
neuroscience and computing using massive datasets from the EU’s Human Brain Project and the
U.S. BRAIN Initiative. Cancer research will be supported through data-sharing fostered by the U.S.
National Cancer Informatics Program.

Data-driven innovation can also strengthen economies by reducing waste and improving services.
For example, in the United States, the value from data in health care exceeds $300 billion
annually.[4] And globally, the use of smart grid data could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more
than two billion tons by 2020, according to a 2013 OECD estimate.[5]
A conversation about data-driven innovation is possible now because new technologies have made
it easier and cheaper to collect, store, analyze, use, and disseminate data. But while the potential for
vastly more data-driven innovation exists, many organizations have been slow to adopt these
technologies. Policymakers around the world should do more to spur data-driven innovation in both
the public and private sectors, including by supporting the development of human capital,
encouraging the advancement of innovative technology, and promoting the availability of data itself
for use and reuse.

The Benefits of Data

Data leads to better understanding and decision making among individuals, businesses, and
government.

Individuals use data to make better decisions about everything from what they buy to how they plan
for the future. These decisions can be minor, such as deciding whether to carry an umbrella based
on weather forecasts, or major, such as deciding where to go to college based on school evaluations
or predictions of future career earnings. Traffic data helps individuals find the most efficient route
from point A to point B, saving time and gas in the process. Data from the electricity grid can help
homeowners save on utility bills. User reviews on sites like Amazon help consumers discover the
products that they like best.[6] Yelp’s restaurant reviews help people decide where to enjoy their next
meal, and (since the site has recently begun to integrate additional data from city health inspections)
to factor food safety into these decisions.[7]
Businesses use data to find new customers, automate processes, and inform business decisions.
For example, Visa’s data-driven Advanced Authorization service alerts banks to potential fraudulent
transactions in real-time, identifying as much as $1.5 billion in fraud around the world
annually.[8] Coca Cola uses complex models to ensure that every batch of orange juice it blends
tastes consistently fresh.[9] Intel uses predictive modeling on data from its chip manufacturing plants
to anticipate failures, prioritize inspections and cut monitoring costs.[10] GlaxoSmithKline conducts
text analytics on data collected from online forums so that it can better understand and respond to
the concerns of parents who delay vaccinating their children.[11] Wind energy companies, such as
Vestas, use complex weather models to determine the optimal locations for their turbines.[12]
Government agencies use data to cut costs, prioritize social services, and keep citizens safe. The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission analyzes data reported by publicly-traded companies to
identify suspicious filings and inform fraud investigations.[13] The European Space Agency deploys
satellites equipped with remote sensing technologies to track and analyze changes in the global
environment and help forecast weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts.[14] The U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses social network analysis to better understand and
stem the spread of communicable diseases.[15] The UK’s Royal Mail uses analytic software to
determine the most efficient delivery routes and make sure parcels get to their destinations as
quickly as possible.[16] The U.S. Institute of Educational Sciences conducts randomized trials,
inspired by clinical research, to collect data and measure the impact on learning outcomes of certain
educational variables, such as choice of instructional materials.[17] New York City’s Fire Department
prioritizes inspections based on risk assessments derived from building data which has resulted in
the city reducing the number of annual fire deaths to the lowest since recordkeeping began in
1916.[18]

Statistics plays a vital role in every field of human activity. It helps us in determining the existing
position of per capita income, unemployment, population growth rates, housing, schooling, and
medical facilities in a country.

Statistics teaches us how to gather, organize, and analyze numerical facts, which we
call data. Data bombards us in everyday life. Most of us associate statistics with the
bits of data that appear in news reports: baseball batting averages, imported car sales,
the latest poll of the president's popularity, and the average high temperature for
today. Yet the usefulness of statistics goes far beyond these everyday examples.
Doctors must understand the origin and trustworthiness of the data that appear in
medical journals if they are to offer their patients the most effective treatment.
Politicians rely on data from polls of public opinion. Farmers study data from field
trials of new crop varieties. Engineers gather data on the quality and reliability of
manufactured products.

We can no more escape data than we can avoid the use of words. Just as words on a
page are meaningless to the illiterate, so data do not interpret themselves but must be
read with understanding. A writer can arrange words into convincing arguments or
incoherent nonsense. Similarly, we can manipulate data to be compelling, misleading,
or simply irrelevant. The ability to follow and understand numerical arguments is
important for everyone. To be an author rather than just a reader is a vital skill in
many professions and areas of study. We must learn how to read data, critically and
with comprehension; we must learn how to produce data that provide clear answers to
important question; and we must learn sound methods for drawing trustworthy
conclusions based on data as well as acquire ability to effectively communicate valid
conclusions.

The country underwent a lot of changes over the years especially with the
way people live their lives.