At the G20 Leaders’ Meeting in Bali in November 2022, Prime Minister Modi observed that the ‘principle of data for development’ (D4D) would be integral to India’s G20 Presidency. The Bali Leaders’ Statement echoed the Prime Minister’s remarks, with heads of state unanimously ‘reaffirm[ing] the role of data for development’ in promoting ‘economic growth and social well-being’. The importance of D4D, and more broadly, the need to foster a data-driven culture, has since been repeatedly foregrounded by India’s G20 Sherpa, the Minister of State for Electronics and IT, and Indian civil society and business leaders. The strategic use of sub-state-level data—whether related to individuals, households, villages, cities, or districts—lies at the heart of bottom-up development approaches. This gives philanthropic institutions and civil society organisations (CSOs) a key role as a bridge between communities and local governance initiatives on the one hand, and the Government’s macro vision of promoting D4D on the other. Indeed, CSOs—with their on-ground presence, entrenched community-level relationships, and nuanced understanding of local contexts—are often uniquely placed to execute D4D projects in partnership with public or private entities. Recognising this, in March 2023, Reliance Foundation (RF) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF) published Micro Matters, a collection of eight case studies of high-impact CSO-run D4D initiatives that are helping transform education, agriculture, health, livelihoods, disaster management, and the circular economy. The event, Data for Development: Actions, Experiences, Lessons, co-hosted by ORF and RF, will take the form of a moderated open stakeholder discussion on how CSOs can advance—and are already advancing—India’s D4D agenda by collecting data; processing it to evolve insights; translating insights into actions; and making a social impact. The smart use of technology to implement D4D projects and measure outcomes will be a cross-cutting theme.
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- India
