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Responsible data management toolbox

2.2 Stakes and Risks

13-Sept-2022 9 mins Share on social networks

For this section, you will be able to navigate through videos which were recorded during CartONG GeOnG event (in English only) and webinars (in French only). Rather than writing or referring to long pieces of text, videos can be a great entry point to mainstream complex topics such as Responsible Data and Data protection and open up to other cross-cutting topics such as open data, digital transformation, info sobriety, digital gaps and inclusion.

Broadcast exchanges and thought-provoking discussions by humanitarian practitioners for a humanitarian audience are particularly well-suited to raise attention and highlight key points of concerns for the aid sector.

Note that the topic and related-technologies being in constant discussion and fast-paced evolution, the opinions displayed might already need update. Still, getting an understanding of these insights can help grasp with the complexity and challenges for NGOs to keep up in light of their operational and financial constraints.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Webinars in French

Quels sont les risques réellement encourus par les OSC en protection des données ?

La GDoP des OSC : une composante à part de la transformation numérique ?

L’humain, le grand oublié de la stratégie du tout numérique des OSC

L’info-sobriété en pratique : comment l’appliquer à mon OSC ?

Les idées reçues des OSC sur l’open : parlons open source et open data !

Videos from GeOnG 2018 and 2020 in English (iframe)

GeOnG 2020 – Data Protection laws in context: how can they be at the service of vulnerable people’s rights?

In light of the fact that we, as humanitarian and development actors, mostly deal with very vulnerable people, we should consider the difference between compliance and ethics. Various data protection legal frameworks have recently come out, most notably the European GDPR, but they are not thought out, designed or meant specifically for field environments and for the very vulnerable people we deal with in the sector. During this roundtable, the panelists will therefore cover the following questions:

  • What is the relevance of these laws in the context of humanitarian action and when interacting with vulnerable data subjects?
  • What have been the experiences of NGOs in the field since these laws came into effect, and in particular the GDPR? What challenges, and also potential failures have they faced?
  • What challenge have the covid-19 crisis - and resulting social distancing measures - added to the implementation of such laws in the field?
  • How can DPOs accompany field workers and advise them on how to deal with the realities they encounter? What solutions have been found and implemented so far?

Panelists will introduce examples as well as the key lessons they have learned from their own experience of implementing such laws and related ethical standards, bringing different perspectives to the table.

GeOnG 2020 - How to promote the right level of data literacy amongst your staff ?

Most practitioners of the humanitarian and development sector regularly work with data. Yet, they often do not consider themselves as “data people” that need to be trained and aware of the associated stakes. Organizations also struggle with assessing the right level of data literacy for their staff, given the diversity of backgrounds, profiles and responsibilities they have to deal with – from field workers to members of governing instances, and from non-technical teams to data officers. In this session, we will address how to promote the right level of data literacy among aid organizations from a policy, practical and change management perspective looking at some key questions:

  • Why is data literacy important for an organization?
  • What is data literacy in practice? And are there differences between existing needs at HQ and in the field?
  • What are the challenges associated with drafting a comprehensive data literacy policy at an organizational level, and implementing it? What successful examples can serve as references for the sector? What best practices exist in terms of change management?
  • How can an increased data literacy lead to better programming?

GeOnG 2020 - Bridging digital divides , ODI

Covid-19 has accelerated the use of digital technologies in humanitarian settings, and with it has come debates around inclusion, autonomy and risks to aid users. In this lightning talk, John Bryant, a researcher with the Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI, summarizes some emerging findings on the impact digital tools are having on ‘the digital divide’ in humanitarian contexts.

GeOnG 2020 - The role of language for data-driven humanitarian action

Language diversity, long underrated in humanitarian contexts, is emerging as an essential component of effective community engagement. Links between vulnerability, accountability, and language are increasingly recognized. Yet, data on the languages affected people speak and understand is largely unavailable to organizations to inform communication strategies. Language barriers further hamper organizations’ ability to understand people’s needs, capacities, and concerns and respond accordingly. Without accessible and reliable data, organizations default to potentially unsafe assumptions that hinder the effectiveness and reach of community engagement efforts.

  • What are the learning from evidence and practice to date on the impact of the language data gap?
  • What tangible actions and new partnerships can fill this critical data gap?
  • How can this be done in line with good data collection and processing measures?

GeOnG 2020 - Promoting inclusiveness throughout the data cycle

Inclusiveness should not just be a general principle that looks nice on paper, but should be applied coherently in programs, which entails that it should be properly taken into account in associated data management practices. This requires looking carefully at all the different steps of the data cycle and for each, considering what could be the implications of being inclusive, such as:

  • During the tool design phase: ensuring the contextual analysis prior to the data collection has an inclusivity angle;
  • During the design of the project: considering using participatory methodologies, making sure that project indicators factors in the necessary inclusivity settings or disaggregation, or even that questions that will be asked during data collection are phrased and organized to avoid biases such as social desirability;
  • During the actual data collection phase: trying to be as inclusive as possible in the choice of enumerators and in defining the sampling and data collection procedures;
  • During the analysis: thinking through what inclusive representations need to be made and acted upon;
  • And of course, during the sharing of the results: ensuring one implements accountable processes to discuss results with the communities with an inclusive panel of people.

The panelists will share their experiences and bring different perspectives to the table, also focusing on the difficulties of being inclusive as well as unexpected opportunities it can also make possible.

GeOnG 2020 - How can you truly manage informed consent in practice?

Informed consent is the most widely used legal basis for data collection in the sector. However, it is difficult to obtain an “actual” informed consent in the field when people are placed in incredibly vulnerable situations, may be illiterate and/or digitally illiterate and when we know that language barriers (both in the linguistic and technical sense) are a real challenge.

  • What do beneficiaries truly understand when we ask for their informed consent?
  • If vulnerable people feel uncomfortable with data collection when receiving assistance, do they always have the option to actually refuse to give their consent or do they have to give up on upholding their rights?
  • How close can we get to informed consent in practice, while respecting humanitarian principles? And how has the recent covid-19 crisis impacted our ability to obtain an informed consent from beneficiaries?
  • What level of granularity should we aim for when it comes to informed consent?
  • Which alternatives to consent are there and when should they be used?

GeOnG 2020 - Building Responsible Data reflexes from The Engine Room

In this workshop, participants will receive an introduction to Responsible Data (RD) for organizations, as well as learn how they can operationalize RD in their own organization. The workshop will be aimed at newcomers or beginners; no prior knowledge will be required.