Data-Driven Decision Making in Fragile Contexts Evidence from Sudan
, by Hamilton, Alexander; Hammer, Craig- ISBN: 9781464810640 | 1464810648
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 6/16/2017
The need for evidence-based decision making at all levels of government is perhaps greatest in fragile
settings. Data deficiencies contribute to state fragility and exacerbate constraints on the capacity to
provide basic services, public security, and the rule of law. The lack of robust, good-quality data can also
have a disabling effect on government efforts to manage political conflict. Indeed, the lack of data can
worsen conflict, since violent settings pose substantial challenges to knowledge generation, capture,
andapplication.
The development of sustainable and professional data-literate stakeholders who are able to produce and
increase the quality and accessibility of official statistics can help to improve development outcomes.
Goodquality and reliable statistics are required to track the progress of development policies through the
monitoring of performance indicators and targets and to ensure that public resources are achieving results.
Although reliable data alone cannot have a transformative effect without the right contextual incentives,
they constitute an essential prerequisite for greater accountability and more efficient decision making.
Data-Driven Decision Making in Fragile Contexts: Evidence from Sudanexplores methods and insights for
datacollection and use in fragile contexts, with a focus on findings from Sudan. It begins by posing several
questions on the political economy of data and then sets out a framework for assessing the validity,
reliability, and potential impact of data on decision making in fragile settings. It then provides insights
regarding the challenges associated with data-driven decision making in Sudan, derived from the 2014–15
United Kingdom’s Department for International Development Sudanese household survey. Featured are
data-driven analyses of diverse topics, from public service delivery to the interplay of governance, trust,
andstate legitimacy.
As the data revolution and the advent of the Sustainable Development Goals herald an increasing need to
solicit the perceptions and experiences of program beneficiaries, the impetus to develop and deploy good
quality survey instruments will increase. This volume provides an important proof of concept that this type
ofendeavor is both feasible and useful in fragile contexts and, in combination with other important data
collection tools, can be effectively utilized to enrich the evidence base of decision making in these settings.