WHAT IS DATA LITERACY
Data literacy is the ability to read, create and communicate data as information, as well as understanding the possibilities of using data and its consequences. We tailor our data literacy trainings to the specific needs of the Red Cross National Societies.
WHO WAS THE TRAINING FOR
Participants to the data literacy training were from:
- Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) staff and volunteers
- Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA)
- Department of Surveys (DoS), Ministry of Lands, Housing & Urban Development
- Department of Water Resources (DWR), Ministry of Irrigation and Water
- Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS), Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy & Mining
WHY IS IT NEEDED
The main objective was to equip the data teams with skills in data analysis and management. The focus went on ensuring that data is collected on standardized forms. This supports rapid mobile data collection and analysis of information from locations countrywide in disaster preparedness, response and recovery phases.
WHAT THE MALAWI DATA TEAM DID
The training consisted of four sessions:
1: Data responsibility
Gumbi Gumbi, MRCS Data Team Lead, gave a half day presentation on data responsibility. The aim was to get the participants acquainted with the concept of data responsibility, the characteristics of data types, and the different stages and roles in the data life cycle. The presentation also dealt with the risks and threats of using personal data, as well as the means to handle them.
2: Mobile data collection
Wonderful Kunje facilitated this one and a half day theoretical and practical training. The emphasis was on the RAMP toolkit. The trainer presented the benefits of mobile over paper-based data collection and the tools used in mobile data collection.
During the practical session, the participants learnt how to design questionnaires, set up the server, download the tool on the phone and set up the server link for data collection, cleaning and visualisation. They also took part in a live quiz to see how the trainees were interpreting the content and open up discussion on ideas that could be improved upon.
3: The Malawi Spatial Data Portal (MASDAP)
Brown Mphalo, a Masdap administrator from DoS, gave a 30 minutes presentation on the background of Masdap, highlighting its architecture and functionalities. In addition, the participants watched a live demo on how to use the portal.
4: The Community Risk Assessment (CRA) dashboard
Simon Tembo, MRCS GIS Specialist, gave a presentation and facilitated a discussion on the CRA dashboard. The aim of the session was to introduce the participants to the MALAWI CRA dashboard so that they can quickly identify the geographic areas that are most affected by a natural disaster or crisis and, within those areas, the people that are most affected.
FEEDBACK & FOLLOW-UP
The participants received an online survey asking for their feedback on the training. The results showed that most participants were satisfied with the delivery and contents of the sessions.
Adopting a standard data collection template as a result of this training will limit duplication or gaps in information, speed up data flow and support easier analysis.
The follow-up goal is to facilitate simplified trainings on basic data collection at community and district level, which can be rolled out by stakeholders countrywide.
WHEN & WHERE WE STARTED
We have so far conducted trainings in:
- 2017: The Netherlands Red Cross
- 2017: IFRC Regional Data Skills Workshop Hungary
- 2018: Ethiopia Red Cross
- 2018: Uganda Red Cross
- 2018: Zambia Red Cross
- 2019: Kenya Red Cross
- 2019: Malawi Red Cross
DATA TEAM CREATION & TRAINING so far!
- Malawi (3 members, operative 2017)
- Kenya (3 members, operative, 2018)
- Uganda (2 members, operative, 2018)
- Ethiopia (1 member, setting up 2019)
- Philippines (1 member, setting up, 2019)
- Zambia (1 member, operative, 2018)
- Mali (1 member, setting up, 2019)
- Nepal (Planning, 2020)
- Lebanon (Planning, 2020)
- Zimbabwe (Planning, 2020)
Written by Malawi Data team Lead Gumbi Gumbi & Catalina Barzescu
DATA LITERACY VOLUNTEER
WHO ARE YOU? You are data literate, bright and creative, and have a hands-on mentality. You have a strong digital learning profile and you love working in an international and interdisciplinary team. WHAT DRIVES YOU? You want to use your skillset to improve the speed, quality and cost-effectiveness of humanitarian aid. You want to improve…
SPATIAL DATA & SDG REPORTING IN GLOBAL SOUTH
Changing of the guard? The rise of spatial data for reporting on the SDGs in the Global South Written by Heleen Elenbaas for the brokeronline.eu This piece was elected runner-up in the CSDS - The Broker Student Blog Competition on SDGs. Three years after drafting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the first steps of progress towards…
DATA ACTIVITIES
IMPLEMENTING DATA PREPAREDNESS HOW WE VERIFY DATA HOW WE WORK WITH OUTLIERS DATA COLLECTION DATA INTEGRATION DATA VISUALIZATION DATA ANALYSIS DATA MANAGEMENT DATA SHARING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
DATA COLLABORATION FOR SDG’s MALAWI
DATA COLLABORATIVE FOR SDGs IN DRC MAKING DAMAGE PROVISIONS MORE EFFICIENT & EFFECTIVE DATA LITERACY WORKSHOP: NLRC 510 TEXT MINING EXPLORATION FOR IMPACT DATA ORTEC & 510 – Can text mining optimize humanitarian response? 2 YEARS OF DATA RESPONSIBILITY AT 510 510’s PURPOSE HOW WE VERIFY DATA بيروت بعد الانفجار: كيف تلعب التكنولوجيا دورًا حيويًا…
DATA COLLABORATIVE FOR SDGs IN DRC
Small and Big Data in Kinshasa and how to avoid travelling 10.000 km across DRC to get data! There are many other stakeholders that hold valuable data for reporting on SDGs, ranging from Small up to Big Data sets. The project “Building a Data Collaborative to support SDGs on Health & WASH in Malawi and…
DATA COLLABORATIVE FOR SDGs IN MALAWI
THE INCEPTION WORKSHOP: In Malawi there are many data providers and data users and each of them uses different platforms and tools. The first step of building a data collaborative in a country is bringing these preexisting data ecosystems, stakeholders to the table and documenting the available relevant data with them. At 510 we do this…
USING DATA RESPONSIBLY IN OUR DAILY WORK
PLEASE SEE LATEST POLICY V2.2 AND POST HERE 510’s vision is to use (big) data to positively impact faster & more (cost) effective humanitarian aid. Yet, it is vital that the opportunities of using data go hand in hand with ethical standards on how to use data in a responsible manner. In April 2017,…
DATA LITERACY WORKSHOP: NLRC
Taking Data Literacy to the next level. As part of an annual training week at the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC), the 510 team initiated and organised its very first one-day workshop on data literacy for the international department of NLRC. Project coordinators, country representatives, program managers, technical consultants, unit leads and many others, experienced the…
IMPLEMENTING DATA PREPAREDNESS
Written by 510 SCIENTIFIC LEAD Marc van den Homberg. The Netherlands Red Cross has a long-term partnership with Malawi Red Cross, working together on humanitarian response and Disaster Risk Reduction. In 2015 the shelter cluster was activated in Malawi during one of the worst floods in the history of Malawi that led to a severe…
SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTING A REMOTENESS INDICATOR MALAWI
Written by Jurg Wilbrink 510 GEO INFORMATION SERVICES The 510 initiative is working with the Malawi Red Cross to identify the country’s most vulnerable areas. A workshop and mapping exercise were held on data collection and sharing with different stakeholders in Malawi. Vulnerability data contributes to the Red Cross’ data preparedness initiative (see also Method:…