My Journey Begins - Embracing Data Science in International Development

My first job fresh out of the Nigerian National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) in 2005 was in KPMG Nigeria . As a young consultant, I was part of the team that reviewed and designed the Compensation Structure, Employee Management Framework and Collective Bargaining Mechanism for the Nigerian public service on behalf of the Presidential Committee on Review of Public Sector Emoluments. I vividly remember when I was informed we needed to conduct an employee survey of the Federal Civil Service of Nigeria (my survey sample was approximately 6,000 civil servants with a target to retrieve a minimum of 3,000 questionnaires). I had about 3 weeks to share the paper-based survey, collect, input the data, analyse, write a report and prepare a presentation that will be used to discuss findings with the Presidential Committee. All the technology I had at my disposal was Microsoft Excel. This was in 2006, so re-imagine the Microsoft Excel version available at that time.

I was able to retrieve over 4,000 questionnaires and input the data on Microsoft Excel. It was tough doing this day and night. The bigger nightmare however was the data analysis for the report and presentation. I had gone for days doing things "manually" until my senior colleague Olawale Noiki showed me the true power of Microsoft Excel. That was when my love for Data Analytics started....

Over the years as my career moved to International Development, I have been intrigued by the importance and power of data and how intelligence and insights can be gleaned from it. It's 2023, seventeen years after my first encounter with data analytics, I decided to take this love story seriously by enrolling in a Data Science course with Utiva - even though I must confess, I am doing this afraid.

Data can help explain what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen, and can give policy makers sound information with which to make decisions and allocate resources.

The words “big data” are everywhere, and international development is no exception. Governments, international organizations and other development stakeholders are starting to leverage the potential of big data for research and to make decisions and solve some of the hardest challenges facing humanity.

For policymakers, information gleaned from these data can provide actionable insights for improving education, food security, governance, public health, youth employment, and more.

For example, in education, data collected through classroom assessments can help education leaders better understand what a child is learning or not learning, and why. These insights can then be used to improve curricula, teaching techniques, and classroom materials based on evidence of what is likely to be more effective. In agriculture, this can be used to answer questions such as which geographic areas are most likely to have the most vulnerable farming households so where to roll out programs can be properly targeted.

I have seen first hand the importance of data analysis and visualizations to allocate resources, track an intervention's progress and measure its effectiveness. Here is an example of Hello Tractor :

In-depth data analysis of number of tractors vis-a-vis number of smallholder farmers serviced served as the foundation for Hello Tractor’s selection of their Nigeria's first Hub location in Gunki, Nasarawa State aimed at taking the eco-system support closer to the tractors and smallholder farmers. View the full video of the Hello Tractor's Hub launch here.

Data Science is important at both the micro and macro levels—from fighting disease outbreak in a small village to measuring the progress of the full slate of the?Sustainable Development Goals.

As an international development practitioner and a change agent, I am committed to harness the value in data and put it to work for policymakers and people around the world. I don't know what this journey holds but I'm excited about what I will learn along the way.

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Eyitayo O Jehiel Oliver Folu Okunade Dr Nneka Enwonwu