MERL Tech DC 2019

This interactive session will foster a conversation among participants about the evolving role for M&E when adaptive management, rigorous research, powerful IT tools, and data science are increasingly considered part of the toolkit. How do we balance engaging with new advances in technology while avoiding mission creep? How do we build teams to ensure we can respond to the needed skill sets? And how do we matrix ourselves in organizations, such that other functional units can collaborate without feeling territorial? Panelists will share how they have grappled with this challenge and invite others to share out their challenges and successes in responding to the growing role for M&E.

ICT4EVAL is the first book of its kind focussing on using information and communication technologies for evaluation (ICT4Eval). Join us for a panel where a few of the authors will discuss some of the overarching areas of emphasis of the book, including the role of technology in providing data for SDGs, big data, machine learning and more. The panel will also delve into the softer aspects of ICT4Eval such as ethical and privacy concerns pertaining to bias and inclusion when using technology for evaluation. The book is a publication by practitioners, for practitioners and so will be the panel. Come and see what ICT4Eval looks like in practice!

About the book: ICT4 Eval was written by a group of experts and development practitioners, the book presents technologies such as big data analytics, machine learning and remote sensing applied to the field of development evaluation, with a focus on measuring indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals. The volume provides an overview of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of evaluation, looking at the theory and practice, and discussing how the landscape may unfold. It also considers concerns about privacy, ethics and inclusion, which are crucial issues for development practitioners and evaluators working in the interests of vulnerable populations across the globe. Among the contributions are case studies of seven organizations using various technologies for data collection, analysis, dissemination and learning.

More information here: https://www.routledge.com/Information-and-Communication-Technologies-for-Development-Evaluation/Garcia-Kotturi/p/book/9780367137144

As an international development community, we spend a lot of resources on promoting the use of technology among women and girls within the communities where we work. The research is clear on the solid impacts this has. And yet, as a community of women development practitioners, we are failing at embracing technology ourselves. The gender gap in STEM exists in all countries, and society continues to fail women and girls by not expecting them to know much about technical matters. This plays out in our day-to-day work in the MERL sector. Whether it’s learning new software to improve our results monitoring, new mobile tools in the field, or analysis packages in the office – there seems to be a hesitance, and lack of confidence, often accompanied by self-deprecation that our male counterparts lack. What is holding back women from embracing technology in our own work, even as we tout it for others in the field? This panel will discuss our experiences as women in tech working in MEL, some of the data behind the gender gap in STEM, and why women struggle to embrace technology. It will also discuss successes and try to find some ways to encourage our colleagues to build confidence in this area.

Whether it's WFP's biometric standoff in Yemen, the repatriation of Rohingya data without the Rohingya, or the use of alternative and social credit scoring, it's clear that data governance is a development issue. As technology rights advocates are fond of saying, "digital rights are human rights," - but, often without the governance structures to make them accessible and practical. Data governance is an emerging field of practice, focused on building participation structures that realize the rights and principles digital advocates struggle to achieve through more traditional legal tools. This session will explain applied data governance in international development, with a focus on digital supply chains and data trusts - two practical approaches to help organizations get started.

Data can be helpful in implementing better quality projects, however it can come with some dark unintended consequences, creating new or increasing vulnerabilities, and doing harm. A panel of technologists and evaluators will discuss the ethical implications of ICT-enabled MERL, and the risks of (and actual) unintended consequences. For example, the burgeoning use of digital surveillance is taking place, but our current global laws do not protect against demographically/community identifiable information. And where organisations and processes are going digital, how often is aid being traded for data? Where data and technology should protect, they can lead to increasing vulnerability. How will we be sure we're changing things for the better instead of reinforcing existing biases and inequalities? The panel will touch on some aspects of digital literacy and rights which can help combat these unintended consequences.

This will be a panel discussion session with dedicated time for Q&A at the end, but we also encourage debate during! Participants will come away from the discussion with greater confidence to tackle some of the most challenging ethical considerations of technology that we face.