Harnessing the Data Revolution to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

Before launching its second round of global goals—the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the United Nations convened a High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. As part of its final report, the Panel called for a “data revolution” and recommended the formation of an independent body to lead the charge. In this report, CSIS and JICA-RI analyze the challenges and opportunities that exist in the pursuit of the data revolution. The report also considers two developing-country cases—Laos and Myanmar—in the broader context of what will be needed to enable “leapfrog” data technologies to take hold and ultimately drive the data revolution without following the linear progression of development laid out by countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Though not without its bumps and turns, the road to the data revolution is paved with promise and possibility.