GEDA’s Participation and Key Learnings
The ODI Data for Climate Resilience Peer Learning Network, hosted by Microsoft and the Open Data Institute as part of the Open Data Campaign, was a fruitful and enriching experience for the Gender and Environment Data Alliance (GEDA). GEDA’s work is guided by the principles of ambition, inclusion, coherence and accessibility, in line with a feminist, intersectional approach. Some of these principles were also enshrined within the Network, which encouraged the open and transparent collection and sharing of data, upholding our vision of data as a public good while protecting the privacy of data sources. The learning structure was divided into different methodologies, including teach-in sessions and small groups, as well as access to ODI’s guidance and support.
As a selected participant in the ODI Data for Climate Resilience Peer Learning Network we had the opportunity to widen our network and connect with new and diverse entities that consistently uplift underrepresented groups and champion non-traditional resources. We learned from the mechanisms, tactics and tools shared within the network, as well as challenges in data collection, analysis and dissemination. As part of this cohort of six entities that address societal and economical challenges, and which all interact with data in one way or the other, GEDA refined our overall understanding of our potential contribution to the data landscape. As a newly-formed initiative currently undergoing a scoping and mapping process, GEDA also gleaned key insights that helped inform our current workplan.
For example, GEDA exchanged information with and learned from organizations working at the local level on how expectations of data collectors need to be adjusted to local norms and practices, languages, and diverse knowledge and capacities to ensure high quality data collection that reflects the reality of local communities and boosts their buy-in and co-ownership of processes and results. GEDA also observed commonalities across diverse participant organizations on the major challenge of investing/obtaining funding for periodic data collection, to ensure availability, beyond time-and resource-bounded projects.
The Peer Learning Network also gave us the opportunity to conduct a Data Ecosystem Mapping and a Data Maturity exercise. These tools helped GEDA better define its structure , as well as identify opportunities for growth in terms of data collection, management and dissemination.
Data Ecosystem Mapping: This tool helps visualize the different actors that compose a data ecosystem and the corresponding value exchanges. In GEDA’s case, since we are a membership-driven organization, this proved to be an opportunity to map out our structure in a visually compelling way that could also contribute to our transparency and internal operations. It also allowed us to determine what data and knowledge we desired from our different membership tiers, and what type of data and knowledge we could prioritize and provide. This map now exists as one of the key visualizations of our internal structure – see our membership page for more details on how our ecosystem functions!
GEDA is pleased to have been chosen as part of the ODI Data for Climate Resilience Peer Learning Network and hopes to continue engaging with participating organizations and in similar spaces in the future.
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