The EvalForward posted a blog discussing evaluation in the age of big data and exploring opportunities in agriculture and food security. Evaluators working in the areas of food and agriculture are constantly seeking creative ways to produce credible evaluation findings and recommendations while working under one or more of these constraints. Big data and data science can make a difference. The potential of big data technologies is especially evident in the current pandemic context. The blog sets out various challenges that are facing evaluators today and further explains how big data and data...
The High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation has announced a call for contributions where they are seeking inputs from individuals, government, academic/research groups and various stakeholders to supply contributions that are to inform its deliberations and development of actionable recommendations for the report. Submissions should reflect one or the following aspects of digital cooperation:- what values and principles should underpin cooperation in the digital realm; how can stakeholders cooperate more effectively in the digital realm, including how can marginalized stakeholders be included...
Collecting data in the field has always been a headache for researchers, students, aid projects, and international organizations alike. Thanks to technology, we can now collect data through using mobile technology and replace the traditional approaches. Despite the advances in technology, haphazardly collected data tends to be a headache to analyse. In order to support the use of mobile phones and other handheld devices, US Global Development Lab and their partners have published the “ Paper-to-Mobile Data Collection” manual. Paper-to-Mobile Data Collection: A manual This manual was designed...
The assessment of the status of the world forest resources and their changes over time can only be done through the collection of field data, which is not widely collected in developing countries, and it is generally not shared. Remote sensing is improving knowledge on the extent and spatial distribution of forests, but information on their health status and characteristics is very limited. FAO, with the support of the International Climate Initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) of Germany , is implementing the Global...
The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) was created by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) , a leading repository of information on the impact of disasters, in 1988. The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) is a free database containing worldwide data on the occurrence and impact of over 20,000 natural and technological disasters from 1900 to the present day. The main objective of the database is to help by giving data instruments for humanitarian action at national and international levels. The initiative aims to be a basis for vulnerability assessment and to...
AQUASTAT is FAO's global information system on water and agriculture. It collects, analyses and disseminates data and information by country and by region. Its aim is to provide users interested in global, regional and national analyses with comprehensive information related to water resources and agricultural water management across the world, with emphasis on countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. AQUASTAT offers the user standardized data and tools to generate its own analysis. Ultimately, it aims to improve the user's understanding and monitoring of water resources,...
Global Forest Watch (GFW) is an interactive online forest monitoring and alert system designed for users to access the information they need to better manage and conserve forest landscapes. The mission of the Global Forest Watch is to provide the most precise information about the status of forest landscapes worldwide. GFW works in collaboration with NASA , Google and the University of Maryland to collect data on forest change which is displayed on an interactive map. Watch this introductory video by the Global Forest Watch: GFW is free and enables users to work with a wide variety of tools,...
Since September 2016, Tanzania's government deploys drones for land mapping in rural areas in order to stop frequent clashes between farmers and cattle herders over land and scarce water resources. "The use of drones helps us to define the boundaries of plots of land on the ground with great accuracy," said Samuel Msaki, a senior land mapping official at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), capture high-resolution images that can be used to conduct precise aerial surveys so that national planners can identify and digitize actual...
In order to enhance its capacity to observe large swathes of territory on a regular basis, as well as viewing otherwise inaccessible areas, SWALIM developed a remote monitoring system using remotely sensed data. Remote Sensing (RS) is the ability to capture and analyse information from the earth’s surface from a distance. The system was developed in large part to address the issue of lack of access due to insecurity. The initial objective was to ensure accountability for FAO’s programme beneficiaries after the 2011 famine, following which FAO provided cash to communities in return for...
