Flowminder is a partner in the UN Big Data for Official Statistics initiative, an international programme focused on exploring, developing and improving 'Big Data' techniques. Involvement in the UNStats initiative enhances Flowminder’s contribution to positive social change through big data analytics.
As observed by UNStats, "Innovations in technology, widespread penetration of electronic devices, and the rapid rise in the use of technology for social purposes all bring fundamental changes to the availability of real-time information." With the value of accessible real-time information demonstrated by Flowminder’s work, we seek to improve and refine analysis techniques in collaboration with the UN Big Data for Official Statistics initiative. The initiative is broken into a number of task teams, overseen by the Global Working Group. Flowminder staff are involved in several of the Global Working Group’s task teams, listed below:
- Mobile Phone Data (Erik Wetter and David Wrathall)
- Big Data and Sustainable Development Goals (Linus Bengtsson)
- Access and Partnerships (Erik Wetter)
- Satellite Imaging (Andy Tatem)
Dr. Wetter recently presented findings to the Global Working Group at a high-level conference in Abu Dhabi. In addition, Dr. Wetter participated in a panel discussion regarding access and partnerships in big data analysis, one of the key areas for the future development of big data analytics.