The reduction of global poverty is a vital aspect of the mission of international development organizations. The World Bank is a financial institution that leads the charge in this realm. Through loans or grants, especially those coordinated by their International Development Association, this organization is able to facilitate much needed development projects in the world’s poorest countries.
However, tracking the effectiveness of these projects poses a huge challenge. With thousands of efforts in various stages of development and monies in various stages of lending and repayment, it is difficult to determine if any particular program is or was effective at their stated goal. Innovative analysis software paired with savvy operators can help to track the success of these projects with ease.
Using such platforms, analysts can import open-source data on the thousands of ongoing projects and compare their results and expenditures to indicator data, also published by The World Bank. In addition, other open-source data sets, including The Heritage Economic Freedom Index, International Financial Statistics, Government Finance Statistics, and Direction of Trade Statistics, can be incorporated to create a fleshed-out picture of the dynamic socioeconomic profile of the world’s developing nations. Finally, analysts can leverage citizen reported data (such as those found in the Uchaguzi platform) to track a program’s effectiveness at an local level.
The potential for data analytics to positively impact international development is clear. The World Bank, and many other similar organizations, can undoubtedly benefit from this approach.
Praescient Analytics is a Veteran-Owned Small Business that delivers training, data integration, platform customization, and embedded analytical services in partnership with leading technology providers. Praescient’s teams of analysts and engineers provide comprehensive solutions to federal and commercial clients engaged in critical defense, law enforcement, intelligence, cyber security, financial, investigative, and legal analytics missions.
Charlotte Stasio is Praescient’s Communications Specialist.