Open data for social good in the Kyrgyz Republic
At the UN in Kyrgyzstan, we believe that open and reliable data is essential to data-driven decision making by key policy makers and other organizations that use data for social good. As Ashish Soni, a machine-learning and data-science expert, says, there are five characteristics which constitute building blocks for data analysis and decision making:
- Accurate: data and information must be reliable and accurate
- Complete: partial data depicts a partial picture; completeness of data and information is essential for sound decisions
- Consistent: systematic collection using consistent methodology and updates are important for data users and decision makers
- Unique: good decisions need high-quality data and information
- Timely: new and current data is more valuable than outdated data
With this and the current national situation in mind, we worked with the country’s National Statistical Committee developing an open data website and the StatKG mobile application to make specific national data available to everyone free of charge.
The app and the website rely on the data provided by the National Statistical Committee, an institution with unique and reputable methodology and tools to collect, analyse and interpret raw data.
24,000+ data points in Russian, Kyrgyz and English
The open data portal and mobile app is our attempt to reflect reliable and open data in Kyrgyzstan related to the Sustainable Development Goals and it is a one-of-a-kind in the Commonwealth of Independent States region. The mobile app also supports data in English, Kyrgyz, and Russian languages.
We think it’s pretty cool that the application is not just an electronic handbook of statistical data, but also a powerful tool which allows comparison across different data points. This thing is packed: 3,293 indicators across 312 categories with a total amount of 24,731 indicator values.
We believe that this tool will be useful for government decision makers, journalists, academia, NGOs and international agencies dealing with development issues. Both are convenient ways to get accurate, complete, consistent, unique, and timely data on various social, economic, and environmental aspects of life in Kyrgyzstan.
Developing the website and its mobile app was a laborious process where a team of experts, IT specialists and statisticians from the National Statistical Committee spent long days trying to simplify vast dynamic tables to come up with a user-friendly way to visualize statistical data. Working on a beta version allowed us to identify bugs and errors that we could successfully fix. We are now proud to share the we have a user-friendly powerful tool on statistical data and analysis. And this was just the beginning!
Want to learn more?
Now that we have these new tools, a team of national experts is working to increase their analytical capability. The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic is working on taking the globally agreed goals and targets and finding ways to measure them that work for the Kyrgyz Republic.
This will help us establish a solid baseline to monitor the SDGs, support the government, and strengthen UN accountability through monitoring and evaluation. Pretty impressive, right? If you want to know more, go and check out our free of charge statistical data and analysis tool.
Have a look at it and let us know what you think!