Inclusive SDG Data Partnerships Report

The Report at a Glance

This report gathers knowledge and recommendations from the Inclusive SDG Data Partnerships initiative. The initiative is co organised by Partners for Review (P4R/GIZ), the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), and the International Civil Society Centre (ICSC).

The first phase of this initiative took shape in a five month process bringing together key stakeholders from six countries for a series of international peer exchanges, virtual workshops, and coaching sessions. This initiative’s purpose is to advance data partnerships for the SDGs and to strengthen multi actor data ecosystems at the national level. The goal is to meet the SDG data challenge by improving the use of alternative data sources, particularly data produced by civil society and human rights institutions, and complementary to official statistics.

This report aims to capture and share the key lessons learned from the first part of the initiative, which took place between October 2020 and March 2021. The initiative gathered and shared knowledge from existing experience in four specific areas of relevance for inclusive data partnerships:

1) Identifying data gaps at the national level and mapping alternative data sources

2) Identifying and engaging key stakeholders for joint data action on an equal footing

3) Understanding non-official data and its role

4) Developing a roadmap to bring data partnerships to life

Key findings

The initiative showed that a common driver for the creation of cross sector SDG data partnerships is to ensure no one is left behind in the SDG processes, speaking of the inclusion of marginalised communities. Bringing together official and non-official data sources helps to better understand the local context and identify locally rooted drivers of marginalisation while ensuring that these insights can be reflected and tracked in the national SDG strategy.

A key learning from the first part of the initiative was that partnerships are more effective when they consider the following:

• Leverage and amplify existing resources and initiatives Involve key actors from the beginning, in an inclusive and non discriminatory manner
• Establish a common goal and a clear outcome
• Agree on roles that match actors’ interest and capacities
• Build trust
• Exchange knowledge
• Create ownership among all partners
• Use the native language in multilingual environments

Eventually, the process generated insights for groups and organisations that aim to support the facilitation of inclusive SDG partnerships.

Key insights were to:

• Conduct interviews with participants at the beginning of the process
• Reduce complexity and speak in a manner that everybody understands
• Create a roadmap for the process, but remain flexible to adapt to groups’ needs
• Offer a good mix of technical inputs and peer exchange
• Provide space for group members to discuss openly and listen to each other
• Offer coaching sessions or case labs for troubleshooting
• Combine virtual and physical meetings wherever possible
• Identify “champions” within individual (country) teams