Data for Now: Leveraging Innovative Sources, Technologies and Methods for Better, More Timely and Disaggregated Data for Sustainable Development

Seven years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, many countries still rely on out-of-date and incomplete data to inform its implementation. Millions of people globally are not covered by existing data sources and are therefore excluded from decision-making and policies. Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the critical importance of having reliable, timely and disaggregated data to save lives and livelihoods, and exposed the limitations of traditional sources and methods used to produce them. In this context, there is an increased sense of the urgency to use innovative approaches to better meet the data needs to accelerate action towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and build agile and resilient data and statistical systems. Heeding this call, the Data For Now initiative is supporting countries in developing their capacity to leverage innovative sources, technologies and methods to deliver better, more timely and disaggregated data for sustainable development.