Workshop 4: Make Data Meaningful - Make the Invisible, Visible

The Workshop will target participants who have first-hand knowledge of programmatic priorities of UN funds, agencies and programmes, and the challenges related to leveraging traditional as well as emerging data sources. Two individuals per agency will be invited to participate: One representative should be familiar with programmatic challenges and/or policy advisory functions and have a non-technical understanding of how data innovation initiatives can help solve these challenges; the other participant could be drawn from the data/statistics community, IT, innovation or partnerships communities. The participants will also include individuals from various external organizations, including government, academia, private sector and not-for-profit who are working together with UN counterparts on data innovation.

Location

University of Nairobi
University Way
Nairobi
Kenya

Start
End
Lead agencies
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Host(s)
University of Nairobi
13 Mar 2017
08:30 Day 1
Registration and Coffee
09:00 Day 1
Welcome and Opening Remarks
09:30 Day 1
Keynote Address: Making the Invisible, Vis...
  • Making the inv...
    • Dr. Bitange Ndemo
10:15 Day 1
Understanding Data Analytics
  • Understanding ...
    • Prof. Stephen Thomas
10:45 Day 1
Break
11:00 Day 1
Understanding the Data Analytics Ecosystem...
11:45 Day 1
Learning Lab: Big Data Analytics
  • Big Data Analy...
    • Mr. Ashraf Faramawi
13:00 Day 1
Lunch
13:15 Day 1
Break
14:00 Day 1
Learning Lab: Artificial Intelligence
  • Meet Watson: M...
    • Dr. Kush Varshney
15:30 Day 1
Show And Tell
16:30 Day 1
The Data Innovation Transformation
  • Mauritius Case...
    • Ms. Joanna Felix Arce
17:00 Day 1
Knowledge Sharing: The UN Data Innovation ...
17:15 Day 1
Wrap Up Day 1
14 Mar 2017
08:30 Day 2
Networking and Coffee
09:00 Day 2
Looking Back, Looking Forward
09:30 Day 2
Learning Lab: Micro narratives - Balancing...
  • Micro Narratives
    • Mr Tony Quinlan
10:45 Day 2
Break
11:00 Day 2
Learning Lab: Modeling Tools
12:30 Day 2
Understanding Data Analytics: Inside The M...
13:00 Day 2
Lunch
14:00 Day 2
Learning Lab: Simulation Tools
  • Simulation Tools
    • Mr. Steve Hedden
15:30 Day 2
Understanding Data Analytics: Wrap Up
16:15 Day 2
Closing Remarks

Presentations

Speakers

Dr. Bitange Ndemo
Senior Lecturer - University of Nairobi Bitange currently lectures on entrepreneurship and research methods at the University of Nairobi’s Business School. Most of his research centers on the link between ICT and small and medium enterprises in Kenya. Bitange has spent more than two decades in the classroom and lecture halls with over 20 years of experience lecturing at the university level. Bitange is also the immediate former Permanent Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communication having served from 2005 to 2013. During his tenure in government, he initiated many transformative projects including infrastructural and development programs, as well as marketing Kenya as a destination for Business Processing Outsourcing.
Prof. Stephen Thomas
Consultant - Queen's University Steve graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from New Mexico State University in 2006, and a M.S. in Computer Science from University of Arizona in 2009, and holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Queen's University in 2012.
Mr. Ashraf Faramawi
Manager - PwC Ashraf is an innovator in management consulting, primary research expert, and specialist in global business solutions and stakeholder engagement. He specializes in helping organizations refine and connect their products and services to their constituents using a data-based approach - not just blind intuition.
Dr. Kush Varshney
Manager at IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center - IBM Kush is a research staff member in the Data Science Group of the Mathematical Sciences and Analytics Department at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. He is also a data ambassador with DataKind. Kush holds a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Cornell University, and an S.M. Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ms. Joanna Felix Arce
Associate Economic Affairs Officer - United Nations Department of Economic & Social Affairs (UN-DESA)
Mr Tony Quinlan
Chief Storyteller - Narrate Tony is a leading practitioner of complexity techniques for addressing intractable problems. He works with government departments, international agencies, NGOs and commercial organisations to improve decision making, particularly in sensitive areas that present high levels of uncertainty and different perspectives on issues. Having run projects in Asia, Africa, South America, Europe and the Middle East, he is one of a handful of exponents of using new narrative research approaches to deep-seated problems and issues. Tony was instrumental in starting the Children of the World project, through which young people around the world share their day-to-day stories and illuminate their lives. To date, the project has completed the first three pilot stages ahead of a global launch, gathering some 7,000 stories along the way.
Mr. Steve Hedden
Research System Developer at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures - University of Denver After receiving his MA in International Development from the Korbel School, Steve worked at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa, where his research focused on forecasting the water and energy systems of South Africa and the Southern Africa region. In January 2015, Steve re-joined our team in Denver as a research system developer, managing the ongoing development and documentation of IFs. Steve works on documenting, maintaining, extending, and enhancing the International Futures system at the Pardee Center; he is also in charge of data collection for the model.