RTI International (http://www.rti.org) – a leading nonprofit research institute – and IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) Africa research lab (http://www.research.ibm.com/labs/africa)
have announced a partnership to deploy big data analytics and cognitive
technologies to help transform development approaches in Africa and
around the world. In one of the first projects, IBM and RTI are
developing and testing intelligent systems to capture data about schools
in Mombasa County, Kenya.
Through
the partnership, RTI and IBM Research – Africa will explore ways of
using advanced technologies to capture accurate data about challenges in
areas such as healthcare, agriculture, water and education. Drawing on
the power of big data analytics, researchers will provide insight to
governments, aid agencies and other organizations who are looking to
make more informed decisions about investment and development while
having greater visibility of results.
“A
dearth of data on Africa in the past has led to misunderstandings or
misrepresentations of the continent’s history, economic performance and
potential. Over the past few decades, even simple facts have been
misrepresented – the size of a country, its economic performance, the
amount of poor people, the volume of exploitable resources,” said Dr.
Kamal Bhattacharya (http://www.apo.af/H4zBuh),
Vice President IBM Research – Africa. “The latest advances in mobile,
big data and Internet of Things technologies have the potential to
change that so that we have an accurate and dynamic understanding of
Africa’s challenges, rising opportunities and incredible potential.”
The
partnership comes as a rapid rise in mobile and Internet of Things
technologies are producing unprecedented amounts of data. In developing
countries, mobile phones, digital devices and low-cost sensors connected
to improving cellular networks are reaching previously disconnected
communities with the potential to produce new insight about how people
live and the challenges they face.
“Rapid
advancements in technology and open data initiatives mean more data is
available now than ever before, offering significantly greater insights
to improve lives through smarter development programs,” said Aaron
Williams (http://www.apo.af/k4Eob4),
executive vice president at RTI. “By combining our expertise in data
science and development, RTI and IBM will apply the information newly at
our fingertips to accelerate improvements in literacy, respond rapidly
to the spread of infectious diseases, and discover and apply new
innovations for improving the human condition in the developing world.”
Big Data for Education in Mombasa County
In
one of the first joint projects, RTI and IBM are developing and testing
intelligent systems for data capture and decision support to improve
accountability and transparency in more than 100 schools in Mombasa
County, Kenya. The project is designed to support the Kenyan Ministry of
Education Science and Technology data collection initiative.
Teachers,
head teachers, school principals and administrators will be equipped
with tablet devices to capture data about students, classrooms, and
school resources. IBM and RTI scientists will use big data analytics and
cognitive technologies to analyze the data and provide indicators that
establish school profiles and progress and provide actionable
recommendations about the county’s education system at a granular level.
The activity is part of the United States Agency for International
Development’s Education Data for Decision Making (EdData II) project.
“In
the past, head teachers, government officials and aid agencies across
Sub-Saharan Africa have struggled to make informed decisions about how
to invest in and improve education,” said Dr. Kommy Weldemariam (http://www.apo.af/9QGTiv),
Research Scientist, IBM Research – Africa. “Often education data is
incomplete, inaccurate and sometimes even deliberately misreported.
Using analytics and cognitive technologies, we are creating a school
census hub which will minimize the effort, expense and error in
collecting valuable data about attendance, performance and resources at
schools. It has the potential to completely change our understanding of
the situation on the ground and what needs to be done to improve it and
improve the outcomes for children.”
Achieving Sustainable Development Goals
Applying
insights and actionable evidence from data will be key to achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals, ambitious universal targets that will be
confirmed by a United Nations Summit in September 2015. They include
ending poverty and hunger, ensuring healthy lives and ensuring inclusive
and equitable quality education.
“By
adding analytical value and insight to data production, curation and
integration, RTI and IBM will help lay the paving stones for the ‘data
revolution for development’ to lead the way in achieving the sustainable
development goals,” said Dr. Luis Crouch (http://www.apo.af/BHpam6),
vice president and chief technical officer in RTI’s International
Development Group, who has worked with various UN processes on the
formation of these goals.
The
sustainable development goals raise numerous global challenges for
which innovative data science solutions, such as predictive analytics,
sifting of massive amounts of evidence, and more agile use of
citizen-sourced information and citizen feedback could help provide
solutions. For instance, in the education sector, initiatives can
provide insight on building early childhood development programs that
predicate success in later education and life; design early grade
reading and math programs using the best instructional approaches and
curricula; and inform policymakers on policies needed to support
sustainable improvements in education and the data systems needed to
track progress in systemic reform. In the health sector, initiatives can
help track the spread of infectious diseases faster and more
efficiently; provide a better understanding of the underlying causes of
non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer;
and improve the knowledge management, oversight and accountability
needed to strengthen health systems.
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