Remote working and communicating have become the mainstream channels in which we learn and make decisions. This means that we are always accessing and processing the plethora of online data to responsibly inform decisions. However, we have seen that higher levels of data availability do not automatically lead to higher data usage. Data use depends on the norms, behaviours, and capacity of the user, meaning to say: people need the requisite skills to use and benefit from data.
In any given working day, people could be required to attend several Zoom meetings or navigate new softwares created to replace physical processes which were in place pre-COVID-19. Without the basic knowledge to do this or lack of digital literacy, some countries or societies may find themselves facing digital inequality.
In Mongolia, a need for data literacy and data innovation was identified through government transformation programmes. Data from the 2019 World Risk Poll also showed that the country ranked the highest for the gap between current risk experience and how worried they are about future risks. With these motivations, the LRF Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk (IPUR) partnered with the National Academy of Governance (NAOG) of Mongolia to co-create programmes on data literacy and risk communication.
A MoU was signed on 6 September 2021 following discussions on what the collaboration would entail. Led by Asst Prof Reuben Ng, IPUR Lead Scientist for Data and Technology, and his team, a two-part programme was designed to equip participants from Mongolia with data literacy and risk communication skills.
Data Innovation Lab
Phase 1 of the programme – Data Innovation Lab – was held across two virtual workshops on 19 November and 3 December 2021. These two workshops covered topics such as “Data analytics & Behavioral Insights”, “Creative Data Engagement for Effective Public Communications” and “Executing Policy Innovation in public and private sectors”, and were given by governmental figures and authorities from Singapore. Across the two days, about 1,000 participants comprising mid to senior level civil servants, those from international and non-profit organisations as well as academics attended to gain insights and skills to enhancing data literacy.
About 30 percent of attendees were from rural regions in Mongolia who had little to no experience attending Zoom workshops.
COVID-19Â created an unprecedented, urgent need for good quality, timely data around the world. It accelerated and highlighted the need for stronger data literacy and demonstrated the consequences of low-level data-informed decisions and communication such as confusion among the public and distrust between the public and institutions.
The need for such data literacy programmes in Mongolia and other developing countries was made clear by the significant turnout during the data innovation lab sessions. More courses and workshops will be needed in the short term to meet the demand that will fuel more effective data-driven decisions and communications in the long term.
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Phase 2
Building on the ideas and skills piloted and developed in phase 1 of the data innovation lab programme, IPUR commenced phase 2 by inviting participants to submit proposals that would be prototyped. Out of the 300 proposals received, four were accepted. They were:
1.Design disaster risk simulation program using VR technology
2.Design outcome-based performance review system for education professionals in the public education system
3.Creating open data portals to improve healthcare service delivery
4.Participatory policymaking
Over the course of a few months, the groups gathered for project mentoring and development
This kickstarted weekly sessions where the 4 groups went through project mentoring and development before graduation and the official launch of the data innovation lab in the Mongolian government.
