Challenges and opportunities in accessing mobile phone data for COVID-19 response in developing countries
Anonymous and aggregated statistics derived from mobile phone data have proven efficacy as a proxy for human mobility in international development work and as inputs to epidemiological modeling of the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Despite the widely accepted promise of such data fo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Data & Policy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2632324921000109/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811156483762552832 |
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| author | Sveta Milusheva Anat Lewin Tania Begazo Gomez Dunstan Matekenya Kyla Reid |
| author_facet | Sveta Milusheva Anat Lewin Tania Begazo Gomez Dunstan Matekenya Kyla Reid |
| author_sort | Sveta Milusheva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anonymous and aggregated statistics derived from mobile phone data have proven efficacy as a proxy for human mobility in international development work and as inputs to epidemiological modeling of the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Despite the widely accepted promise of such data for better development outcomes, challenges persist in their systematic use across countries. This is not only the case for steady-state development use cases such as in the transport or urban development sectors, but also for sudden-onset emergencies such as epidemics in the health sector or natural disasters in the environment sector. This article documents an effort to gain systematized access to and use of anonymized, aggregated mobile phone data across 41 countries, leading to fruitful collaborations in nine developing countries over the course of one year. The research identifies recurring roadblocks and replicable successes, offers lessons learned, and calls for a bold vision for future successes. An emerging model for a future that enables steady-state access to insights derived from mobile big data - such that they are available over time for development use cases - will require investments in coalition building across multiple stakeholders, including local researchers and organizations, awareness raising of various key players, demand generation and capacity building, creation and adoption of standards to facilitate access to data and their ethical use, an enabling regulatory environment and long-term financing schemes to fund these activities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:52:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3ccad8d42d03442baaac1d42945f0478 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2632-3249 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:52:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Data & Policy |
| spelling | doaj.art-3ccad8d42d03442baaac1d42945f04782023-03-09T12:31:34ZengCambridge University PressData & Policy2632-32492021-01-01310.1017/dap.2021.10Challenges and opportunities in accessing mobile phone data for COVID-19 response in developing countriesSveta Milusheva0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4166-5477Anat Lewin1Tania Begazo Gomez2Dunstan Matekenya3Kyla Reid4Development Impact Evaluation Department, World Bank, Washington, District of Columbia, USADigital Development Global Practice, World Bank, Washington, District of Columbia, USADigital Development Global Practice, World Bank, Washington, District of Columbia, USADevelopment Data Group, World Bank, Washington, District of Columbia, USAIndependent Consultant Toronto, ON, CanadaAnonymous and aggregated statistics derived from mobile phone data have proven efficacy as a proxy for human mobility in international development work and as inputs to epidemiological modeling of the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Despite the widely accepted promise of such data for better development outcomes, challenges persist in their systematic use across countries. This is not only the case for steady-state development use cases such as in the transport or urban development sectors, but also for sudden-onset emergencies such as epidemics in the health sector or natural disasters in the environment sector. This article documents an effort to gain systematized access to and use of anonymized, aggregated mobile phone data across 41 countries, leading to fruitful collaborations in nine developing countries over the course of one year. The research identifies recurring roadblocks and replicable successes, offers lessons learned, and calls for a bold vision for future successes. An emerging model for a future that enables steady-state access to insights derived from mobile big data - such that they are available over time for development use cases - will require investments in coalition building across multiple stakeholders, including local researchers and organizations, awareness raising of various key players, demand generation and capacity building, creation and adoption of standards to facilitate access to data and their ethical use, an enabling regulatory environment and long-term financing schemes to fund these activities.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2632324921000109/type/journal_articlebig data challengescapacity buildingdata for developmentmobile big data analytics for COVID-19mobility insights |
| spellingShingle | Sveta Milusheva Anat Lewin Tania Begazo Gomez Dunstan Matekenya Kyla Reid Challenges and opportunities in accessing mobile phone data for COVID-19 response in developing countries Data & Policy big data challenges capacity building data for development mobile big data analytics for COVID-19 mobility insights |
| title | Challenges and opportunities in accessing mobile phone data for COVID-19 response in developing countries |
| title_full | Challenges and opportunities in accessing mobile phone data for COVID-19 response in developing countries |
| title_fullStr | Challenges and opportunities in accessing mobile phone data for COVID-19 response in developing countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenges and opportunities in accessing mobile phone data for COVID-19 response in developing countries |
| title_short | Challenges and opportunities in accessing mobile phone data for COVID-19 response in developing countries |
| title_sort | challenges and opportunities in accessing mobile phone data for covid 19 response in developing countries |
| topic | big data challenges capacity building data for development mobile big data analytics for COVID-19 mobility insights |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2632324921000109/type/journal_article |
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