The goal of the Data for Decisions Curriculum is to build the capabilities of research organizations, government ministries, and civil society organizations to more effectively collect, use, and share data in their organizations and apply data in their decision making processes. Through basic organizational data environment assessment, understanding each stage of the data lifecycle, and tools to develop a data project plan, the curriculum aims to increase the awareness and use of quality data for evidence-based decision making.
The curriculum was developed in response to the results of a needs assessment conducted by Myanmar’s Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation. The assessment, which spanned multiple government ministries and civil society organizations, indicated an overwhelming desire for tools to support the changing organizational data environments across sectors in Myanmar.
Although there are many data literacy training resources available, there was not anything that fit the precise needs of organizations in Myanmar.
Specifically:
- A structure designed for environments with nascent/emerging data cultures
- A comprehensive approach that begins with the foundations of assessing organizational data environments and data problems, upon which skills can be built
- A focus beyond statistical skill building that intentionally focuses on making decisions with data
- An open and customizable structure As these needs are not unique to Myanmar, the curriculum was developed to be adapted and expanded for other organizations.
The key objectives of the curriculum include:
- Learn basic questions to ask of your data and how to define data problems or needs within a community or organization
- Understand how to identify the key data players surrounding a difficult problem or social challenge
- Learn the data life cycle, and understand the importance of data collection, analysis, and sharing
- Understand how to be a more savvy data consumer, and learn new ways to manage and store data so that it can be easily shared among organizations
- Think critically about the vision and mission of your organization, and how to apply innovative solutions that follow that mission using data
- Know what methods to implement and what data collection tools need to be designed to address data gaps
- Understand how to share data resources and solutions amongst different communities and organizations
- Think critically about how to learn from data sharing opportunities
- Build a culture of self-reflection around data, and share this culture with other communities and organizations
