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  1. Global Data Facility

GLOBAL DATA FACILITY

Enabling durable data transformations

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  • The Global Data Facility (GDF) is an innovative global funding instrument that enables long-term support and durable transformation of data systems and data capital in low- and middle-income countries to improve lives and safeguard the planet.

    The Global Data Facility is part of a new data financing architecture established through to mobilize at least $500 million and coordinate support for the world¡¯s most critical data impact opportunities by 2030. Hosted by the World Bank as an umbrella trust fund, the Global Data Facility catalyzes significant additional funding to enable long-term support and durable data and statistics transformations, including via World Bank .

    The Global Data Facility is designed to ensure that demand drives funding for data and statistics priorities at the global, regional, national, and community levels. Through investments in the fundamentals as well as at the frontier of data and statistics, the Global Data Facility ensures flexible and adaptive country-led approaches. It allows for customized entry points in countries and distinct levels of engagement with country partners and practitioners supporting data and statistics priorities.

    Additionally, the Global Data Facility serves as a global coordination mechanism for a spectrum of partners, practitioners, and country clients to improve and scale up support for the global development data agenda. Operating in tandem with other initiatives, such as the Bern Network¡¯s and the United Nation¡¯s , the Global Data Facility optimizes alignment of funding and priorities around the world.

    The Global Data Facility is the World Bank¡¯s primary mechanism to implement recommendations and insights from the  to put data to work to improve peoples¡¯ lives and livelihoods across regions. Its financing framework is likewise designed to help enable the implementation of the , as well as support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, including efforts to close data gaps around the Sustainable Development Goals.

  • We envision strong data systems and data capital across countries, which enable leaders to actively transform data into decisions that improve lives and livelihoods of poor and marginalized people and safeguard the planet.

    The opportunity

    A new global consensus has emerged in recent years on the importance and urgency of increased investment in data and statistics. This worldwide agreement has been bolstered by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and other crises, which have made digital acceleration more urgent and possible, and have created new opportunities for both public intent and private intent data. 

    The challenge

    Despite the global consensus on increased investment in data and statistics, comprehensive quality data to drive critical investments for achieving the SDGs is still lacking and the COVID-19 pandemic has further widened global data inequalities, exacerbating the global development data agenda¡¯s two-pronged problem:

    • chronic underfunding¡ªfunding for data from external sources has been almost static for the past eight years, failing to keep up with needs;
    • fragmentation of support¡ªlack of cooperation among multilaterals, bi-laterals, foundations, NGOs, and countries for optimized, long-lasting impact.

    Increasing calls to action

    The Global Data Facility is the World Bank¡¯s response to increasing calls by the global community for enhanced investment in data and statistics priorities in recent years:

    • In 2017, the United Nations Statistical Commission, the highest body of the global statistical system, adopted the , a roadmap of support for countries¡¯ national statistical systems to meet populations¡¯ needs and monitor progress toward SDGs.
    • Many of the largest providers of international aid  (PDF) that investment in data is insufficient to make National Statistical Systems fit to meet the 2030 Agenda and that that more systematic coordination is needed between donors and NSOs in partner countries.
    • In 2021, the UN World Data Forum adopted the , which calls for more and better investment in countries¡¯ data systems, data capacity, and data capital.
    • The , the first-ever edition of the World Bank¡¯s annual flagship publication devoted entirely to data, has set an ambitious new global data agenda. It promotes an aspirational vision of an integrated national data system (INDS) as a way for countries to realize the potential of data for development. To turn this ambition into reality, the report proposes a well-functioning INDS needs to be sufficiently funded.
    • 2022 marked the beginning of  between the World Bank, the United Nations, and our global partners. This partnership aims to assist the global community in raising $500 million over 10 years for ¡°data with purpose¡± through a new financing architecture centered on the Global Data Facility and the UN-hosted Complex Risk Analytics Fund (CRAF¡¯d).

     

  • The GDF governance structure includes Partnership Council and Technical Advisory Group.

    Meet our team

    Photo of Craig Hammer

    Craig Hammer

    Manager

    Buyant Erdene Khaltarkhuu

    Buyant Erdene Khaltarkhuu

    Statistician

    Maria Gabriela Tercero

    Maria Gabriela Tercero

    Consultant

The story of the GDF is a story of a promise made and a promise kept by the World Bank.