Opportunities for Decision Support in the
Open Data Era

Framing the challenges: when I'm
finished….
• The ocean will have risen 165.5 nano meters
• 17,126 metric tons of carbon will have been
emitted
• Slash and burn agriculture will increase by
24,026,484 M2
• 2,843 people will have moved from a rural area
to a city
• 4,000 new humans will join us
• To meet demand to 2030:
• Increase 15% yield/year

The Nature of the problems….
"Wicked problem" --- a problem that is
difficult or impossible to solve because of
incomplete, contradictory, and changing
requirements that are often difficult to
recognize. Moreover, because of complex
interdependencies, the effort to solve one
aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or
create other problems.

As problems have become more complex
so has the science of solutions.
Individu
als Teams Partners
hip
Interdisciplin
ary
Enterpri
se

The next evolution is networks of
problem solvers
• Nimble
• Responsive
• Integrative
• Collaborative
• Change Actors
• Risk Preferred
• Open

NETWORKS OF
NETWORKS
Strategic Partnerships

GCFSI activities focus on three megatrends (MT) and two cross-
cutting themes, build decision support tools and foster student
engagement
MT1: Population
Growth, Climate
Change and Pressure
on the Land
MT2: Rapid
Urbanization and
Transformation of
Food Systems
MT3: Evolution in
Skills Required by
Food Systems
Information and Communication Technology for Development
Gender
Global Center for
Food Systems Innovation
Core objectives for GCFSI:
1. Improve data quality and access and provide decision support tools to promote evidence-based decision
making in food systems.
2. Accelerate the creation, testing and scaling up of transformative innovations in global food systems.
3. Create a multidisciplinary network that shares knowledge, builds mutual capacity for food systems
innovation, and engages students to foster a new generation of development practitioners and scholars.
Decision Support & Informatics Knowledge Management Student Engagement

On January 5, 2015 GCFSI launched its second RFA for
innovation grants, with three levels of funding
• The RFA is open to universities, government or private laboratories or
research organizations, for-profit and non-profit companies, and even
individuals
• Grants process managed by CRDF Global (Washington, D.C.)
• Opportunity for USAID Mission input during application
review process
• Three types of grants (total approx. $3.2 million):
• Early Stage Innovation Grants (up to $100,000)
• Innovation Evaluation Grants (up to $250,000)
• Innovation Scalability Grants (up to $500,000 with 1:1 $
match required)
• Geographic focus:
• FTF Focus Countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Rwanda, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Zambia
• STIP Focus Countries: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,
Kenya, Mozambique, Philippines, Uganda

Decision Support and Informatics
Objectives
• Leverage data and analytics to promote and support
evidence-based food system policy and investments
• A systems analysis unit that will conceptualize problems, critically
evaluate complex systems and alternative approaches, and analyze
data to improve decision making.
• It will engage stakeholders and external partners to better define
development problems in order to understand the goals, objectives,
constraints, inputs, outcomes, and possible impacts.
• It will engage in relevant research to develop analysis and decision
support systems that will be essential for evaluating the economic,
social, and/or environmental dimensions of development problems.

Another core function of the Center is to offer Decision
Support and Informatics (DSI) services to USAID and
other stakeholders
DSI provides three major services: (1) easy one-stop Web access to many large development datasets, (2)
tools for Web-based visualization and data analysis, and (3) custom applications requested by users.
Hypothesis Verification
Map of Ag Storage Opportunities in Malawi
Spatial Visualization
Aid Density Heat Map, Tanzania
Research
Urbanization and Diet Transformation
1) Datasets include over 10,000 development and policy indicators,
drawn from sources such as World Bank, UN, FAO, university, and
USAID (e.g., FTFMS reporting data).
2) Tools for data mapping/visualization (including on USAID program
activities and impacts), and for basic statistical and trend analysis.
3) Provision of customized DSI applications, funded through GCFSI
core budget or user budget depending on the complexity of the
application.

WARNING
GEEK
CONTENT

The reluctant but
fated hero….

The true believer
and guru…

The sidekick….

The traitor….

An overpowering
enemy…

The lynchpin, however, isn’t any of
these folks…

Its this guy!

Data
The Decision Pyramid

Data isn’t really that useful…
• Collect
• Filter
• Standardize
• Integrate
• Democratize
Data

Information
Data

• Research
• Analysis
• Articulation
• Pattern and process detection
• Modeling
Information
Information IS useful as the basis for:
Data

Knowledge

• Translation
• Knowledge Flow
• Education
• Communication
• Internalization
Knowledge doesn’t help
unless…
Knowledge

Knowledge
Decision
Making

Efforts Underway

Issues
• Big data and open data cant be ends in
themselves, they have to be kinetic
• The root of making them kinetic is only partially
addressed in open data systems and culture, but
to attach the big challenges we need 1,000,000
new users
• Strong collaborative networks are needed to
speed the adoption of open culture
• Open does not equal free, there are embedded
costs that have to be addressed

Opportunities
• Creating open and problem driven analytical
tools to increase data usage
• Working within networks to accelerate open and
evidence driven solutions
• Long term systems level analysis
• Three dimensional data analysis
• Risk assessment
• User centered design will be the next wave of
tool development
• Networks of institutions that look at problems

Square Brain Round Problem- Open cultures
and collaborative problem solving is not for
everyone-- yet