Final Project submitted in fulfilment of Data for Better Lives Course

1. Data for Better Lives: A
New Social Contract
KEY LEARNINGS FROM THE COURSE &
PROGRESS MADE BY GHANA IN THE DOMAIN
OF DATA SYSTEM
AUTHOR: ELISABETTA GYIMAN

2. You can have data without
information, but you cannot have
information without data.
- DANIEL KEYS MORAN, COMPUTER PROGRAMMER
AND SCIENCE FICTION AUTHOR

3. Data is vital in
supporting
development
It can support governments to
control of pandemics (Map O.1)
It can improve service delivery,
accountability and empowerment.
(Map O.2)

4. A Social Contract
is needed for best
utilization of data
For the population to trust that
their data will be protected and
that they will share in the value
that data produces a new social
contract is needed around data.
It is an agreement among all
participants in the process of
managing the data.

5. Combining and
repurposing
public and
private intent
data can
deepen their
development
impact

6. All countries to
work towards an
integrated national
data system
Aspirational vision of an
integrated national data system
(INDS) that can deliver on the
promise of producing high-
quality data and then making
data open in a way that they are
both protected and accessible to
be shared and reused by all
stakeholders (Figure O.6)

7. Successes in the
development of
a data system in
Ghana
For most low- or medium income
the vision of an integrated national
data system may seem
unattainable. Yet, over the past
years, Ghana was among the
countries that moved significantly
closer to fulfilling this vision.

8. Ghana's statistical
system made
international
headlines in 2010
when adopting
revised guidelines
for the System of
National Accounts
(shifting from the
1968 to 1993
guidelines) resulted
in a 63% increase
of its nominal GDP.

9. Ghana
invested in the
foundations of
its data system
Ghana Digital Economy Diagnostic
(2019) issued by the World Bank
reports key progress made by
Ghana in the digital field: opening
of a tier 3 data centre to host all
government applications while
offering excess capacity to the
private sector.

10. Ghana passed the Statistical
Service Act 2019, providing the
Ghana Statistical Services
(GSS) with a leading role in the
national statistical system and a
mandate to set standards for
data generation across
ministries, departments, and
agencies.
Statistical Services
Act (2019)

11. Ghana is
initiating data
flows between
the different
participants of
the national data
system
 NITA's Ghana Open Data Initiative created a central
repository, hosting more than 300 datasets in open
data format from various government agencies.
 GSS developed a data portal presenting and
disseminating Ghana's data on the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG) both for national and
international audiences.
 A collaboration between Ghana Statistical
Services (GSS) and the parliament seeks to
institutionalize data use in policymaking-for example,
by training officers in the parliament on available data
sources.

12. Private intent data
used during the
COVID-19
pandemic for
public purposes.
GSS partnered with the private
sector for analysing the effect of
mobility restrictions using
anonymized mobile phone data.

13. Ghana's national
data system can
also build on a
strong and
inclusive civil
society
The I Am Aware initiative by the
NGO Ghana Centre for Democratic
Development disseminates
administrative data on various
sectors through district-level
rankings, bulletins, and a free SMS
platform.

14. Ghana’s path towards the
Integrated National Data System
Ghana's case illustrates that with limited resources and lower levels of data maturity, a
government can adopt an intentional, whole-of-government, and multistakeholder approach
to data governance.
Ghana's progress is also evidenced by the Statistical Performance Indicators with a score of
62, it is among the top performers in Africa.

15. References
1. World Development Report 2021: DATA FOR BETTER LIVES. World Bank Group.
2. Data overhaul shows Ghana's economy 60 pct bigger. Kwasi Kpodo (2010)
3. Ghana Digital Economy Diagnostic Report 2019. World Bank Group.
4. Ghana Statistical Services Act (2019).
5. Ghana Open Data Initiative | Ghana's Open Data Portal
6. Ghana Indicators For The Sustainable Development Goals (sustainabledevelopment-ghana.github.io)
7. Institutionalizing evidence use in the Parliament of Ghana. Agnes Titriku et al. Publication date: 20 May 2021
8. Ghana Statistical Services. (statsghana.gov.gh)
9. The contribution of civil society generated evidence to the improvement of sanitation services in Ghana. Laila Smith et al. (2020)
10. Statistical Performance Indicators Data Explorer (worldbank.org)
11. Creating an Integrated National Data System – Lessons from Estonia, Ghana, and Mexico. 2021