UN Capacity Mapping 2020: Innovation, Data and Digital Capabilities

DECADE
OF
ACTION
Innovation, Data and Digital Capabilities
UN System Capacity Mapping 2020
February 2021

Context: Next-Generation UN
UNITED NATIONS
DATA STRATEGY UPDATE | JAN 2021
1
DISCLAIMER
The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this material
are those of the various staff members, consultants and advisers to the
United Nations Secretariat who prepared the work and do not necessarily
represent the views of the United Nations or its Member States.

Cross-cutting agendas to build the capabilities of a ‘next-generation UN’
INNOVATION, DATA AND DIGITAL CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT 2020
UNITED NATIONS
People
& resources
KEY
ENABLERS
driving
impact
Processes
& policies
Partners
& stakeholders
Culture
& incentives
Technology
& tools
Our organization
Key organizational enablers help us
deliver impact if they are sound and
leverage modern capabilities
Strategic foresight capability: How we identify and plan for possible future(s)
Data strategy: How we maximize the value of data as a strategic asset
Innovation agenda: How we discover and implement ideas that create value
Digital transformation: How we use digital technology to change business models
Behavioural science agenda: How we apply behavioural insights to policies and programmes
X-CUTTING
DRIVERS
of
new
capabilities
Cross-cutting drivers
Change agendas help reshape key
organizational enablers so they
support modern capabilities
Our impact
Future
Past Present

• Process
• Results overview
• Implications
• What organizations can do
Capacity Mapping 2020
UNITED NATIONS 3

52 UN entities assessed innovation, data & digital enablers, capabilities & culture
UNITED NATIONS
Culture attributes (6 questions)
Leadership & performance (4)
Policy and practice (1)
Strategy (4 questions)
People & organization design (6)
Partnerships (3)
Elements to care about
Results in this mapping reflect inputs provided / cleared by entity heads or their deputies. As a result, they represent a specific perspective
and should not be seen as comprehensive or fully reflective of the organizations as a whole. This mapping is intended as a first entry point
for dialogue, validation and collaboration on key aspects of innovation.
INNOVATION
How we discover and implement new
ideas that create value
DATA
How we maximize the value of data
as a strategic asset
DIGITAL
How we use digital technologies to
change business models
Change we seek What leaders need to drive
4
Enablers and
capabilities
Culture aspects

100
100
10
Capability gap
Culture gap
Leaders
Strugglers
Map of UN System entities based on capability and culture scores (bubble size indicates staff numbers)
Growing gaps: Leading entities pull ahead as change accelerates & complexifies
UNITED NATIONS
Culture
score
median
Challenged on culture and capability
Stronger on culture, less on capability
Stronger on capability, less on culture
Stronger on culture and capability
Capability score
median 5

Deep dive: Insights
UNITED NATIONS
6
● Most entities have clarified their vision, strategies and plans for innovation, data and digital change.
● Less than half have begun shifting significant resources and strengthened internal governance for change initiatives.
● Most executive are putting innovation, data & digital issues on management agendas and are engaging in resource decisions.
● Outside expertise is not sought where it is needed most.
● Accountability of top management is limited.
● Key products, policies & guidelines are in place in less than half of entities.
● Every second entity reports significant internal data sharing challenges, incl. with the UN System.
● Leading entities are far ahead on data sharing capabilities.
● Leading entities can leverage their strong data sharing / integration capabilities to create more value in complex tasks.
● Centres of excellence on digital, data and innovation help top entities race ahead.
● Leading entities have created dedicated leadership (staff) roles on innovation, data and digital topics.
● Unmet staffing needs in data-focused roles are significant across the board.
● Data competencies are not mainstreamed for generalist roles.
● Discouraging risk-taking, fostering hierarchy and limiting delegation are seen as key cultural constraints to change.
● UN Secretariat entities often lag other UN System entities for a large majority of capability and culture elements.

In UN Secretariat, <5% of staff are in data roles; Our initial target is to reach 10% over the next 5 years
UNITED NATIONS
8.1%
4.4%
Humanitarian affairs
2.5%
3.4%
Human rights
Operations and support
Sustainable development
Peace and security
4.0%
Current 4.5%
Target 10%
* Includes information management, geospatial information management, monitoring, statistics. This analysis excludes OICT.
100%
Share of UN Secretariat personnel in data-focused jobs by pillar (Dec. 2019)
7

Implications in data work: While leads now tackle high-value tasks, strugglers are coping with basics
UNITED NATIONS
Optimize with predictive data models
Forecast & now-cast outcomes
Less
capable
Highly
capable
Model impact & simulate response
Leverage multidimensional ‘big data’
Integrate data pipelines / sets
Provide state-of-art data hubs
Deploy dashboards
Lead
entities
Struggling
entities
Average scores for assessed data capabilities by entity quadrant
8
average
capability

You cannot jump steps: In data, for example, start with building solid foundations
UNITED NATIONS
Data foundations
Ensuring you have good quality, discoverable
and accessible data that is managed in a
flexible scalable architecture
Analytics
Leveraging your data [on needs, risks, results
and behavior] systematically to understand
what happened, why it happened, etc.
Machine learning / AI
Building systems that can ‘learn’ from data to
deliver ‘intelligent’ experiences and augment
human capacity in processing & decision-making
Adapted from Microsoft Research, UN Data Strategy
FOUNDATIONAL SYSTEMATIC TRANSFORMATIONAL
9

What organizations can do: Struggling entities can focus on foundational tasks
UNITED NATIONS
Systematic
elements and tasks
Foundational
elements and tasks
Transformational
elements
Circles show % of entities having these capability / culture elements, by quadrant
Struggl.
entities
Lead
entities
Struggl.
entities
Lead
entities
2020 status
ENABLERS & CAPABILITIES
Articulate vision
Formulate strategy & identify use cases
Recruit data analysts
Shift resources priorities
Unlock policies for data sharing
Integrate your data pipelines
Prioritize accurate and timely reporting
Initiate partnerships
CULTURE
Commit to evidence-based decisions
Engage personally (agendas, resources, experts)
Resolve data sharing issues
Offer training
Change core competency framework
Foster knowledge communities
Change managers compacts
Engage governance bodies

What organizations can do: As new capabilities emerge, become more systematic…
UNITED NATIONS
Systematic
elements and tasks
Foundational
elements and tasks
Transformational
elements
Struggl.
entities
Lead
entities
Struggl.
entities
Lead
entities
2020 status
Recruit data engineers (+ data protection officers)
Create dedicated teams (centres of excellence)
Set up governance group
Focus on integrating internal data hubs
Excel in self-service dashboarding
Excel in external data sharing platforms
Design data sharing agreements w/ partners
CULTURE
Value flat structure over hierarchy
Be risk-permitting
Prize delegation over control
Foster cross-functional collaboration

What organizations can do: As capabilities mature, focus on transformational tasks…
UNITED NATIONS
Systematic
elements and tasks
Foundational
elements and tasks
Transformational
elements and tasks
Struggl.
entities
Lead
entities
2020 status
Struggl.
entities
Lead
entities
Recruit data scientists
Make sense of unstructured data
Leverage big data sets
Optimize resources w/ predictive models
Identify risk from complex patterns
Forecast and nowcast outcomes
Model impacts and simulate responses
CULTURE
Create leadership roles (data, digital, innovation)
Emphasize iterative and agile revisions
Be fast to mainstream new methods
Strive to be truly innovative
Constantly challenge the status quo

Tailored advice: Each UN leadership team received a scorecard for their entity
UNITED NATIONS 13
● Every entity’s place on the map
● 80 assessment aspects relative to the average and the top-10 per category
● Helps organizations understand what works well already and what to focus on next

DATA
● Secretary-General’s Data Strategy for Action by Everyone, Everywhere
● CEB Roadmap on Data and Statistics
INNOVATION
● UN Innovation Network
● UN Innovation Toolkit
More resources and contacts
UNITED NATIONS
14
CONTACTS
● For questions on the innovation, data and digital
assessment, contact datastrategy@un.org

Annex A – Full results
UNITED NATIONS
15

Leading entities show how early investment pays off as innovation, data and digital change accelerate.
Key insights
● This year’s assessment takes a stronger data and digital focus, compared to the emphasis on innovation only in 2018/19.
● Updated capability & culture scores show more dispersion in outliers: Leading entities pull ahead, as they leverage early investment in increasingly complex innovation, data & digital change.
● Most entities have clarified their vision, strategies and plans, but less than half have begun shifting significant resources and increased their internal governance focus.
● Most leaders are putting innovation, data & digital issues on management agendas and are engaging in resource decisions, but outside expertise is not sought where it is needed most.
● Top entities have created dedicated leadership (staff) roles on innovation, data and digital, but accountability of top management is limited, and data competencies are not mainstreamed.
● Discouraging risk-taking, fostering hierarchy and limiting delegation are seen as key cultural constraints to change.
● Centres of excellence on digital, data and innovation help top entities race ahead. Unmet staffing needs in data roles are significant across the board.
● Every second entity reports significant internal data sharing challenges, incl. with the UN System.
● Key products, policies & guidelines are in place in less than half of entities. Top entities are far ahead on data sharing capabilities.
● Top entities can leverage their strong data sharing / integration capabilities to create more value in complex tasks – incl. for predictive analytics, resource optimization, automation.
● UN Secretariat entities lag other CEB entities for a large majority of capability and culture elements.
Initial recommendations
● Entities at risk – or with capability gaps – should reprioritize resources, pool or partner up to capture innovation / data / digital opportunities – or risk being left behind.
● Resources and governance for innovation, data and digital topics still need to be adapted to ambitious plans and visions. Minimizing fragmentation will be key for the UN Secretariat.
● Outside experts should be consulted more frequently by entities with less in-house expertise, to support leaders on strategy and operation issues related to data, digital and innovation.
● Flat hierarchies and delegation of authority should be promoted further to improve organizational culture, paired with smart adaptive governance.
● The setup of centres of excellence should be accelerated to catalyze change. Dedicated plans must be in place to meet the significant staffing needs in data roles across organizations.
● Plans to revise managers’ performance compacts and staff competency frameworks should be implemented fast(er) to create accountability for change.
UNITED NATIONS
CEB - INNOVATION, DATA AND DIGITAL CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT 2020
16

52 entities participated, delivering an 87% response rate
Expanded in scope, 52 chief executives completed assessment of innovation, data & digital capacity.
>30 aspects mapped, grouped into culture and capability themes
Strategy (4 questions)
Organizational design (6)
Partnerships (3)
Culture attributes (6)
Leadership & performance (4)
Capability
Culture
UNITED NATIONS
87% response rate
52 entities
of 60 reported
87%
UN
Secretariat
entities
86%
Other
CEB
entities
Results in this mapping reflect inputs provided / cleared by entity heads or their deputies. As a result, they represent a specific perspective
and should not be seen as comprehensive or fully reflective of the organizations as a whole. This mapping is intended as a first entry point
for dialogue, validation and collaboration on key aspects of innovation.
Stronger data and digital focus, compared to
the emphasis on innovation only in 2018/19.

Map of assessed entities across four quadrants, based on capability (x-axis) and culture scores (y-axis)
Bubble size indicates staff numbers (entity names withheld)
More dispersion in edges: Leading entities pull ahead as innovation, data & digital change accelerate.
● Many entities that placed in the
‘leaders’ quadrant in 2018/19, can be
found there again in 2020. Dispersion
between entities is growing.
● Increasingly complex data and digital
challenges favor those who have made
early investments and built capacity.
● Moving forward, knowledge and change
requirements are only likely to grow.
● Entities with smaller / more
fragmented budgets – and those with
larger knowledge / culture gaps – risk
falling behind, if partnerships and/or
pooled resources are neglected.
UNITED NATIONS
18
50
50 80 100
20
80
60
30
40
10
60
70
40 90
90
100
20 30 70
Culture score
Capability score
Capability gap
Culture gap
Leaders
At-risk
Median
Median

Where leaders see most potential arising from innovation, data and digital change
# of mentions
Leaders assess innovation, data & digital capabilities offer large potential for cross-cutting progress.
● When asked where leaders see most
potential in innovation, data and digital
transformations, they cite a broad
range of internally and externally
focused opportunities.
● On process, this includes, for example,
potential in resource optimization,
decision-making, transformation,
stakeholder engagement, and
automation.
● In programming, the potential cuts
across humanitarian, development,
peace and security, as well as human
rights topics.
UNITED NATIONS
19

Entity leaders are establishing foundations for sustainable change
% of entities stating ‘Yes’
Vision, strategies & plans largely in place, but resource priority & governance focus still need to shift.
UNITED NATIONS
20
0%
Data
Data
Innovation
Innovation
Digital
Innovation
Digital
Data
100%
Digital
Innovation
50%
Data
Digital
73%
30%
76% 100%
40%
17%
97%
67%
61%
44%
40%
50%
Vision articulated
Strategy / plan formulated
High resource priority given
Governance group set up
= significant difference between top and other entities
100%
50%
0%
100%
50%
100%
50%
0%
Across all entities, large majorities have clarified their vision
(76%) and strategies / plans (61%) for innovation, data and
digital change.
Compared to bottom-scoring entities, top entities are 3-
times more likely to have formulated plans (97% vs. 40%)
and shifted resources (67% vs. 30%), and twice-as-likely to
ensure governance (73% vs. 17%) – especially on data.
However, less than half of all entities (44%) have begun
shifting resources significantly and fewer (40%) have
setup internal governance mechanisms to oversee and
steer change.
Top
scoring entities only
Bottom
scoring entities
All entities
0%

Leaders engage personally on key aspects to advance change.
Scale from 1-5
Leaders engage on agendas & resource decisions. Outside expertise not sought where needed most.
Most entity leaders are putting innovation, data
and digital issues on senior management
agendas.
UNITED NATIONS
21
Never
Digital
Occasionally Very frequently
Innovation
Data
Innovation
Digital
Data
Digital
Data
Innovation
Putting issues on senior agendas
Consulting outside experts
Engaging in resource allocation
Never Very frequently
Never Very frequently
Top
entities
Bottom
entities
All entities
Frequently, leaders also engage personally in
resourcing decisions for change initiatives.
Outside expertise is often sought, but much
more likely in top-entities, and least likely in
bottom-entities where it is needed most.
Occasionally
Occasionally

Entities making changes in organizational design & performance management to accelerate change
Top entities created leadership roles; mgm’t accountability still limited; competency not mainstreamed.
UNITED NATIONS
22
Innovation
Digital
Data
Innovation
Data
50%
Data
0% 100%
Digital
Innovation
Digital
83%
40% 90%
60%
10%
49%
29%
0% 21% 40%
74%
10%
Created dedicated leadership roles
Included indicators in manager’s compacts
Engaged org’s governing bodies
Put data savviness in competency framew’k
Top
entities
Bottom
entities
All entities
About half of all entities (49%) have assigned or
created dedicated leadership roles (i.e. ‘heads of…’) for
innovation, data and digital agendas.
However, compared to the average entity, top-entities
are nearly twice as likely to do so (83% vs. 49%).
Performance indicators on innovation, data and digital
agenda are only present in management compacts of
some entities (29%) – with top entities far ahead (60%).
Data savviness/literacy is part of the staff competency
frameworks in only few cases (21%), though many
entities plan to introduce it.
Governing bodies are being engaged on change
agendas, though bottom-entities are only half-as-likely
to do so than typical entities (40% vs. 74%).
50%
0% 100%
50%
0% 100%

How entities assess their organization's cultural attributes
Scale from 1-5
Discouraging risk, fostering hierarchy & limited delegation hold back cultures. Top entities are agile.
Key constraints include the extent to which
risk-taking is seen as permitted, flat structures
are valued over hierarchy, and delegation is
encouraged over control.
UNITED NATIONS
23
We are risk-permitting
We are fast to adopt new initiatives
We value flat structure over hierarchy
Strongly disagree
We value external partnerships
We seek to be truly innovative
Neutral
We prize delegation over control
We foster cross-functional collaboration
Strongly agree
We nurture knowledge sharing and exchange
We challenge the status quo
We commit to data, innovation, digital change
We emphasize iterative action and agile revisions
We are persistent about evidence-based decisions
Compared to the bottom-entities, top entities
score most highly on ‘iteration and agility’,
‘speed of adoption’, and ‘flat structures over
hierarchy’.
Leaders assess that their organizational
cultures value external partnership, is
committed to change, fosters cross-functional
collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Top
entities
Bottom
entities
All entities

Entities having dedicated units or centres of excellence to support & accelerate change
Centres of excellence help top entities race ahead. Unmet staffing needs in data roles are significant.
Most entities report significant or very significant unmet
staffing needs in data-focused roles, including for Data
Analysts (73%), Data Engineers (59%), as well as Data
Scientists (57%).
UNITED NATIONS
24
12%
19%
21%
15%
21%
21%
60%
44%
42%
13%
15%
15%
50%
Data engineers
Data scientists
Data analysts
Assessment of organization’s unmet staffing needs for the following data-focused roles
(% of entities reporting
100%
0% 50%
Digital
Data
Innovation
37% 100%
66%
Centre of excellence
None / very limited Limited Significant Very significant
Many entities (66%) report establishing centres of
excellence to support and accelerate innovation, data and
digital change. Bottom entities are much less likely to have
done so (37%). Centres for digital change are relatively less
common
Top
entities
Bottom
entities
Of all entities

Entities having standard job profiles for data-focused roles and full-time staff on board
% of respondents stating ‘yes’
Half of all entities are changing job profiles and recruit for data roles. Top entities are far ahead.
UNITED NATIONS
25
Data analyst
Data engineer
Data analyst
Data visualization specialist
0% 100%
Data scientist
Data visualization specialist
Data engineer
Data protection officer
Data scientist
50%
Data protection officer
44%
47%
72%
20% 80%
24%
We have job profiles available
We are on-boarding / recruiting
44% of all entities have built new standard job profiles, with
most prioritizing data analysts. Profiles are rarer for other
roles, incl. data protection. Compared to the bottom entities,
top-entities are much more likely to have new job profiles
(72% vs 24%).
47% of all entities have full-time staff in data-focused roles
onboard or are actively recruiting. Most prioritize data
analysts. Recruitment is lagging for data engineers, scientists
and data protection officers. Compared to the bottom entities,
top-entities are four times as likely to have staff onboard or to
recruit (80% vs 20%).
Top entities
Bottom entities Of all entities
Top
entities
Bottom
entities
Of all entities
50% 100%
0%

Entities experiencing significant internal data-sharing challenges, including with the UN System
% of entities
Half of entities have significant data sharing challenges. Only half offer at least moderate training.
UNITED NATIONS
26
0% 100%
50%
Digital
Data
Innovation
67% 97%
79%
Entities offering data-focused training for specialist and non-specialist colleagues
% of entities
Entities running internal knowledge communities to foster learning
Knowledge communities
6% 13% 35% 37% 10%
50%
Significant challenges
Strongly / disagree Neither disagree / agree Agree Strongly agree
4%
10%
12%
10%
39%
10%
40%
33%
70%
20%
12%
20%
20%
50%
All entities
Top entities
Bottom entities
Never / Rarely Occasionally Moderate amount Great deal
While a combined 90% of top entities report offering
moderate or a great deal of training, only 40% of
bottom entities do so. Overall, the training offer is
insufficient.
Nearly half of entities (47%) report significant
challenges in sharing data internally, incl. within the
UN System – with impacts on productivity and value.
Top
entities
Bottom
entities
All entities

Entities with the following data products and policies in place
% of entities stating ‘Yes, and updated in last 3 years’
Key products, policies & guidelines in less than half of entities. Top entities far ahead on data sharing.
UNITED NATIONS
27
Data protection and privacy policy
Guidelines on internal data sharing
0%
Data partnerships with external org’s.
100%
data.yourdomain.org (or similar)
50%
open.yourdomain.org (or similar)
Data exchange portal
Standard external sharing agreements
48%
35%
31%
63%
44%
44%
35%
Where users find centrally provided data
Where users find financial transparency data
Where users can find and contribute data
Top
entities
Bottom
entities
All entities
Compared to bottom entities, top entities are
much more likely to offer tools for efficient
data sharing (incl. data exchanges, standard
agreements internal guidelines and data
portals).
Only about a third of entities, have data
exchanges (35%), transparency portals (35%)
such as open.yourdomain.org, and data
partnerships (31%) with external
organizations in place.

How entities rate their organization’s capability to perform data and analytics work
Scale from 1 to 5
Top entities leverage strong data integration capabilities to create value in more complex tasks.
UNITED NATIONS
28
Optimizing supply chains & resources w/ predictive models
Forecasting / nowcasting with non-conventional techniques
Excellent
Offering transparency / accountability for resources & results
Integrating data pipelines within and across organizations
Predicting potential risks based on complex data patterns
Poor Neutral
Making sense of a broad range of unstructured data
Reporting accurate & timely data on results & goal progress
Employing digital platforms to facilitate internal operations
Leverage ‘big data’ for policy, programmes and operations
Offering data to ext. stakeholders via state-of-art data hubs
Supporting stakeholders with better data / digital services
Providing real-time insights on risks, fraud or opportunities
Modelling impact & simulating response to ext’l phenomena
Deploying dashboards on success, results and mgm’t. info
Top
entities
Bottom
entities
All entities
Excellence in data capabilities is rare.
However, overall, entities report good
capabilities in employing digital platforms
internally (e.g. ERP, Office 365) and
performing basic data tasks.
Top entities are more likely to be ‘very good’
at deploying dashboards or offering data
hubs, as well as building and integrating
data pipelines.
Leveraging their strong data sharing /
integration capabilities, top entities are also
more likely to extract more value from data in
complex tasks, incl. predictive analytics and
optimizations.

vs avg.
vs avg.
Avg. # partners by entity 1 >2
partners
<1
<1
Number of organizations with whom entities have ‘joint-venture-type’ partnerships (not transactional)
‘Joint venture’ partners mostly within UN System. Top entities have more private & NGO partners.
Top entities report a significantly
higher number of ‘joint-venture-
type’ partners in private sector and
non-gov’t organizations than all
others.
Bottom entities report the lowest
number of partners across private
sector, non-govt and gov’t
organizations.
UNITED NATIONS 29
Private Sector
Government Non-government UN System
Top entities
Bottom entities
All entities
More
Fewer

UN Capacity Mapping 2020: Innovation, Data and Digital Capabilities

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to UN Capacity Mapping 2020: Innovation, Data and Digital Capabilities

Similar to UN Capacity Mapping 2020: Innovation, Data and Digital Capabilities (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

UN Capacity Mapping 2020: Innovation, Data and Digital Capabilities