1.
Data for Good?
Dirk Gorissen | @DirkGor
PyData London Meetup
2 Sep 2014
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

2.
Why are you here?
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

3.
Why are you here?
http://r4stats.com/articles/popularity/
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

4.
Why are you here?
http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/uk/data%20scientist.do
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

5.
Data Scientist
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

6.
Data Scientist?
"Data scientist is just a sexed up
word for statistician.”
- Nate Silver
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

7.
Data Scientist
http://timoelliott.com/blog/2011/10/data-analysts-data-scientists-and-the-rest-of-us.html
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

8.
Data Science
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

9.
Data Science
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

10.
Data Science
Best question to ask if you
want to know if your date
will have sex with you on the
first date.
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

11.
However…
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/03
/06/1297633/govt-aims-significant-poverty-reduction
http://blog.lisacall.com/2013/04/happy-birthday-to- www.newstarthomes.org.uk
me/
http://nimbuseco.com/2013/01/deforestati
on-and-pollution-facts/ http://www.diplomatmagazine.nl/2014/03
/02/corruption-netherlands-europe-affirmative-
2/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/
03/22/us-arms-treaty-un-idUSBRE92L16I20130322
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

12.
Data for Good
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/beyond-ad-clicks-
using-big-data-social-good
kaythaney/Flickr
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

13.
Data for Good
http://dssg.io/
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

14.
Data for Good
http://devinit.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Data-Revolution-DI-briefing.pdf
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

15.
http://www.meh.ro/2010/03/21/seriously-guys/
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

16.
Its complex…
http://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/how-to-plan-when-you-dont-know-what-is-going-to-happen-redesigning-aid-for-complex-systems/
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

17.
Tanzania
• ~1.5 times the size of France
• Population: ~50 million
• Life expectancy: 60.8
http://www.galdu.org/web/index.php?&odas=5591&giella
1=eng
http://gorillasofuganda.com/wp-content/
uploads/2013/06/Tanzania_Safari_Of_Tanza
nia.jpg
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

18.
Open Government Partnership
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/01/remarks-president-
obama-and-president-kikwete-tanzania-joint-press-confe
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

19.
OGP
• Launched by 8 nations in NYC in 2011
– Goals
• Promote transparency
• Empower citizens
• Fight corruption
• Harness new technologies
• Strengthen governance
– Independent tracking and reporting
• Big Results Now program
– Aim: become a middle income country by 2025
– Focus areas: energy, natural gas, agriculture, water,
education, transport, resources mobilization
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

20.
OGP
http://opengov.go.tz/files/publications/attachments/TANZANIA_OGP_SECOND_ACTION_PLAN_2014_-
_2016-2_FINAL_213321345_sw.pdf
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

21.
Water
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

22.
Water Point Data
• As part of OGP goals a dataset of 75k water
points was released
– Export of the water point mapping & updating system
– Results from 2013 nationwide survey
– Constructed over the last 50 years by different
organizations & NGOs
• Data
– Excel files
– Static snapshot
– Inconsistencies & missing values
– License?
https://www.aht-group.com/cms/index.php?id=597
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

23.
Water Point Data
• 2013 data estimate that only ~54% of the
water points are functional…
• This is about drinking water!
http://blog.msabi.org/2013/02/evaluationassessment-in-ulanga-district.html
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

24.
Taarifa
“Building the
infrastructure of nations”
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

25.
Infrastructure Reporting
• Connecting citizens with local government
– “This public toilet is broken!”
• Helping governments prioritize & track
performance
– “Which areas need most attention?”
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

26.
Infrastructure Reporting
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

27.
Performance Tracking & Prioritzation
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

28.
Technical Stack
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

29.
Taarifa In Tanzania
• Recipient of a $100k World Bank Innovation Grant
• Citizens can use web app & SMS interface to report
on water point functionality
– Help district water engineer schedule and prioritize
• Ministry can use dashboard to understand
population reach & determine strategy
• Working with local dev team in Dar Es Salaam
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

30.
Demo!
http://www.toddmckimmey.com/?m=20081106
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

31.
Taarifa: Status
• Successful trial in Iringa
• Recently presented to the ministry at the
Water Point Mapping Workshop
• Currently very much in development
– Hope to transition to beta over the next 4 months
– Funding local developers to build capacity and
work towards eventual handover
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

32.
Outlook
• More & deeper deployments
• Continue to build out a local community
• Working on version for school & education data
• Huge impact potential
– Integrate census, health, weather data, mobile
payments, …
– Self reporting water points though sensors
– Predictive maintenance
– Budget forecasting
– Tackle water stealing & fraud
– …
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

33.
Beyond ad clicks
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

34.
Lessons
• Its complex
– Incentive to exaggerate problems and hide water points
• Devil is in the assumptions
– What is a water point?
• One station with multiple taps?
• Multiple stations that draw from the same source?
– When is a water point non functional?
• Water only drips out?
• There is no power so the pump does not work?
• It only works in the rainy season?
• Important as drives policy & funding
• Garbage In – Garbage Out
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

35.
Lessons
• Technology is shiny but only an amplifier
– Why an elaborate updating system if…
• ...there is no cell coverage
• …the engineer has no money to pay for fuel to actually
visit and fix water points?
• …citizens have no confidence in the government to
actually fix things
– Why a shiny dashboard if…
• …you are just going to ignore it and make decisions
based on politics
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

36.
Lessons
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

37.
Lessons
• We are not going to solve data collection and
consistency problems
• We are not going to solve access to clean drinking
water
• We are not going to magically make governments
more transparent and efficient
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

38.
Lessons
• We can help accelerate things in the right direction
http://www.dailypaul.com/302770/buckminster-fuller-call-me-trimtab
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

39.
You can help too!
• Data cleaning & processing
• Data exploration
• Backend python development
• Front end development
– Angular, leaflet.js, d3.js, dc.js
• UI / UX design
• Documentation
• Website design
• SMS integration
• Mobile apps
• https://github.com/taarifa/TaarifaWaterpoints/issues
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org

40.
Finally…
• Next time you flush…
…realize you are doing so with drinking water
@DirkGor | @Taarifa_org