Submissions: https://forms.gle/LXKp2pgaKdmPFHtn7

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CHALLENGE QUESTIONS

Jobs

CONTEXT: The World Bank is working to expand job growth throughout developing countries. The link between employment and development has been described as a “ladder of opportunities”. As economies progress, more and more workers obtain better and more secure jobs. Productivity is a key driver of economic growth, accounting for more than half the differences across countries in GDP per capita. Higher productivity enables companies to expand production, employment, and wages – but it also reduces the number of workers needed to produce a given amount of output. This might decrease the demand for workers. New technologies further disrupt how productivity-enhancing investments translate into jobs.

CHALLENGE: Using firm-level data (from the WB Enterprise Surveys), visualize and explain how productivity growth (and its drivers) impact employment and workers’ wages. How would you go about understanding the impact of new technologies on this relationship, such as AI?

DATA SOURCE(S): World Bank Enterprise Survey Data for 150+ countries over 19 years. Jobs Data

Poverty Alleviation

CONTEXT: Poverty and inequality can vary hugely within countries. Understanding where these spatial inequalities exist and how they evolve over time is crucial to fighting global poverty.

CHALLENGE: Using data from the Subnational Poverty and Inequality Database (SPID) or Global Subnational Atlas of Poverty (GSAP), what can we learn about how poverty and inequality vary within a country and change over time, and is there any spatial relations with other spatial data? The subnational indicators can be merged with other spatial data, such as climate variables. What factors help to explain the differences across space within countries and how they change over time?

DATA SOURCES: GSAP and SPID, and any open access spatial data.

Poverty Alleviation

CONTEXT: The World Bank’s Geospatial Poverty Portal is a relatively new website that hosts two interactive map portals. The World Bank is interested in showcasing compelling and actionable visualizations to increase awareness and action to overcome subnational poverty issues, which could be showcased on the portal itself.

CHALLENGE: Build a Country Graphics page using data from the Subnational Poverty and Inequality Database (SPID) and/or Global Subnational Atlas of Poverty (GSAP). For example, cross-country comparisons, pie-charts, time-series can be added to a “Country Graphics” container that will be placed in the map portals. Graphs should be flexible meaning they should automatically update depending on the country selected. The Graphics container can also house other relevant country information such as links to World Bank country reports, or SDG indicators.

DATA SOURCES: GSAP and SPID, and any open access spatial data.

People.

CONTEXT: Investing in "human capital" (i.e. the potential of individuals in a society) is an important driver of that society’s long-term success and well-being. However, governments and international organizations have historically under-invested in people, in part because the benefits are typically slow to occur and are hard to measure. This is starting to change – some international organizations are looking to support "human capital", for example, by investing more in the health and education of people in a given country – but more insights are needed.

CHALLENGE: Using your own (or an existing) definition of “human capital”, how can countries leverage technology/tools to strengthen their human capital strategies and enable more targeted investments in human capital, for rapid improvements? How can organizations like the World Bank better target investments to benefit children, adolescents, and youth in low-and-middle-income countries more effectively?

DATA SOURCE(S): World Bank Human Capital data; World Bank: health data; World Bank: education data.

Fragility

CONTEXT: Fragility, conflict, and violence is a critical development challenge that threatens efforts to end extreme poverty; it affects both low- and middle-income countries and the share of the extreme poor living in conflict-affected situations is expected to rise to more than 60% by 2030.

CHALLENGE: How does aid interact with the vicious cycles of fragility and conflict?  Where do countries avoid violent conflict and does aid play a role in conflict prevention? Where is aid provided during conflict and does it impact how and where conflicts end?  What types of aid after violence ends result in a lasting and sustainable peace?

DATA SOURCE(S): ACLED (database of conflict events); OECD financing; IATI data; World Bank World Governance Indicators; OECE catalog; Kaggle.  Participants might reconcile data from ACLED and Uppsala Conflict Data Programme.  Additional reconciling forecasting approaches: ViEWS and Forecast Conflict and ACLED Cast.  Participants might also be interested in reconciling social unrest indicators from Polecat, GDELT and ICEWS 

Climate

CONTEXT: Climate change is threatening global water and food security, agricultural supply chains, and many coastal cities. The poor are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and the need for action is urgent. The (2015) Paris Agreement set a target of $100 billion to address the climate mitigation and adaptation needs of developing countries. While much of this financing comes from governments and international organizations, efforts to track commitments, spending, and impact are often unclear.

CHALLENGE: What other data sources can be used to analyze compliance with climate change international agreements – how is the world doing? What are effective ways to communicate the effectiveness or impact of this financing? What is the influence of private companies in climate change initiatives? What is the relationship between complying with climate change international agreements and other international agreements?

DATA SOURCE(S): World Bank: World Development Indicators (Climate Change); Climate Change Knowledge Portal; Climate Change and Development Reports (CCDRs); Water Data Portal; IMF: Climate Change Data portal; US Government: Climate.gov (Global Climate Dashboard); United Nations: Global Set of Climate Change Statistics & Indicators. UN Climate Reports.

Digital Transformation

CONTEXT: The rapid advancement of digital technologies presents a significant opportunity for governments to enhance public service delivery. However, challenges such as digital divide, data privacy concerns, and the integration of emerging technologies like blockchain and AI need to be addressed. Effective digital service delivery can lead to more inclusive, transparent, and efficient governance.

CHALLENGE: How can governments utilize blockchain technology to ensure the integrity and transparency of public records and transactions? What are the advantages and potential shortcomings of using generative AI to process and analyze large datasets for improving public service delivery? What strategies can be employed to bridge the digital divide and ensure equitable access to digital services for all citizens?

Data Sources: World Bank: GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) Data Dashboard; World Bank: World Development Indicators; World Bank: Digital Government Indicators; World Bank: ID4D Global Dataset; OECD: OECD Digital Government Index; OECD: OECD Government at a Glance; UN: UN E-Government Survey 2024; European Commission: Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)

Space 2 Stats:

The Space2Stats program is designed to provide academics, statisticians, and data scientists with easier access to regularly requested geospatial aggregate data. The primary deliverable is a database of geospatial aggregates at two official scales:

1. Official World Bank boundaries at admin level 2

2. A global database of h3 hexagons at level 6 (~36km2)

Space2Stats: https://worldbank.github.io/DECAT_Space2Stats/readme.html