Local democracy as a substitute for data (and rather a good substitute too)
David Satterthwaite – Demand for data generally comes from those who control funds and other resources. National governments and international agencies. Not those who need funds (or schools or potable water…). Surely the point of data in development is to make sure it assists (and even empowers) those in need to get what they lack. It is a means of informing those with the powers and responsibilities about these needs. But most of the official data sets used to assess who has unmet needs cannot tell us who these people are or where they live. In urban areas, perhaps the most powerful are the surveys of all ‘slums/shacks’ in a city done by their inhabitants with the support of slum/shack dweller federations.
Reading Development 