Datapack: Results and analysis of data literacy survey

In January 2019, OCHA's Centre for Humanitarian Data conducted an online survey to better understand how humanitarians are using data, what their core data skills are, and what kind of support they require to improve their capacity to use data effectively. The survey was conducted as part of a wider research effort to inform the design of the Centre’s Data Literacy programme.

A detailed analysis of the survey findings can be found in the slides below. First, here are a few details about the results:

• Data literacy is on the minds of humanitarians: CHD were thrilled to see that 1,581 individuals took the survey with 1,232 people completing it. We take this response rate (78%) as a sign that humanitarians are thinking about data literacy—and they are not the only ones. Over the past decade, they have seen a rapid shift in the role that data plays in all of our jobs. Across government, civil society, and the private sector, organisations are grappling with how to upskill their staff.
   
• Humanitarians are data people, even if they do not identify that way: In the survey, over 98% of respondents reported using data all or some of the time. However, in conversations with humanitarians about data, CHD continues to hear the refrain, ‘I am not a data person’.
   
• The ‘big data, predictive analytics, and statistics’ elephant in the room: When CHD asked what data-related topics humanitarians are interested in learning, the top three responses were big data, predictive analytics, and statistics. It is easy to understand why. These are trendy topics that everyone from senior leaders to data managers are thinking and talking about. Humanitarians are interested in learning about new technologies and there can also be confusion or even angst about what they actually mean for the future of our work.