UN Global Pulse uses Big Data for public good | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

The UN Global Pulse was developed in 2009 to give accurate and continuous data on who was being affected by current crises and to what degree. Instead of using the basic surveys used in previous years, the UN Global Pulse was dedicated to tracking development progress and emerging vulnerabilities in real-time by tapping into Big Data. Big Data is a new digital natural resource that contains the records that are automatically created by people's every interaction with the digital world.

The amount of information collected by the UN Global Pulse grows every year. In 2014 there was more data produced than all of history combined. The UN uses this new feature to respond better to economic disasters and is looking to use it to achieve the new development agenda. It will provide immediate and constant updates on issues such as health, education, employment, and food security, to support global development and humanitarian action.

In order to use Big Data as a genuine and public good, privacy must be protected in every step. The Global Pulse initiative has a strong focus on data privacy and protection. When asked about the new initiative, Robert Kirkpatrick, the director of UN Global Pulse says "Big Data is a new digital natural resource and it has tremendous potential to be used to achieve sustainable development and to measure progress. Data is now an exciting topic in a way that it wasn't before. And we are very keen to build on that momentum."

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