About

Recognizing both the urgent need for more timely and actionable information and the opportunities presented by new types of data, novel analytical approaches, and emerging technologies, Global Pulse is designing an approach to using real-time data for impact monitoring.

While we need to build on existing best practices, we will also need to innovate and pioneer new approaches, tools and collaborative partnerships. Global Pulse is the hub for this work.

It serves as an innovation laboratory where ideas about new data mining become research partnerships between UN agencies and with government, private sector, local technologists, academia, foundations/NGOs, local entrepreneurs and community groups; all with the goal of harnessing new data for development planning and crisis resillience.

Our implementation strategy takes a systems-based approach, with three interdependent areas of activity:

1. Data Research: Global Pulse is discovering new indicators in digital data with the potential to give us a real-time understanding of community well being and real-time feedback on whether our policies and programmes are working.
2. Technology Toolkit:  Global Pulse is assembling a toolkit of free and open source software tools that will allow development experts to mine real-time data for digital signals, share hypotheses with trusted colleagues, and make evidence-based decisions.
3. Pulse Lab Network: Global Pulse is partnering with Member States to establish an integrated network of country-level innovation centers, or Pulse Labs, that will bring together government experts, UN agencies, academia and the private sector to pioneer new applications of real-time data to development challenges.

Objectives

Global Pulse is developing approaches and tools which will contribute to the international communities capacity to:

1. Detect when vulnerable populations are being impacted by global shocks
2. Understand the coping strategies - both positive and negative - that affected communities are adopting
3. Share hypotheses, alerts and key information with regional partners, as well as with experts globally

• Respond with better policy interventions sooner than possible today

Key Milestones

2011

• 6 Proofs of Concept.  Research team completes series of 6 joint research projects with private sector and academia demonstrating that new sources of data may be combined with traditional data  to speed up analysis of emerging vulnerabilities.
• 9 Interagency Research Projects. Global Pulse hosts RIVAF Partners Conference (“Toward a Real Time Understanding of Emerging Vulnerability”) that brought together UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNWTO, ILO, UNSPIDER, WFP, UNODC and UNESCO to share key findings of 9 projects Global Pulse funded investigating the impacts of the 2009 crisis on vulnerable populations.
• Hunchworks Prototype. With more than 300 pages of designed contributed by vounteer designers, and with tremendous external support from volunteer software developers, Global Pulse completes the first working prototype of Hunchworks, the first open source tool in the Global Pulse Technology Toolkit.
• Strategic Plan for 2 Pulse Labs.  With the support of donors, UN agencies, and the Governments of Indonesia and Uganda, Global Pulse completes the scoping phases and develops strategic plans for the launch of the first two Pulse Labs in the network. 

2012

• Launch of first 2 Pulse Labs.  Pulse Lab Uganda and Pulse Lab Jakarta open their doors and begin supporting national institutions in harnessing real time data for policy action. 
• Impact Monitoring 2.0 Fund. Global Pulse establishes an innovative mechanism for joint research that brings UN agencies with programmatic needs together with cutting-edge data mining partners in the private sector and academia.
• Hunchworks 1.0.  Global Pulse releases the first working version of the Hunchworks platform to a limited set of organizations involved in crisis monitoring.  
• Data Philanthropy Consortium. Global Pulse establishes a core consortium of global organizations to developing a model for safely sharing real time data from the private sector support evidence-based policy action.

2013-2016

•  Global Pulse Monitoring Framework.  Based on continued joint research with governments, UN agencies, private sector and  academia, Global Pulse publishes the first version of its guide to using new data for real time tracking of development. ·  
  
• Pulse Lab Cookbook.  First draft of cookbook, capturing lessons and best practices in analysis, technology innovation, community engagement and partnerships to support government use of real time data for policy making.
• Pulse Lab Network.  With Pulse Labs launching at a rate of 2 per year, the full 10-Lab network comes online, sharing real time data, analytical methodologies, and key innovations in relevant technologies.
• Technology Platform.  Full, integrated suite of free and open source technology tools for data collection, analysis, and decision support is completed and made available to the global community.
• Data Philanthropy Network.  Global Pulse assembles a global network of public and private sector partners sharing data through a secure network to support real time tracking of development.