2016 Annual Report – UN Global Pulse

The year 2016 marked the first full year of implementation of the 15-year roadmap set for the development community by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In response, Global Pulse intensified its efforts to unearth the power of big data and data analysis to contribute to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their indicators. While using the abundance of new data sources to inform development remained a main focus of Global Pulse’s work, the Initiative joined global humanitarian efforts and partnered with UN agencies on a series of projects to assist people directly and indirectly affected by crises. The network of Pulse Labs collaborated on 20 innovation projects with over one dozen UN agencies and development partners. The Labs furthered the development of tools and technologies that leverage data sources from radio content, social media, mobile phones and satellite imagery, and created toolkits to enhance decision-making support and provide real-time situational awareness. Within the development community, Global Pulse continued to foster an enabling environment for using big data for sustainable development and humanitarian response by developing regulatory frameworks and standards, connecting research communities, enabling capacity building and driving policy work. This report summarizes Global Pulse’s 2016 innovation activities.