Big Data for resilience storybook: Experiences integrating Big Data into resilience programming

Big Data is a relatively new topic in the resilience discourse, one that has not been rigorously explored or incorporated as part of resilience programming approaches. It offers a new angle for development practitioners to observe, analyze and use large-scale evidence related to the impacts of shocks and stressors over time, and to inform resilience-building processes. Its rapid development and adoption presents new challenges and opportunities for resilience programming, including questions regarding (but not limited to) measuring pathways of change across scales, integrating diverse stakeholders and learning from cross-scale dynamics in real and near-real time. The main purpose of this “Storybook” is to help bridge the gap between Big Data and resilience programming through the experiences of seven international organizations: the UN Global Pulse, Conservation International, the Netherlands Red Cross, CGIAR, Mercy Corps, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Ranging from resilience-building efforts in rural Malawi, Mongolia and Indonesia, an urban resilience project in Tanzania, and freshwater ecosystems resilience in Canada (among other regional and global initiatives) the wide range of experiences presented in this Storybook provide new insights about an increasing relevant field of enquiry. These experiences reflect not only the complexity of humanitarian and development contexts, but also the opportunities offered by Big Data to strengthen the impact of resilience-building efforts. Aimed at an audience of resilience and development practitioners, the publication seeks to foster new dialogue about the role of Big Data as part of resilience programming in contexts affected by the impacts of shocks and stressors, and offers concrete, practice-based recommendations to leverage its potential and address its risks. The structure of the eight cases featured in the Storybook is based on a new analytical model developed as part of this initiative—the Big Data for Resilience Kaleidoscope (BD4R-k). An overview of the model is provided in the following section.