Multiple use of data

The multiple use of data is one element to making data cost effective and valuable. The basic data architecture used by TVM maximizes use of data. This has the secondary effect of making the data more reliable, because data that are used are always more reliable than data that merely sit and do nothing!

Another element is to do data collection in the community for the community by the community. This is usually lower cost than having data collection experts from outside the community.

Technology may be a way to reduce costs … but a problem with technology is that it often serves to make something technology intensive rather than labor intensive and in the process transfer low labor costs to become high technology costs. Good cost analysis will show this problem … but when there is no costing, it is easy for this matter to be hidden from analysis!

Ubiquitous mobile technology infrastructure

Though the power and possibilities for the application of information technology have improved by a millionfold in the course of the last fifty years, but it has not resulted in better data or decision making to benefit society as a whole. The use of data to achieve broad based socio-economic progress and high performance has been very limited.

Anyone and everyone can use TVM … contributing to dataflow using a mobile phone or Internet webpage forms. Individuals may be contributors to the dataflow … as well as organizations.

The dataflow that results makes it possible to have independent oversight of socio-economic activity and in turn the organizations engaged in decision making about the allocation of resources and choice of activities in the community and the global economy.

All the stakeholders in society are able to make use of the data and analysis so that decision makers have the data that will help them … and there can be oversight and accountability about the progress and performance by all the socio-economic actors.

Data transmission

Modern technology makes it possible for data to move around the world instantly ... but why? The goal should be to use data usefully more than merely to have data. Although long distance and global data transmission is very low cost ... compared to pre-electronic times ... it is not costless, and it is unproductive.

Data that are useful for improving performance at the community level should be easily accessible for decision making at this level. These data do not need to travel far in order to be of material value locally. The same data, however, can be transmitted to a consolidated database for scientific analysis if that is required.

The Internet makes it possible for data to move from one part of the globe to another instantly. The only requirement is Internet access ... broadband Internet access. Increasingly broadband Internet access is widely available, though in many poorer countries the cost of access is relatively high. Data may be transmitted using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol), using an attachment to an e-mail or direct upload to a web-based application.

Mobile cell-phone technology has now become very widespread and is now capable of some data transfer more conveniently than using the Internet. Cell-phone coverage is now reaching most communities around the world, including quite poor and remote places.

Some special data design is needed for transmission efficiency, but transmission efficiency can be good where there is application of the relational model for database design.

Data storage … and efficient access to use everywhere

Data are essential to transparency and accountability but data that are needed are rarely easily accessible. Good data storage facilitates access. The details of the storage architecture will change from time to time ... but the general theme is that data should be accessible easily for those who need the data to make good decisions. There are multiple levels:

1. Data in the hands of a data collection person These data are needed so that the work of data collection can be as efficient as possible ... including some immediate feedback about changes that might be locally important.

2. Data at the community level These data may be analyzed very quickly to provide the information needed at the local level to determine what are the issues and how they might best be addressed.

3. Data at the national oversight level These data are a component of the data needed for good governance and oversight.

4. Data for national level research These data are a part of a research process that has the potential to help with both learning and teaching in the country

5. Data for global research These data are a part of a research process that has the potential to advance learning on a global basis. Modern computational technology such as available at the US National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) makes it possible to process very large datasets and learn from these data

Data are needed for the effective management of performance ... but it is not at all clear that the essential data are collected ... and to the extent that they exist, they are not easily accessible.

Because data are important for the administration of society, it is normal for there to be laws and regulations that give guidance about how data must be stored and be accessible to interested parties. In general these laws and regulations do not help very much with the issue of transparency and accountability as a part of day to day ordinary life. The issue of socio-economic performance and the impact on society is not part of the data landscape.

The corporate organization is increasingly aware that data storage is a cost in the best of times, and may be a catastrophic cost if the law and regulations are called into effect for access to these data.

Data storage has moved way beyond just paper ... everything can be digital ... everything can be organized so that there may be easy analysis and the data be valuable ... especially for society as a whole.

The cost effectiveness of technology is only going to be fully realized if the data architecture is sound and logical. This is the core of what TVM can do.