It is said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” But how many times have you seen a complicated looking graph on a screen and struggled to interpret it? Data visualization—the process of using graphs and figures to display data—can only be impactful when a target audience can clearly interpret their key messages. Back in May 2021 we shared…
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Purpose-driven design: India’s District Nutrition Profiles
A critical component of the nutrition data value chain is the link between data translation and decision making. Tools like profiles, scorecards, and dashboards can present data in a way that can be easily interpreted and persuasive in conveying key messages. However, to be effective, these tools must have a clear purpose and reflect the needs and preferences of their…
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More to come: Taking stock of DataDENT’s 2021 achievements and 2022 plans
Happy New Year to much of the world! While there are bigger headlines dominating our news feeds, the start of 2022 signals that we are in the final stretch in DataDENT’s first 5-year funding cycle. DataDENT global and country partners have been hard at work and also celebrating the fruits of multiple years of learning and engagement. This post reviews…
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Assessing data visualization literacy and preferences for more effective approaches to visualize nutrition data in Nigeria
Data visualization is widely used in nutrition to summarize and communicate nutrition data. There are several aspects of data visualization that make it a viable strategy to neatly collate information and (hopefully) provoke action: (1) humans more rapidly process visual information compared to text; (2) design principles can be applied to attune with humans’ short-term memory; and (3) research has…
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Creating Effective Accountability DVTs: Four Lessons from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Nutrition Scorecard
The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) is a non-partisan policy-hub dedicated to promoting good governance and development at the sub-national level. The forum has a strong track record of using data to inform decision-making and improve advocacy among Nigeria’s Governors. For example, the NGF designed and implemented several state-level scorecards to engage Governors around key policy issues including polio eradication, state-supported…
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2020 DataDENT Highlights
2020 will be remembered as a year the world radically changed, but it was also a year that reminded us of the importance of fundamental structures and systems. Now, as much as ever, strengthening the nutrition data value chain (DVC) is needed to address the challenges COVID-19 crisis poses to food, nutrition, and health globally. During 2020, DataDENT partners—the Johns…
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Strengthening nutrition data visualization at the Nutrition Society of Nigeria annual conference
In November 2020, the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN) held is 50th Annual General Meeting and Scientific conference titled “Improving Nutrition Intervention Outcomes in Nigeria through Evidence-Based Nutrition, Data Generation and Dissemination” in Kaduna State. DataDENT members remotely led two pre-conference sessions focused on improving data visualization practices in nutrition for over 300 participants. During the first session, “Data visualization…
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Champions of Change: How NITI Aayog is improving a data visualization tool for data-driven policy and decision making
The Champions of Change (COC) Dashboard was developed by NITI Aayog to monitor district progress and aid in decision making. In our conversation with Rama Kamaraju, Data Scientist at NITI Aayog, we discussed the use of data under the Aspirational Districts Program (ADP) and how the COC Dashboard supports data-driven policy making in India. In 2019-2020, DataDENT implemented by the…
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Through the Eyes of the User: Tips for Producers of Global Nutrition Data Visualization Tools
Given the recent upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic and adjustments needed in planning, targeting, and implementation of programs, data is more important than ever before. In nutrition, we have seen a proliferation of global data visualization tools (DVTs). Data visualization aids audiences in interpreting data and focusing on key priorities (Evergreen, 2016). For example, nutrition advocates frequently include visualizations…
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Together for Nutrition: West African Data Forum Call to Action
In February 2020, DataDENT in collaboration Transform Nutrition West Africa (led by International Food Policy Research Institute), UNICEF, Countdown to 2030, CDC, WHO, WAHO, and NIPN co-convened Together for Nutrition: West African Data Forum. The convening had the following objectives: 1. Share national and regional achievements and challenges in operationalizing the data value chain for nutrition 2. Strengthen connectivity, coordination,…