LIRNEasia CEO appointed to Board of Global Partnership for Sustainable Data

Among 16 other board members of the apex body in the data revolution around the sustainable development goals (SDGs) is Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed.

LIRNEasia CEO, Helani Galpaya, was recently appointed to the board of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD).

LIRNEasia conducts in-depth, policy-relevant research on infrastructure industries including ICT sectors. Their work extends to other sectors such as agriculture and health which can benefit the poorest citizens of the Asia Pacific. 

Through their work, LIRNEasia documents regional good practices and then disseminates independent, actionable knowledge, to policy makers, regulators, service providers and the media. They have, on many occasions, contributed towards the removal of barriers to access to ICTs for the people of Asia.

Since 2012, LIRNEasia has conducted pioneering research in leveraging new data sources, big data in particular, for public purposes in Sri Lanka. LIRNEasia leverages mobile network big data (MNBD) along with other data sources (satellite imagery, CCTV footage, electricity data, social media data, official statistics) to conduct analyses on human mobility and traffic, land-use patterns, communities and high-frequency and high-resolution proxy indicators of economic activity. They are also exploring the possibility of building propagation models for communicable diseases such as dengue.

Helani Galpaya has been invited to share LIRNEasia’s big data work at numerous international gatherings. Among the most recent are the UN Internet Governance Forum, the Digital Citizen Summit, the 19th session of the UN Commission on Science Technology in Development, the launch of World Bank’s World Development Report 2016, ITU (International Telecommunications Union) Telecom World 2015, the UN General Assembly, WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Forum and GSMA (Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association) Mobile World Congress.

Established in 2015, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data is an unprecedented, open, multi-stakeholder network working to harness the data revolution for sustainable development. It is a growing network of more than 250 organisations drawn from governments, charities, businesses, and UN agencies. Partnership member organisations act as data champions working around the world to harness the data revolution for sustainable development.

One focus of the GPSDD is on data for achieving and monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an area that the Big Data team at LIRNEasia, led by Sriganesh Lokanathan, is deeply interested in.

Among the other 16 board members of the GPSDD, drawn from Civil Society, Private Sector, UN and Governments, is Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed.

The GPSDD Board’s inaugural meeting will take place during the UN General Assembly in September 2017, where the group will choose its own Chair and Deputy Chair. Early actions will include approving the direction of GPSDD’s overall strategy.

The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data is hosted by the United Nations Foundation.