Digital technologies accelerate the speed, types and volume of data collected and shared in development and humanitarian programs, amplifying both potential benefits and harms to individuals and communities. Risks of harm can be especially pertinent to individuals and communities who are vulnerable and disempowered. Development actors have identified privacy protection as one of the Principles for Digital Development that is perhaps most challenging to put into practice especially when there are competing tensions between programmatic needs for data use, real and perceived privacy risks and open data. There has also been a growing movement around Responsible Program Data with many development and humanitarian actors recently developing policies and practices for their organizations. This talk will provide an overarching frame for a Responsible Data approach in digital development programs, and highlight considerations for translating this approach into practice. The talk will also introduce the USAID Responsible Data Practices for Digital Development project and provide a brief overview of ongoing research.
