Data Altruistically Adding Dimensions to Human Possibilities

A quick glance at the map provide insights where most goods are needed. If required, they can ask questions related to the data to ensure expiry dates meet shipping time requirements. Just as importantly, partners can also proactively see the products that Direct Relief needs and can send new supplies in a proactive, timely manner. No delays, no waste.

African Woman Microfinancing their Futures

Another practical approach to linking people, data and idea involves coalitions of women in Africa who participate in village investor’s program where they pool their money – not donated money but their own money – to create a fund for business opportunities from selling tomatoes, to sewing clothing. This group is all about the trust between its members, who give small loans to each other to gain a livelihood. Through their work with an organization called WeSeeHope, these groups are entering simple data of what they are selling each week, where demand is, what funds are available, and what profits have resulted.

There are nearly 300 of these groups across Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Tanzania totalling close to 7,000 women. And they are using data to get smarter to empower each other. With this, they learn the best selling trends in a particular location, and also uncover opportunities like the untapped regions where no one is selling fish. Although, the groups had goals of gaining equivalent to $3 a day, but with data exchange their average earning is $5 to $7 each day, double of their expected income that invariably helps them to move out of their dire poverty and build stronger lives.

Big Data Solutions for Water Scarcity

 By uniting data policy makers, corporations, and public, people would be able to access and visualise scientific and technical information in an approachable way. As an example, the Clinton Global Initiative is one such collaborative effort that recently announced multi-year CGI Commitment to Action to address water availability and quality issues across the globe. If this is truly about ideas, let’s welcome the ideas of involved citizens closest to the issues, who may just have thought about a factor that scientists and academics have not considered.

And,why were they so successful? It’s because they were able to see the whole story in their data. The above referred examples clearly vindicates how ideas, people and data create impactful solutions. Therefore, ideas of any proportion can come to life when connected with people and data. Some ideas are very big, some may start small and grow, but in either case the possibilities remain endless.

Located in Radnor, Pennsylvania, United States, Qlik is a software company that provides QlikView and Qlik Sense, business intelligence and visualization software.