More and better data through digital transformation

We live surrounded by data. Digitalization, the great revolution of our times, has multiplied our access to information. We certainly have more information, but this is not to say that we understand what is going on around us any better or that we may be able to take action to leave no one behind.

Despite the great potential that digital technologies have for making people's lives better, they also pose new challenges that need to be addressed. The COVID-19 pandemic alerted us to the urgent need to bridge the digital gap in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly for women and marginalized people. Crises and pandemics help remind us of the importance of data for arriving at the right decisions and making the best possible forecasts.

In countries where the InfoSegura Regional Project is implemented, the most tangible results have to do with the deployment of technological and digital tools for the formulation of public policies on citizen security, transparency and open data.

The path that InfoSegura embarked on 10 years ago has helped reinforce technical and analytical capacities in Central America and the Dominican Republic. The Belize Crime Observatory, the Technical Inter-Institutional Coordination Unit (UTECI) of Honduras, the Centre for Analysis of Citizen Security Data (CADSECI) in the Dominican Republic, the Commission for Statistics on Coexistence and Citizen Security (COMESCO) of Costa Rica, are just some examples of this. Furthermore, a national effort in Honduras has led to the creation of an open data portal and an integrated information system for citizen security. In El Salvador, the SALVE school violence warning system is being implemented, and in Guatemala, public policies now include results from the citizen security territorial prioritization indexes for the prevention of violence against women and girls.

The UNDP considers digital technology to be a key force for change in this century. It is transforming economies, governments and civil society, affecting almost every aspect of development. Digital technology are increasingly powerful tools for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The UNDP long-term vision is to help create a world where digital tools are a force for empowering people and the planet. In this sense, InfoSegura has supported the development of fundamental digital infrastructure, like the examples above. In the countries it is operating in, it continues to help to enhance digital transformation for citizen security and justice.

Data is the soil that sustains the whole digital ecosystem. And, just like the soil, it needs to be nurtured and cared for. The InfoSegura Regional Project has certainly planted the seed for a better cycle of information on security and justice in the region, supporting data portals and making interoperative systems that support evidence-based public policy in order to build more just, peaceful and inclusive societies.