Barriers restricting the use of data to drive policy decisions in Papua New Guinea
Data is important for making informed decisions at all levels of government. However, in Papua New Guinea (PNG), several barriers restrict the availability of quality data for making informed decisions on service delivery.
The National Research Institute (NRI) Spotlight Volume 16, Issue 4 titled “Barriers to the use of Data to drive Policy Decisions in Papua New Guinea” by Peter Michael Magury, Research Fellow at PNG NRI, looks at interventions that can be used to build capability and to address barriers associated with the use of data for making policy-related decisions.
The barriers that restrict the use of data to drive policy decisions in PNG include the following:
- Knowledge gaps in statistical skills and data use the result in a lack of access, analyses, poor interpretation of data, and difficulty in summarising data into clear messages for decision-makers in presentable formats.
- Poor data quality includes data that are not timely, reliable, accurate, and complete which limits the confidence and value that decision-makers place on data.
- Unavailability of data, which includes inaccessibility of relevant data and poor packaging of available data that restrict its availability for use in making informed policy decisions.
- Poor communication between data producers and users throughout the stages of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and use.
Interventions for making quality data available are important for providing the needed confidence in using the data for making informed policy-related decisions by policy-makers. Interventions such as building skills and knowledge in data use, improving data quality and communication, access, and improving engagement between data users and producers can improve data used to drive policy decisions
The Publication and Media Release can be accessed on the PNG NRI website https://www.pngnri.org.
Authorised for release by:
Dr. Osborne O. Sanida
Director, PNG NRI
