Data and Displacement Project Archive, 2021-2022

Alozie, Modesta and Squire, Vicki (2023). Data and Displacement Project Archive, 2021-2022. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-855997

Data-driven practices of targeted humanitarian protection are in urgent need of assessment, since these raise a range of practical and ethical questions that directly impact at-risk populations. While the targeting of protection needs through the production of data is common practice, the proliferation of large-scale quantitative, biometric and visual data within the humanitarian field is unprecedented. Established in 2014, there are presently 10,055 datasets for 253 locations from 1219 sources on the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX). This project produces a timely and robust analysis of data-driven protection targeting, focusing on two contexts that are characterised by conflict and high numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs): northern Nigeria and South Sudan. It does so by assessing the implications of the production and use of large-scale data in targeting humanitarian protection, particularly on those most directly affected by such developments: IDPs themselves. The increasing production and use of large-scale data is not unique to the field of humanitarianism. However, the stakes are particularly high when it comes to data-driven practices of targeting protection for those most at risk. Humanitarian interventions are designed to protect the most vulnerable groups, hence any misuse or miscalculation in the use of data can have a drastic effect on at-risk populations. Careful assessment of the practical and ethical implications of data-driven targeting of protection is thus foundational. It is often assumed that humanitarians can be trusted more than commercial organisations or governments in collating and using large-scale data, due to their mandate of 'do no harm'. Yet it is vital to examine the potential risks, exclusions and biases or vulnerabilities implicit in the production and use of such data. While data can enable quicker, efficient and improved evidence-based responses, critical questions surrounding processes of data collection and what counts as evidence, the ethics of data collection and its use, and the accountability and protection of the data produced in contexts of vulnerability are increasingly necessary. Our research addresses these questions based on the research team's combined interdisciplinary academic and operational expertise. The project brings together academic researchers from the UK and Nigeria with practitioners from the International Organisation for Migration - the United Nations Migration Agency, which is responsible for the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). DTM is the system deployed to track and monitor displacement and population mobility, and forms one of the largest data collectors on IDPs globally. Our project examines the work of DTM in the context of wider datasets used for the targeting of humanitarian protection in northern Nigeria and South Sudan. It focuses on practical and ethical challenges that arise in the collection and use of such data, and undertakes in-depth research with local stakeholders and internally displaced communities. The project asks: How effective is the data-based targeting of humanitarian protection in practice? Who benefits from such practices - and who is excluded? And how can the data-driven targeting be developed to reduce the chances of vulnerable groups falling through the cracks of humanitarian protection? The project contributes: an interdisciplinary perspective on the practical and ethical implications of data-driven humanitarian targeting in sub-Saharan Africa; an operationally-driven analysis of the efficacy of data-driven humanitarian protection in contexts of conflict and displacement; a qualitative assessment of the impacts of the production and use of large-scale data for at-risk populations; and methodological insights regarding the utility of mixed methods approaches for the analysis of large-scale data.

Data description (abstract)

This archive includes interview materials gathered from the Data and Displacement project at the University of Warwick. The materials included here are: 1. Transcripts from Phase 1 interviews conducted across 5 camps in Northern Nigeria with Internally Displaced persons (NIG.IDP.Ph1) 2. Transcripts from Phase 2 interviews conducted across 5 camps in Northern Nigeria with Internally Displaced persons (NIG.IDP.Ph2) 3. Transcripts from Phase 1 interviews with Stakeholders working in the field of data management and humanitarianism in Nigeria (NIG.SH.Ph1) 4. Transcripts from Phase 2 interviews with Stakeholders working in the field of data management and humanitarianism in Nigeria (NIG.SH.Ph2) 5. Transcripts from Phase 1 interview with Internally displaced people living in the PoCs in South Sudan (SS.IDP.Ph1) 6. Transcripts from Phase 1 interviews with stakeholders working in the field of data management and humanitarianism in South Sudan (SS.SH.Ph1) 7. Transcripts from Phase 2 interviews with stakeholders working in the field of data management and humanitarianism in South Sudan (SS.SH.Ph2)

Data creators:

Creator Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Alozie Modesta	University of Warwick	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9761-5815
Squire Vicki	University of Warwick

Sponsors:

AHRC, UKaid

Grant reference:

AH/T007516/1

Topic classification:

Politics

Keywords:

DATA, DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY, MODE OF DATA COLLECTION, SOCIAL NEEDS, SOCIAL EXCLUSION, NORTHERN NIGERIA, SUDAN, BIG SOCIETY (POLICY), POST-CONFLICT SITUATIONS, CONFLICT

Project title:

Data and Displacement: Assessing the Practical and Ethical Implications of Targeting Humanitarian Protection

Grant holders:

Vicki Jane Squire

Project dates:

From	To
September 2020	September 2022

Date published:

02 Dec 2022 15:04

Last modified:

13 Jan 2023 12:18

Coverage and Methodology

Collection period:

Date from:	Date to:
February 2021	August 2022

Geographical area:

Northern Nigeria and South Sudan

Country:

Nigeria, South Sudan

Data collection method:

Data and Displacement assesses the data-based humanitarian targeting of assistance to IDPs in two contexts that are characterised by conflict and high levels of displacement: north-eastern Nigeria and South Sudan. It examines the production and use of large-scale data in each case, focusing on the operational and ethical challenges that arise in the collection and use of IDP data. Research questions Assessing the opportunities and risks of the “data revolution” for the targeting of humanitarian assistance in situations of conflict and displacement, the Data and Displacement project explores the production and use of humanitarian data, as well as the operational and ethical dimensions of data-based humanitarian protection and assistance. It asks: 1. How do contextual factors shape the production of humanitarian data? 2. How effective is the use of data-based targeting in the provision of humanitarian protection and assistance in practice? 3. What operational challenges arise in the collation and use of large-scale data for humanitarian protection and assistance, and how can these be addressed? 4. What ethical concerns emerge in the development of data-driven humanitarianism, and how can these be addressed? In addressing these questions, Data and Displacement employs mixed methods, combining dataset analysis and visualisation techniques with a thematic analysis of 174 semi-structured qualitative interviews with a total of 182 interviewees. Qualitative interviews are particularly helpful in facilitating an in-depth contextual analysis, while visualisation techniques facilitate the active inclusion of IDPs within the research process. A purposive sampling technique was used to encapsulate the perspectives of a diverse range of practitioners, stakeholders, and IDPs (see below). While our sample of interviewees is not statistically representative and does not capture the full diversity of views and experiences in the field sites or the humanitarian sector, the range of views and experiences that we were able to capture, and the detailed qualitative analysis undertaken, provides valuable insights into the practical and ethical implications of data-driven humanitarianism for IDPs. As well as engaging international data experts, donors, and humanitarian practitioners from a range of governmental and non-governmental organisations, the project also engages regional stakeholders and local humanitarian practitioners in the assessment of data-driven processes of targeted assistance, while centring the perspectives of IDPs within the research design. Research tools and recruitment Datafication of the humanitarian sector The analysis of the datafication of the humanitarian sector, examined in Section 3, is based on a series of 34 in-depth qualitative interviews with a total of 42 international data experts, donors, and humanitarian practitioners from a range of governmental and non-governmental organisations. Interviews were semi-structured and were undertaken online between April and July 2021. These lasted on average around one hour, with questions focused on the meaning of humanitarian data, the development of data-driven humanitarianism, and key ethical and operational issues arising including the potential for harm. Flexibility was maintained in the questioning to allow research participants to elaborate on areas of concern or raise new issues relevant to their experience and expertise. Participants were recruited using a purposive sample strategy to provide a range of perspectives across key agencies and sectors, and to ensure the inclusion of regional perspectives as well as international perspectives. Members of the research team recruited research participants directly

Observation unit:

Group

Kind of data:

Text

Type of data:

Qualitative and mixed methods data

Resource language:

English

Access and Administration

Data sourcing, processing and preparation:

Most interviews carried out for this project were digitally recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim in full. Some participants in South Sudan preferred not to be recorded, so detailed notes of those interviews were transcribed for analysis. All transcripts were coded with NVivo software and were analysed thematically using a coding frame that was developed interpretively through each phase of the research. Key themes were identified prior to interview for each of the categories of interviewee (humanitarians, regional stakeholders, IDPs), and embedded in the interview schedule, as indicated above. Themes were revisited following each phase of interviews, and were revised and expanded upon through an iterative interpretive process.

Rights owners:

Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Squire Vicki	University of Warwick

Contact:

Name	Email	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Squire, Vicki Jane	V.J.Squire@warwick.ac.uk	University of Warwick	Unspecified

Notes on access:

The Data Collection is available for download to users registered with the UK Data Service. All requests are subject to the permission of the data owner or his/her nominee. Please email the contact person for this data collection to request permission to access the data, explaining your reason for wanting access to the data, then contact our Access Helpdesk.

Publisher:

UK Data Service

Last modified:

13 Jan 2023 12:18