Data science frontiers and evaluation’s transformational potential for sustainable development

Abstract

In this paper we set ourselves three challenges, to examine: i) the potential of the data revolution to aid the transformational change required to achieve the sustainable development goals; ii) the ability of evaluation to contribute to (i) through greater engagement with data science technologies; and iii) the capacity of data science to further evaluation as an innovative and progressive field of inquiry. We also discuss the political, economic, cultural, and ethical challenges data science presents to sustainable development and evaluation. We conclude that data science and evaluation can enhance each other to address the key development challenges of our time.