PODCAST: Interview with Stefaan Verhulst on Data Collaboration for PARIS21

Earlier this month, Stefaan Verhulst, co-founder and chief research and development officer at The GovLab, sat down for an interview with PARIS21 Executive Head Johannes Jütting as part of PARIS21’s new, weekly podcast, Data for the People: A Post-Crisis Podcast. 

The discussion focused on Stefaan’s significant work on data collaboratives, a new form of collaboration, beyond the public–private partnership model, in which participants from different sectors — in particular companies — exchange their data to create public value. He tied the need for responsible data collaboration into the pandemic response, describing how different datasets can provide value in crisis.

“If COVID-19 has made one thing clear, it’s that we need to really and radically become prepared to instigate data collaborations in a far more agile and responsible manner,” Stefaan said. “Having access to different datasets, including private sector datasets, provide for value and is important to understand the scale and the way a particular kind of dynamic threat like a pandemic might evolve.”

The conversation also touched on issues of governance, the need to be transparent and engage the public, and the importance of having meaningful, well-defined question before beginning data work. Stefaan connected these points to specific examples in The GovLab’s living repository of innovative data work related to COVID-19. 

You can listen to the full discussion below. You can also find it on Apple, Deezer, Google, and Spreaker.