MCC’s Data Collaboratives for Local Impact works with partner countries to leverage the digital economy for economic growth.
DCLI seeds the establishment of self-sustaining centers of data use, advancing data analysis for better development.
DCLI empowers women and youth with data and digital skills needed for employment, and to find local solutions to local problems.
DCLI advocates and enables policy shifts and data ecosystem development – leading to data-driven decisions, transparency and openness, and citizen participation.
DCLI finds and invests in digital innovators through grant challenges, incubation and acceleration, and surfacing venture capital – leveraging local initiative to drive sustainable development.
THE LATEST
Update: Impact Overview
Resource: Develop a Roadmap to Improve Decision-Making
Use Story: Disability Is Not Inability
WHY IT MATTERS?
Growing Africa’s digital economy will lift people out of poverty – through sound data-driven decisions, organic economic growth through innovation, and by providing women and youth technology skills to lift up their communities and themselves. This is digital transformation.
- Locally-Led Solutions: The DCLI experience has shown that a community empowered to capitalize on information can more effectively define its problems and work toward innovative solutions. Supporting those skills and solutions is fundamental to engaged, sustainable, and equitable economic development.
- Digital Democratization: DCLI meaningfully involves participants through digital and data skills. Greater access to information and digital infrastructure, capacity building and tools, and support to innovators are essential first-mile services for citizens.
- Coordination Amplifies Progress: DCLI programs leveraged in-kind and funding contributions from more than 60 partners, including Benjamin Mkapa Foundation, Botnar Foundation, Stanford Women in Data Science initiative, University of Virginia Data Science Institute, Vodacom Tanzania, World Bank, World Food Program, Tableau, Microsoft, Grindstone XL and Thinkroom.
- Cost-Effective Digital Transformation: DCLI has demonstrated how, for a relatively small investment per year per country, it is possible to create sustainable change and build the foundational interest, awareness and skills needed to catalyze more locally-led, resilient and inclusive growth through data use, innovation and civic technology.
APPROACH
DATA CAN IMPROVE THE WORLD.
DCLI takes a systems approach – working with partner countries to assess data ecosystem limitations and investing to shift the dynamic toward better use of data and digital by:
- Establishing centers of data expertise to advance sustainable development.
- Training to empower youth and women with skillsets to participate fully in the digital economy.
- Surfacing local innovation and civic technology to serve citizens by supporting and connecting entrepreneurs.
- Advocating for governance that enables greater data openness, interoperability, sharing and re-use.
DCLI is currently active in Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire, Lesotho, Kenya and Malawi.
PROJECTS
DATA COLLABORATIVES
FOR LOCAL IMPACT
DCLI is an initiative of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) working with partner countries to drive systems change in data use and digital access and tools.
DCLI was initially launched in 2015 through an interagency partnership between the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and MCC.
Building on the success of the partnership, DCLI continues to improve lives by setting the foundations of growth in the digital economy: Building skills in citizens, setting better policies in communities and nationally, and developing innovation and civic technology.
