This story originally appeared on the Duke Center for International and Global Studies (DUCIGS) website.
Haishan Fu, the Director of the World Bank’s Development Data Group, gave a keynote speech on February 25, 2020 at Duke University, as part of the “Rethinking Development Seminar Series.“
SEE ALSO: “World Bank Takes on Big Data for Development” a recap of the talk on the Duke Research Blog by Irene Park
Dr. Fu leads and coordinates the development and implementation of the World Bank’s development data agenda. She has been an active leader of the global statistical community, having served or currently serving as a member of the U.N. Secretary-General’s Independent Expert Advisory Group on Data Revolution for Sustainable Development; as a Council Member of the International Statistical Institute; and Co-Chair of the Global Steering Committee of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics, among others.
During the seminar, “Big Data for Development,” Dr. Fu expanded on the use of big data to help tackle global issues with increased precision and efficiency. When exact data is lacking, big data from indirect sources—geospatial, cellphone traffic, social media—becomes crucial to estimate and predict what on-the-ground surveys would reveal. “Our job,” Haishan Fu said in the interview below,“ is to leverage the power of data to support the Bank’s mission, which is to end poverty and promote shared prosperity.”
Interview with Haishan Fu at Duke
The Rethinking Development Seminar Series is a joint program of the Duke Center for International Development (DCID) at the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Duke University Center for International and Global Studies (DUCIGS), to feature speakers with innovative approaches to development policy. The Duke University Population Research Institute (DUPRI) co-organized this event.
