It’s a cliché to claim that data is the “new oil”, a resource to be mined. We collect it from the field, refine it with experts, and utilize it for decision-making. However, we rarely ask what this extractive model does to the workers and communities that provide the raw materials. This is a summary of how and why we developed an Ideas Engine to collect and share insights. The flow of data remains largely one-way. We ask local actors to report on vaccination coverage, disease outbreaks, or supply shortages. Yet, all too often, this valuable information travels up the chain without ever returning to the people who generated it in a way they can use. What if the act of reporting was, in itself, an act of learning? What if the input mechanism was designed not just to feed a database, but to inform the practitioner? What if this recognized …
