Spatial Agent Data Primer

Solutions to many of the existing and evolving development challenges faced across the globe are hampered by the poor availability of critical spatial and temporal data. There are many new high-quality datasets (e.g. from earth observation and systematic collation and analysis of national data) available from a number of institutions (e.g. UN agencies, NASA, NOAA, CIESIN, IRI, The World Bank, etc.) that still are little-known, especially in the developing world. These include data on demography, climate, environment, water and other natural resources, public health, etc. from a range of global, regional, national, and local institutions. The World Bank has committed to improving data transparency and open data platforms. There are a number of modern tools (e.g. mobile devices) to access such information collated from global and local datasets on the go.

The Spatial Agent App

The “Spatial Agent” App demonstrates an innovative way to visualize key multi-sectoral public domain data relevant to a number of development professionals in various global practices and cross-cutting solution areas in our client countries as well as development partners. It pulls together thousands of datasets from over 300 web services from several institutions.

The “Spatial Agent” Mobile App has been developed to take advantage of new capabilities to visualize this growing range of spatial and temporal development-related data on mobile platforms. The App demonstrates a simple but extremely powerful approach to visualize a range of public-domain spatial datasets through interactive maps and charts that allow for data visualization at different scales and ranges. The approach literally puts the globe in the user’s hands and allows one to access a burgeoning collection of public-domain multi-sectoral datasets (including at global, regional, and national levels) being developed for use by various development-related institutions and governments across the world. So whether you are interested in water resources or climate change, disaster management or general development, this is a must-have App for you! The simplicity of use and wealth of information is sure to appeal to you – whether you are a student, development professional, or a Minister!

All the questions that enquiring minds want to know are now at your fingertips:

Which areas in the Middle-East have experienced rain in the last 3 hours? What does global snow cover look like today? What is the population distribution in the Sahel? How have humans changed the landscape globally since 1700? What is the seasonal and year-to-year precipitation pattern in Entebbe? Which areas in the Caspian Sea have high chlorophyll concentrations? What are the differences in climate model projections for rainfall in the next century across models? Which areas are susceptible to earthquakes in Chile? Which areas in India have high child malnutrition? Which areas in Madagascar are susceptible to potential flooding? Where are the protected areas in Tanzania? How does Vietnam's GDP per capita growth compare with that of Ethiopia in recent years? What is the current level of the Aswan reservoir and Lake Victoria? How fast is the population in Lagos rising? How do the Niger Basin countries compare in terms of the percentage of women in their parliaments? Which areas of eastern Asia have recently experienced Category 5 tropical cyclones? The list is endless…

Expected Benefits

The benefits of improved public access to such data are multi-faceted, and include: Improving awareness of the range of key publically-available datasets relevant for a range of development professionals across the globe. Facilitating data sharing in the public domain to improve use and enhance data transparency. Improving multi-sectoral awareness of development issues and focus on key emerging issues (e.g. climate change). Highlighting new innovative datasets at various scales. Supporting long-term knowledge cooperation, thereby leveraging the comparative advantages of various institutions to support water and energy planning in various regions.

The Data Primer

This Primer is intended to provide a quick standard-format overview of the types of data that are used in the Spatial Agent App so that users can find our more detailed information about the datasets and follow the links to additional metadata and other information from the various data sources directly. It is also intended to be used for awareness-raising and training on the types of public-domain data that are available and to help in future application development or Appathons.