IMF paper calls for global co-operation on big data

The heightened challenges inherent in big data increase the importance of global co-operation, according to a staff discussion note published on September 13 by the International Monetary Fund.

“The incorporation of big data as new data sources, either supplementing or substituting for traditional data sources, will not be exempt from methodological, organisational, and budgetary challenges,” the authors write.

They call on statistical authorities to “step up” their involvement with big data, and say international organisations could incorporate co-operation frameworks as a “new dimension” to their capacity-building work.

“Big data is not a static but a dynamic phenomenon, so the systems and networks generating it will continue to evolve, as well as the opportunities that big data offers, the challenges it poses, and its statistical implications,” the paper says.